Restaurant Review: Guru

GURU FINE INDIAN CUISINE 17021 100th Avenue ~ gururestaurant.com Instagram: @guru_restaurant ~ Twitter: @GuruRestaurant Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew

I'm not exactly sure why or how this happened but Edmonton is a city with a large amount of particularly good Indian food. One of the restaurants that tops the list every time is Guru, which opened roughly a decade ago in Place Larue in Edmonton's west end. Since then they have opened a second location downtown and have generally been considered one of the highest-end Indian restaurants this entire time. Avenue Magazine named Guru Best Family-Style Dining 2020, which makes them the perfect place to visit with your Indian food-loving crew. I made a reservation in advance and arrived for dinner on a Saturday evening - ready to feast! The restaurant itself is very large and expansive, made up of various rooms and dining areas. There's an outdoor patio as well. The decor is quite stunning with an ambiance that is modern but still boasts obvious Indian touches. I loved all of the intricate, rich details, especially the beautiful lit-up feature wall with "om" symbols. The music playing made us feel like we were in the movie 'Drive,' which we quite enjoyed. One small issue is that once we were seated no one came to serve us for a very long time (it was probably at least 20 minutes). When our server finally did show up she apologized profusely, explaining that no one had let her know about our table. Apart from that mishap, our server was wonderfully friendly and personable. I started right away with a Guru Chai ($5.00), which is a staple for me in Indian restaurants. Although the cocktail list is very impressive and exotic-sounding. Mixologist Gurjeet Khaira has crafted each cocktail to match the Indian theme perfectly and I would especially like to try the Smokey Backyard which is made with housemade chai syrup.

House ground spices, milk, black tea.

The server poured my chai theatrically, holding the pot up high. This is traditionally done to "refresh" the tea by allowing more contact with the air. Chai made in good Indian restaurants makes the likes of coffee shop chais look fake. I absolutely love having the real thing! Real ground spices and tea leaves steeped in milk allow for a rich, aromatic experience. An ideal cup of chai in my opinion! The "Small Plates to Share" section of the menu at Guru is especially exciting to me because I feel that this is where they've been able to feature the most innovation. The ideas are interesting, flipping traditional dishes into something modern and new. I loved the idea of the Guru Street Food plate and Vishal's Poutine made with pakora fries and butter sauce is absolutely going to be in my future (can we get some paneer on there?!). However, there was no question, we were going to start with the Butter Chicken Samosas ($8.75 for two), likely Guru's most popular dish and their claim to fame.

Crispy triangular shells stuffed with butter chicken, served with chana masala.

I grabbed a forkful of chana masala right away (a chickpea curry) and was immediately blown away by how delicious it tasted. I had barely eaten anything and things were already off to an excellent start. An ingenious dish, the crisp, golden pastry was jammed full of juicy butter chicken. I've never seen this done anywhere else and it's such an amazing way to enjoy butter chicken and still save room for other dishes later. These are a must-try every single time. But the starter that truly knocked my socks off was the Shrimp Pakora ($21.75) - somewhat expensive but absolutely worth it.

Shrimp coated with chickpea and ground spices.

Plump juicy shrimp were coated in a crispy pakora batter, creating an entirely unique dish. The flavour and texture was wonderful. I loved the salty spiciness, and of all of the dishes, I can't stop thinking about this one. It was unlike anything that I have ever tasted before! The shrimp had that addictive quality that makes you want to keep eating more. It also occurred to me (for the first time ever) that pakora is like the tempura of Indian cuisine. Served with two dipping sauces; one tamarind and one mint - a perfect match for both appetizers. These shrimp are special and you want them in your life! For our main event we decided to stray from our usual butter chicken or lamb curry or vegetable korma in an attempt to try something new. (Although I'm certain that Guru's version of all of those dishes is excellent.) On this visit it was going to be the Lamb Vindaloo ($25.75), a dish derived from Portuguese cuisine.

Portuguese spices blended with lamb and farm potatoes.

Unapologetically spicy, this dish was deeply rich with heat but not so much that any flavour was lost. The pieces of lamb were tender without a bone in sight. (You'd think that this is a given, but you'll find bones in your curries at other restaurants.) I also loved the potatoes which were perfectly stewed. An ideal example of a beautiful curry, full of robust spice and wonderfully delicious. I really want to try the Fish Moilee next time because it sounds great. Fish in coconut milk works for me! Indian food also requires some accompaniments to make the feast just right. These include rice and naan - it wouldn't be Indian without them! Guru offers five different types of naan, a flatbread made inside of a tandoor oven. I chose the Fresh Clay Oven Naan ($7.75) in the butter flavour.

This naan was absolutely perfect, among some of the best that there is. Delightfully chewy and buttery, naan is used as a utensil of sorts. You rip pieces of bread off and use it to pick up pieces of food, happily consuming it all. What I really appreciated about Guru's naan is that they actually give you a lot of naan for a reasonable price. Other restaurants will give you one piece, which is never enough at all (especially if you're sharing). As for rice, Guru has three different options. While saffron rice is always the right way to go, when offered, I love coconut rice. Basmati Rice ($7.75) is needed as a base for all curries!

I love the way that the delicate sweetness of coconut rice pairs beautifully with spicier dishes. This rice seemed extra special with actual bits of coconut within it. It served as a great base, mingling with all of the sauciness from the other dishes. The portion sizes of everything were just right. We were able to eat it all and felt satisfied in terms of fullness. There was even room for dessert! I appreciated how well each dessert on the menu celebrates Indian sweets! The only item I found missing were jalebi (which are my favourite thing). However, the Rabri Gulab Jamun ($9.00) sounded ideal.

Fried sweetened cottage cheese dumpling, rose water, milk pudding.

The presentation was beautiful and included rose petals on the plate. The fried balls of cheese were completely saturated in rose water, one of my favourite flavours. Nicely sweet and abundantly floral, this dessert is the perfect size to satisfy your need for a little bite of sweetness at the end of your meal. The competition for Indian cuisine in Edmonton is steep. If you want to be a player in this game that gains any sort of notoriety you need to be offering food that stands out. Guru has been a consistent winner for many years now, offering a more luxurious experience than most. I would put them in the top three of best Indian restaurants in the city easily. I can't wait to visit them again when my next curry craving hits!