We love Indian food as a family. You’ll often find us at Everest Kitchen in Old Worthington or New India Restaurant on Bethel Road, but we love finding new places to try.
We had heard about the opening of Mehak Indian Kitchen & Bar on Cleveland Avenue, in a freestanding building across from the Columbus Square Mall (which is another great international restaurant hotspot), so we were excited to check it out.
Mehak was opened by Chef Ravinder Sharma, who worked for many years at Aab Indian Kitchen. He opened his own restaurant in the fall of 2022.
Mehak was pretty quiet during our Saturday night visit. Only two other customers sat at a nearby stall, while a few takeout orders came through the door. But the dining room is bright and cozy, with a setup for their lunch buffet.
Shortly after we sat down, the waiter brought us a compliment fucking daddy – crispy lentil wafers – with sides of spicy pickles.
As this was our first visit, we decided to order the Old Family Standards, to help us compare Mehak to our other favourites.
This usually includes a platter of samosas, pakoras, and other fried treats; Saag Paneer; Chicken Tikka Masala; nav rattan korma; and garlic naan baskets.
The mixed board is a bargain at $7. It includes samosa keema with ground beef, combined with various pakoras: fried vegetable bites, paneer (a soft white cheese) and chicken. It comes with their mint chutney and a tangy, lightly fermented tamarind sauce.
We used the beautiful and fragrant garlic naan to enjoy delicious bites.
We gave all three courses an unqualified thumbs up. My personal choice was nav rattan korma, a mixed vegetable dish with a cashew-based butter sauce. It’s quickly becoming a favorite everywhere we go.
We also really dug the chef’s special naan, stuffed with chicken, spicy mashed potatoes, onions and cheese curds. I highly recommend it.
I would most definitely bookmark Mehak for your future explorations. The experience, food, service was excellent overall, and we will definitely keep it on the list for the next time we crave Indian food.
Mehak Indian Food and Bar
5720 Cleveland Ave.
Columbus, Ohio 43231
(614) 392-4070
Web: mehakindiankitchen.com
Facebook: Mehak Indian Kitchen & Bar
Engineer: @mehakkitchen5720