Spice Sutra Restaurant & Cafe

This is not our usual review as we Dined with Baby at home rather than at the restaurant. We ordered delivery from Spice Sutra one rainy evening when all pizza deliveries etc had long waiting time, and Spice Sutra didn't disappoint in delivering within 1 hour.

Neither did it disappoint in terms of the food delivered. Since there were four of us, we ordered a whole tandoori chicken, which came out tasty and well spiced (to the grandparents' delight), though a bit dry from the grilling (to the Wife's chagrin). Rogan josh (mutton curry) was also very flavourful and tender, without any gaminess. Palak paneer (pureed spinach and cheese) was creamy and smooth but nothing outstanding about the flavour.

For staples we ordered garlic and kashmir naan (naan with dried fruit), which were again OK but not outstanding. However another staple stole the show: the zeera rice was our favourite for the night. Long-grained rice spiced with cumin, it was of the right texture (neither too soft or hard/dry) and flavour. It was a first time for us having this type of rice, and we (including Baby) liked it. Except the Wife, who LOVED it, and which redeemed the tandoori for her.

All in all a satisfying dish even if the food suffered from the effects of delayed serving due to delivery (e.g. the naan being a bit soggy). We could only imagine they would be even tastier if we dined in.

I still remember my first encounter with Spice Sutra a few years back. After reading good reviews about the restaurant on Hungrygowhere.com, my partner and I decide to check out the place. However we made a last minute U-turn at the restaurant's doorstep as there were hardly any customers. Thanks to Charlene from www.missuschewy.com asking me along for a food tasting session at Spice Sutra, I am able to judge for myself whether the reviews are truth.

Spice Sutra serves Northern Indian cuisine and it has an extensive menu of Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian starters and mains. In addition, you can also have Naan & Roti, Rice & Briyani, Kebab Roll, Soup and Dessert on their menu.

The Mix Grill Hotplate ($31.90) came with an assortment of the chef's selection of meats marinated with oriental spices and grilled. A good starter where you get to try bits of everything that the restaurant offers.

The Samosa Chaat ($5.90) is a best try. This is like an open faced version of the Samosa we usually have. It has chick peas, boiled potatoes, yogurt, ketchup, chopped onions, lime squeeze and spicy garnish. Don't be deceived by the greenish sauce, that is the highlight of this dish.

Spice Sutra offers 6 types of Naan on their menu. We had the Butter Naan ($3.50) and Garlic Naan ($3.90) served in a nice basket and sliced into smaller pieces. The Naans were fluffy and not oily.

To go with the Naan, we went for the Butter Chicken ($15.90) so that we can dip it into the gravy and scoop the tender boneless tandoori chicken.

We also ordered the Mutton Masala ($15.90) which was very good. The mutton cubes cooked in spicy gravy was very soft and tender.

The Prawn Biryani ($15.90) was the surprise for the night. The Basmati rice absorbed the aromatic flavours from the spices and retained the moisture making the rice very fragrant. Spice Sutra definitely is a place where spices and taste matters most.

After all the savoury food, we decided to try the carrot dessert on the menu. It is a warm dessert with sweeten carrot strips. The taste and texture was rather unique to me, kind of like eating fruit cake.

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4 of us went for lunch today. We have read positive reviews about this restaurant earlier and decided to go there. The place is quite far from CBD and there was no guests there at the lunchtime. Looked life as if they were waiting only for us. We ordered 2 butter Naan, 2 Roties and 1 rice to go with 1 rogan josh (if I got it right), 1 Butter Chicken , 1 dal.

Dal was good, Nan I prefer more soft and fluffy, however the lamb dish (Rogan josh) was really good. Chicken was better than the average ones I tasted at Little India (Khansama clans, Taste of India etc). 

Foodwise I cant exactly place it in the same rank of Shahi Maharani or yantra was definitely way better than your average Little Indian eating houses. 

We paid 62 dollers which explains why the meal was really more than value for money.

Cab fare back to Raffles Place was $12 - so location is really a problem for them which may explain its absolute lack of lunch guests.

North Indian food is rich in Indian spices and ingredients which gives mouth watering dishes like kebabs, naans, roots, biryanis, daals etc. Located in Thomson Imperial Court, Spice Sutra boasts a splendid variety of North Indian vegetarian and non vegetarian gourmet dishes for everyone.

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- Tandoori Chicken (Whole $21.90, Half $11.90, Quarter $7.90)

Among the most famous Indian food, Tandoori Chicken is loved by people all over the world. Tender and fresh chicken was marinated in cream and rare spices, and grilled in traditional charcoal tandoor. The red chicken is wonderful to the tongue and definitely worth a try!

- Palak Paneer (Vegetarian, $10.90)

There were too many main courses in the menu so we had a hard time ordering. The waitress then recommended Palak Paneer but said some diners may not dare to eat it. Our immediate response was,"BRING IT ON!" Fresh home-made cottage cheese were cooked in a spinach gravy. Frankly, it didn't appeal to the eye due to the colour of the dish but after trying it, I really love it. The curry is moderately spiced with Indian spices, giving it a rich and creamy texture.

- Butter Chicken ($15.90)

Boneless pieces of tandoori chicken were cooked with puree of tomatoes, cream and mild spices. This is the best dish I had here. The Butter Chicken delivered a sweet, buttery and fragrant taste with the traditional spices of coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cilantro. It goes well with naan. Oh yes, they made their own naan! Garlic naan, plain naan, butter naan, seafood naan, keema naan and kashmiri naan!

- Zeera Rice ($5.90)

Zeera Rice is an everyday rice dish in North India but it is not very common in local restaurants. The basmati steamed rice was fried with ghee and cumin seed. The rice was very light and fluffy.

Always wanted to try the food here after reading the reviews in HGW but was never in the vicinity. So I was quite happy that on Hari Raya Puasa my friend and I made a conscious decision  to head down and give Spice Sutra a try.

Reaching there at about 6.30pm, we were surprised that there was hardly anyone at the restaurant, especially considering it was a public holiday. Slightly skeptical, we sat down and was immediately handed over menus. Before we could start, our friendly waiter asked if we wanted a glass of cold or warm water, which I thought was a very nice touch. 

Down to the food, we ordered a serving each of Palak Paneer (pureed spinach with cottage cheese - $10.90), Butter Chicken ($15.90) and Rogan Josh (lamb - $15.90). To accompany the dishes we had one each of Butter Naan ($3.50), Garlic Naan ($3.90), and Romali Roti ($3.90). The food was really good but I thought that the Rogan Josh could have been spicer. My friend felt that the Naan's could have been a little crispier on the outside but I felt it was fine the way it was. 

All in all, the food was good and the waiter attending to us was excellent. One thing we felt that they really need to do something about advertising the place as it was pretty quiet for a Public Holiday evening. They also do take-aways and home delivery.

Promos for AMEX, Standard Chartered and DBS card holders (10% to 15% discount). 

Spice Sutra is surprisingly quiet despite the above average food it serves and the good service it provides. The restaurant staff were very helpful in introducing the various promotions they have as well as the dishes they have.

I particularly enjoyed the Sultana Pulau (6.90+ SGD), saffron flavored rice with sultanas in them. It was fragrant and mildly sweet. It would go very nicely with their Butter Chicken (15.90+ SGD).

The Naans (4 for 3.00-3.90+ SGD) were quite good too, together with the butter chicken. A little steep but the quality makes up for it.

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Thanks to a 30% voucher I got from HungryDeals.sg, there was a push factor for taking the trip to the Thomson Imperial Court in order to check out this long-time resident Indian eatery.

A simple setting, I started with the Mushroom Pokaras ($6.90) which was fried button mushrooms in a slightly salty batter.

I then tried the Butter Chicken ($15.90) which was wonderfully executed with the butter sauce really smooth and not having any sour after-taste.

I then tried the Prawn Chilli ($18.90). I asked for a less spicy version of the original dish and it turned out quite well-balanced. The prawns were fresh with a slight seawater flavour although it was mostly masked by the strong chilli flavouring.

I also tried the Mutton Briyani ($14.90) which was a little on the wet side but still very tasty nonetheless.

Overall, the food was above average. Service staff were pleasant, and the only mess up was that my lime juice did not arrive till my meal was almost over. Thanks to the HungryDeals.sg voucher which gave me 30% off my total bill, my dining partner and I saved $21!

Armed with some $60 off vouchers, our hungry party of 6 ordered our favorites from their every extensive menu. 

1) Mixed Grill Set - served sizzling hot in a hot plate. All the meat were tender, well marinated and grilled. A good start to our meal. 

2) Butter Chicken - very nice dish but us scrapping the last bit of gravy 

3) 6 other assorted dishes of fish, prawn, mutton, chicken and Vege - all good tasting with their distinct flavour from the different spices! 

I must say the Spinach with Cheese dish was not that good. So skip that. 

It's a good enough makan place for north indian cuisine but I may not return as I don't stay in this area. From where I live, I personally find that Haveli (see my review on Haveli) serve just as good food, if not better.

this has to be my favourite restaurant in sg. where else can you get a buffet for only 12bucks? the food is great. absolutely.

the ambience is peaceful. perfect for a romantic night out. or just to talk really.

the food is delicious. try the chinese vegetarian fried rice. nutritional as well.

i ordered an apple juice and it was good.

i think this place is really simple but the ambience, food, service and value will keep you coming back for more!

23 reviews (before this one of mine) have put this place at 91% reccomendation hence it cant be a bad one. ...but sadly it still remains a hidden find... more for its location and lack of publicity by the owners.

have arranged 2 bday parties (for my daughter) and 1 diwali party thru them so obviously am a fan. on an average we make two visits a month to this place. but lately they started an Indian Chinese buffet on weekends and for Indians this should be BIGGGGG news.

Indian Chinese is a strange mix between Indian & Chinese food (originates from Burma-Nepal and North east India)... but its massively popular in India and amongst Indians. Knowing India is a 1.3billion population and spread across the world, safe to say Indian Chinese would be amongst the most eaten cuisines of the world.

In my two visits to the buffet, strangely i never spotted an Indian here but only locals who enjoyed the buffet (and who may have written reviews at HGW).

wish they keep changing the menu and keep the buffet every weekends at the steal price of 12sgd... much worse buffets at 15-20sgd are available all across singapore.

had this been located at Little india, we would have seen queues outside. sincere reccomendation to management to advertise the buffet more in tv channels, TODAY and TABLA.

my reviews of the buffet menu

tomato soup - B (means standard)

crispy chilli garlic potato - A+ (means outstanding)

dragon chicken with cashewnuts - A+

Sweet and sour veg - A

Pan Fried Noodles - A

Chinese fried rice - A

Jeera Rice & Dal (Indian dishes added just to mix it up) - A

Gobi Manchurian - A

Crispy Fried vegetable - B

Chilli fish - A

Gajar Ka halwa - A+