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Serving: Lunch, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; Dinner, 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 5-9 p.m. Sunday, Monday. Cuisine: Indian Prices: Luncheon buffet, $9.99; dinner entrees $10-$18 Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant on a scale of 1 to 10 in five categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
Ambiance:
Our Gourmet:Gill’s is a clean, tasteful space with comfortable seating and Indian décor. I like that there’s genuine Indian music playing in the background, because it really sets the mood. The dining room is open and pleasant and there is a full bar, set back in the corner. We had a very relaxing and memorable dinner in this setting. Score: 9
The Dining Companion: When we walked into Gill’s what you noticed was the subtle décor and an immaculately clean dining room. The large open space could handle groups of all sizes. Score: 9
Appetizers:
OG:: We arrived early in the evening and were warmly greeted by Gursharan Gill, the owner and chef, who opened the restaurant three years ago. He and his son teamed up to wait on us.
We started out with a pot of masala chai ($2.25), a spicy, creamy tea, served hot. It was very tasty, but given the hot weather, I should have ordered a mango lassi ($2.99) — yogurt drink — instead.
For appetizers, we ordered the paneer pakora ($4.99), made of a soft cheese, dipped in a batter of gram flour and deep fried, and the papri chaat, ($3.99) a sort of Indian snack food consisting of crisp wafers, potatoes, chick peas, chilies, yogurt and hot chutney.
The papri chaat was served cold and was both sweet and sour and hot all at the same time. It was a new and interesting flavor that was very enjoyable.
The paneer pakora was my favorite, however. The soft cheese was mild with a pleasant texture. The batter coating was crispy and brown and had just a hint of spice. Think of it as a more flavorful and exotic version of the common fried mozzarella. It was a wonderful start to the meal. Score: 9
TDC: As OG mentioned, we decided to try the appetizers together tonight as they sounded so good and we needed to share.
The papri chaat was a sweet surprise and simply delicious.
As good as the papri chaat was, however, the paneer pakora was my favorite and I could easily eat it day and night. I love cheeses of all different types, from the stinky to the uber-sharp, and I now have a new favorite. Score: 9
Entrees:
OG: For my main course I chose the butter chicken ($11.95), a delicious blend of chicken pieces in a creamy yogurt, spice and tomato mixture that was both distinct and delicate. The wonderful meal brought back fond memories of several months I spent in London when I frequently ate at local Indian restaurants. There one could get an outstanding meal for little money, and really, Gill’s in the same tradition — you get a lot of excellent food for not a lot of money.
This was one of the best meals I’ve had recently, but don’t just take my word for it, check out some of the food sites on the Web — one citizen reviewer even said Gill’s has the best Indian food in New England.
On this occasion we brought our vegetarian dining companion along for the meal and he was extremely pleased with all the vegetarian offerings. It’s hard to find restaurants that offer more than one or two vegetarian meals and Gill’s had plenty, and they were good. Our vegetarian companion raved about his vegtable jalfrezi ($10.75).
How this wonderful place didn’t pop up on our radar sooner is beyond me. Score: 9
TDC: For my main course I decided to try the Tandoori mixed grill ($15.95), which consisted of pieces of Tandoori chicken, large prawns and lamb tikka, accompanied by mixed vegetables that were cooked just right. This was a nice selection of different flavors, but they all worked well together. The meal was served with a Basmati rice sprinkled with cumin seeds. No question, but that I would order this again.
No meal in an Indian restaurant would be complete without the staple naan, which is a flour flat bread that looks a lot like a pita, but is more flavorful and is cooked fresh in a Tandoor clay oven. The naan was piping hot and delicious. Score: 9
Dessert:
OG: Dessert was a simple, but — like everything else about our meal — highly satisfying affair. I had the saffron and pistachio ice cream that was sweet and creamy with just a little extra flavor, thanks to the saffron. A very nice and refreshing way to end an excellent meal. Score: 9
TDC: I too would have loved to have the saffron and pistachio ice cream as those are some of my favorite flavors, but when I saw how excited OG got when she saw it on the menu, I decided I would try something else, so I decided to try the mango ice cream ($2.99) and wasn’t disappointed. It was a creamy ice cream with hints of vanilla with the mango front and center and was delicious. Score: 9
Service:
OG: As I said earlier, Gill and his son waited on us and the service was not only extremely competent, it was also both warm and friendly. I felt very much at home at Gill’s and Gill assured us that if we returned, we were to think of the restaurant as our home. When’s the last time you heard that from a restaurateur? With no hesitation I give the service a perfect score. Score: 10
TDC: I agree with OG’s comment about Mr. Gill. Getting waited on by the owner was interesting as we were able to discuss the restaurant and the effect of the gas prices on the small business owner. We definitely will make this one of our Manchester favorites and will be dining there again in the future. Score: 10.
Total score: 91 out of 100
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