Nirvana The Flavors of India

I tried their food at a wedding they catered over the summer. The food at the wedding was sooooo good, I had to check out the restaurant.

I was impressed by the decor. They've got this rich decor with beautiful looking regal paintings. The bar was was very inviting. They have these great LCD tvs and a full assortment of Wines, beer and Liqour.

I ended up trying the mango martini which was fabuolous.

We were a group of 5 and got seated in the central dining area under this exquisite chandelier.

Nirvana has a wide variety of menu items from traditional Indian cuisine to Hakka Chinese inspired dishes.

We ordered a variety of food from the tandoor. The fish was particularly succulent and so were the noorani sheekh kebabs. The morsels of meat just melted in your mouth. Im salivating just thinking about it.

The main courses were just as wonderful. I tried the hariali shrimps, which were an excellent serving size. Its difficult to serve cooked shrimp, but Nirvana's talented chefs get it just right. The Achari chicken, karahi gosht were just as incredible. I highly recommend the rogan josh.

A great night was capped by a fabulous dessert selection. Mind you, I think they are revamping their menu, because they offered some pastries for dessert that werent on the menu. My wife fell in love!

Ladies and genetlemen, I have found dining heaven and its called Nirvana. Im going to try and get my company to have a party there in the Nirvana private room!

Memorable. Magical. Delicious. These words come to mind when I was dining at Nirvana this week. I was brought by a client who raves about the food. I simply fell in love with the warm ambience of the decor and service.
Their chicken briyani comes to your table in a simmering pot with a partially cooked roti covering. The server unveils the sumptuous rice underneath by cutting the roti and pulling it back. Nirvana definitely has a flare for avant garde cuisine!

The bartender was great and suggested their unique Nirvana martini which absolutely complemented their flavorful cuisine.

The chefs creating magic behind the glass tandoor is a great focal point for discussion while waiting for the entrees.

Ive saved the best for last. The dessert is to die for! They have the most delectable pastries as well as freshly made gulab jamun. It was sinfully good!!

NIrvana was an incredible dining experience. I cant wait to bring my friends here next time when I crave authentic Indian food.

Substandard, Substandard, Substandard...

After several years of frequenting this establishment, I thought it would be a safe bet to take my Wife to yesterday. It was not. I can certainly say that things have changed at Nirvana. Our experience was marred right from the start. The restaurant was about 25% occupied and the host / seater gave us a terrible table on the mezzanine. When I indicated that it was not suitable, he did not care. When I pointed out that there were many better tables available he actually got angry at me and told me the wait for another table would be 15 minutes, and we would have to go wait at the bar. Now, we are talking about a restaurant which was not even close to being half full? In any case we were seated and ordered our meals. The server was pleasant but not highly professional in any sense. Our food was served in a reasonable time frame. However, the food was terrible. It was terrible in every sense of the word and really a pathetic excuse to be served as "Indian" food".

The naan bread was thin, over cooked and had no butter. It lacked texture and flavour. One could easily get better packaged naan from the local grocery store and warm it in a toaster oven at home with better results. When I asked our server about the naan and why it was so thin and different, he merely stated it was how they made it. He did not offer to bring us another order or even so much as inspect the naan on our table to see if there was any merit to the point I was making. And for the record, I had been there many times in the past and had great naan.

The appetizer was a fried potato cake. It was great. Perfectly crisped and fried lightly. It was the only satisfactory part of our meal which reminded me of how Nirvana, "used to be", some time ago.

The main course items were bland and lacked any decent flavour, or too spicy and oily. The shahi paneer was an absolute waste of table space. It had no flavour whatsoever, very bad texture and old paneer chunks were used. They were rubber-like. I have had shahi paneer out of a Pataks can which was far superior.

The mixed vegetables were too spicy, too oily and undercooked. The vegetables were not even cut properly and we found big chunks of cauliflower which were near impossible to eat.

The daal (lentil based) dish was edible but not worthy of what Nirvana projects (or had projected) itself to be. Bland, overcooked and too chunky.

The condiments were the only palatable elements on our table (besides the appetizer). The chutneys and yogurt raita were about as good as any average Gerrard food court, or, "line up and order", styrofoam plates and plastic forks / knives Indian food establishment.

Dessert. Bad. Bad. Did I mention bad? The gulab jaman was hard in the center, soft on the outside. Just the opposite of what it is supposed to be. The syrup was watery and oily. Even it lacked taste.

Drinks. Watered down diet pop, from a fountain which was not mixed properly. Come on people. This was not supposed to be a cheap Indian restaurant experience. To add insult to injury, the bathrooms did not have the paper towels refilled (at a peak business hour for restaurants), making the experience that much more uncomfortable.

In a nutshell, do not go to Nirvana for anything. It is not what it used to be. I had had family events, corporate events and dined many a client there in the past with above average experiences each time. The reason for me writing this review is that the last three visits I have made there were very similar. Each time I had hoped that the previous was and anomaly and that normalcy would return. Well I can assure you that the bar has been vastly lowered at this establishment. It no longer stands above the crowd as it used to. If anything, it shamefully lives off the past accolades it had once received. There are much better South Asian restaurants in the vicinity and GTA. It is not worth the drive, the wait, the poor service, the extremely bad food and the dated and tired looking decor.

I can only wonder what will replace the space when the "for lease" signs go up?

I usually visit about 5 times or more per year. I love the food. However, for such a highly rated restaurant with such good food, the service is horible. However as Indian restaurants go, horible service is the norm. I have been only for diner service. If you arrive before 7pm you should not need a reservation.

Great service and food. The maitre'd is more than happy to accomodate requests. This food is the most authentic indian cuisine I have had since travelling to India. This has got to be the finest indian restaurant in the GTA. I love the warm decor and comfortable chairs and the cozy fireplace by the private dining room. Highly recommend visiting this fine establishment.

Best Indian resturant in Mississauga and around. We visit regularly and the food is excellent. Our guest like the food and prefers to go during each visit.

Surprisingly very nice and hospitable staff which is a rarity. The service was good despite the restaurant being a bit busy. It's a nice looking dining room and the presentation of the meal as it is served is nice.

The food could have been a bit spicier to suit my taste but every dish tasted good.

I am always impressed by the consistency of excellence at this restaurant. Great service and fresh ingredients make this my favorite indian restaurant in the GTA. The limited Hakka cuisine is excellent as well, highly recommended.

Read some great reviews on this restaurant and decided to try it out. Great tasting food. Superb service. Loved the decor. Highly recommended!

I have been here several times and nirvana always gives great food and service. A must visit for all out of towners craving good indian food.