Sun 8 May 2005
Milon Indian Restaurant
93 1st Ave (Btwn 5th & 6th St)
New York 10003
212-228-4896
Indian Restaurant Row is on 6th street between 1st and 2nd Avenue in the East Village. But is it really Indian food? I’ve had several friends who are Indian claim these restaurants are really for the tourists and the food tastes nothing like Indian Food. Some even claim it’s more like Pakistani, but I’m not going there. Anyhow if you walk along the south side of 6th Street you’ll be constantly accosted by the Indian Restaurant hustlers who try to entice and basically kidnap you into trying out their food. I like going to the Indian restaurants around the corner at 1st Avenue. There’s 2 Indian restaurants next to each other and at the top of the stairs are 2 of the Indian restaurant hustlers trying to sell you on why their restaurant is better. It’s a rivalry between the restaurants that is most likely fake ( I think they share the same kitchen in the back – 
). I’ve been to the one on the right and the one on the left and they taste the same. It’s a great tactic because once you try one (and taste the medium quality food), it immediately begs the question if the other restaurant on the other side would have been a better choice. Kind of like the Matrix – should have had the blue pill or the red pill?
Speaking of pills or whatever your choice of drugs, the main attraction I think of these Indian restaurants in this area is the visually stimulating decor. All of these Indian restaurants are decorated with miles and miles of blinking Christmas tree lights strewn throughout the interiors of the restaurants. With the 7 ft ceilings, you basically have to crawl your way into these Indian restaurants. I’m just waiting for the first restaurateur to break out the fog machines, lasers, and light sticks.
We ordered various dishes including Chala Masala, Green Curry, Nan Bread, etc. None of them were spectacular. The Samosas were pretty good though.
If you really want to enjoy true Indian Food and can’t fly out to London or India, there are some decent Indian restaurants on Lexington at 28th Street, as well as in Jackson Heights Queens and of course over across the river in New Jersey. I personally like going to the hole-in-the-wall places that the cab drivers go to. I’ll have to do a review on those someday. In the meantime I got to go buy some Imodium AD.
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i have been to milon on a couple of occassions whilst in new york and have experienced the most memorable times there, stop being so negative about these places, what do you expect for the price you pay, it’s not like it’s fine dining, the atmosphere is fabulous……………go more upmarket and stop whingeing.
You go to the cheapest places and you’ll get what you pay for. I live on 6th St on that block so I’ve tried most of the eateries. The buffets at Mitali and Brick Lane are excellent. They each have their fine points, I find service much better at Mitali (Brick Lane service is almost nonexistent for the buffet). I’m friendly with the folks at Calcutta and have never had a bad meal except for the grilled mixed meats. Ghandi has the most amazing samosas and great prices. While this isn’t London BrickLane where the barkers outright lie to you about what you’ll get, if you order a 12 course $6 meal, you’re gonna get a $6 meal. I’ve never been there but my friend with expensive tastes says the eatery on the corner of 6th and 1st Ave is very tasty, like the Brick Lane, its a little expensive for my wallet, esp with Ghandi across the street!
I haven’t tried this place before; but I’ve been to utsav, right near broadway and Times Square, and we loved it! I’ve also reviewed it on my blog under restaurants:)
i am a loyal customer of Milon, for almost 10 yrs now. they know me when i walk in, every time. i have taken a minimum of 10 friends (even a cple of dates)there over the yrs and EVERYONE loves it. i actually had my best taste of Indian food at a place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, but this place is the next best. i too have been to a few of the others on “the row”, but by far, Milon has the best tasting. i’ve always pondered if the place next door had the same kitchen in the back. lol… at any rate, it is a tasty, inexpensive, yet fun b-day gift to a friend.
I agree with the reviewer, go to Jackson Heights, for the same money or cheaper you get food which is 100 times better in quality and taste. It was cramped, the food was just bland and no naan, are you kidding me with the pita bread? This place was just disappointing, if it wasn’t for my friends i would have walked out