Spice Affair Indian Restaurant grand opening in Beverly Hills May 2015- Great Reviews, June 2015

Spice Affair journeys your taste buds through India with its bold flavors and unique uses of spices all in a contemporary setting. Perfect for all occasions, Spice Affair tenders its elegantly decorated main dinning area for your everyday dining experience, an exclusive VIP space for meetings or private occasions and a lovely banquet hall adorned in dazzling chandeliers and arched ceilings for those special milestones! “I wanted the decor to match the name ‘Spice Affair’ by incorporating colors of exotic Indian spices like saffron and gold, combining them with mysterious dark tones of cinnamon,” says President and co-owner Sonia Batra. Additionally, there is a bar/lounge space for bar-bites and exotic signature cocktails. Whether you seek an authentic Indian dish like ‘Tandoori Chicken’ or whim for something modern such as ‘Duck and Date Melange,’ Spice Affair is the utopia for Indian upscale dining. CEO Anupam Bhatia, looks forward to opening the doors, “It’s taken lots of vision and hard work and I could not be more excited about introducing our cuisine, our beautiful facility and creating new relationships with our guests!”

Talk about indulgence. The newly opened Spiced Affair Indian restaurant on La Cienega in Beverly Hills spares no shortcuts. The food is fresh and healthier than most other Indian restaurants. The decor is absolutely stunning and the food is top notch. We met the owner Sonia Batra, who was so hospitable and down to earth and her creations have been in the making for a while. One thing that sets this Indian restaurant apart from all others is the uniqueand creative dining options cooked in delicious flavors.

Where else can you find lamb chops, duck with dates, calamari, shrimp and sea bass at any other Indian restaurant. The quality is high yet the prices are very reasonable especially for Beverly Hills. This was the best Indian place I have experienced maybe ever. The dinner highlights were the black pepper shrimp, tandoori sea bass, lamb chops, chicken briyani,yellow lentils, saag spinach and paneer without the heavy cream and eggplant with spices.

They also have a big banquet room for private parties, weddings and meetings. They just announced a weekly Thursday night mixer with happy hour specials. A reasonably priced $35 weekend buffet is a big hit especially on Sundays. More about the atmosphere as Sonia brought in and designed the whole restaurant with vintage antiques and interesting decor all around.  The dining room is spaced out to provide comfort-ability to diners without stuffing everyone in with more tables. You will get a special feeling and awesome dining experience that you will be talking about and wanting to come back.

Make sure to try one of their signature cocktails like the (martini) or some wine to enhance your meal. We would like to mention two other prominent people involved with the restaurant- Puneet Chandak, MD who is a partner in Spice Affair and AnupamBhatia, CEO who is the menu designer and primarily the operations manager. 

Indian perspective from our Indian writer Raj-

First the Food (the meat, seafood, vegetables) were of exceptional quality and taste – I really appreciated the use of various spices used – it was an excellent mix of old and new but always remaining consistent to Indian taste 

I found the appetizers to be extraordinary with a great twist on traditional Indian snacks along with a few modern dishes created with non-traditional items that tasted distinctly Indian. 

The Duck with date – this appetizer was a great example of modern twist – the duck was definitely not standard Indian fare – but the flavors were layered to give a distinctly overall taste like a typical INDIAN snack – I’m sure other places use different ingredients but Spice Affair stayed true to INDIAN taste and flavors – definitely not a fusion of different foods to create a mix of flavors

Another favorite was the paneer and spinach – this very simple dish was packed with natural flavors – the fresh paneer was perfect just like mom made at home and the fact they used the paneer in its freshest form was really brilliant – just bursting with natural flavor 

My favorite app. was the Black Pepper shrimp  – to me this was a  perfect dry version of a Shrimp curry – 

The main dishes or entrees we had were also fantastic – 

I was very impressed with the vegetarian dishes as they were made in a less heavier style yet definitely did not lack in flavor. 

For example the Saag (spinach) dish was like my wife would prepare at home. Without the use of a heavy cream. 

I felt as they were very aware of people’s intentions to eat healthy overall and Also did not use any extra Ghee (clarified butter/oil) 

The Chicken Briyani was simply superb made in classic traditional style – I loved it and trust me I’ve had my share of Briyani at various restaurants. 

The Yellow dal was spot on !

The Sea Bass was very nice but was kind of Americanized for my Taste but extremely tasty and of the highest quality the freshness of the fish was very apparent .

We look forward to visit Spice Affair with my family and enjoy an exceptional meal. 

Some observations

Interior – was fantastic a nice modern elegant feel ( I think they still are working on a few finishing touches) 

The Bar is a must see counter top is unforgettable. 

The Staff / Service – One word “Exceptional ”

The Entry – Knowing the history of this location and having been to the previous INDIAN restaurants at this location – it’s really the same but with a sign change

Spice Affair Beverly Hills Indian Restaurant

50 N La Cienega Boulevard. Suite 120
Beverly Hills, California 90211.

t: (310) 400-6800
e: [email protected]
Private Events Contact: [email protected]

OPERATING HOURS

Lunch: Monday – Friday 11:30AM to 2:30PM
Dinner: Sunday – Thursday 5PM to 10PM
Dinner: Friday, Saturday 5PM to 11PM
Buffet Brunch: Saturday, Sunday 11:30AM to 3PM
Happy Hour: 4:30PM to 7PM Everyday
Our lounge menu is available during happy hour and dinner at the bar and lounge.