Matt & Meera is like no other Indian restaurant I’ve frequented. Forget about the typical piquant Indian food, this place is beyond basic spices.  In fact, this Indian restaurant serves up a unique flare, offering Singapore noodles and Indian pizza. Their chef even has his own cookbooks; one of them, advertised inside, is entitled Easy Indian Cooking. The chef, Hari Nayak, lived in India but left to go to the Culinary Institute of America.

As soon as I walked into the restaurant, I knew I was in for a scrumptious treat – the décor is inviting and tasteful which added to the appeal of the restaurant.  When my appetizer arrived, I took a bite of the Vietnamese spring roll. The flavor of different vegetables, tofu, carrots, and mint strummed a wonderful tune in my mouth.  I took a handful of crunchy masala chips and dipped each one into a different sauce: green chili and tomato mustard chutney. Finally, the last appetizer of my evening was garlic tandoori bread. With each bite I could taste the strum of garlic.

I stared at the main course, Fish Tikka (salmon); the flanks of the plate looked like Appalachian hills covered in lush mango salad and a snow-capped hill of rice. My fork jabbed into the fresh pink salmon and I placed it in my mouth. The well-spiced salmon, tender as could be, fell apart into my mouth. After I was finished with the salmon, I scooped up the mango salad. The mango salad, a mix of lettuce and onion, was the perfect mix. Other options for the main dish included Mint paneer tikka. This dish is a wild cheese covered in full-flavored mint and green chili sauce.  It too has a side of mango salad and rice.

For dessert I had pistachio-chocolate crunch. The pistachio ice cream with chocolate syrup on top and chunks of nuts melted in my mouth. I later had some caramel kulfi mousse, to sample a different flavor. A bite of the mousse proved it was as light and heavenly as it looked.

Catch the nearest train and get down to Hoboken because you don’t want to miss this.  The prices are friendly towards students, the food is spectacular, and the service is good. What are you waiting for?

Matt & Meera – 618 Washington Street – Hoboken, NJ 07030