Right here has August 1 Five, a cozy new dinner destination for tandoor-fired lamb chops and feeling like you’re a world away, now open on Van Ness. Take a look around.
The moment you enter this temple of modern Indian delights, you’re met with aromas of cumin and chili wafting from the kitchen, royal-blue walls and towering peacocks standing as sentinels. A large black-and-white photo of a bejeweled gentleman observes the proceedings. Continue.
If you’ve arrived early for a drink and a bite before the symphony, great plan. But an even greater plan is to reserve one of those plush turquoise booths that are enclosed on the top, and really make a night of it with someone who’s good company.
Settle in with a rose-petal-topped gin and tonic and this menu. The choices are many, and they’re difficult. But anything worth doing is worth doing with goat-cheese-laced lentil arancini and lobster with curry leaves and coconut milk. Then again, that filet mignon with cloves and cinnamon deserves your attention. Oh, almost forgot about those tandoori lamb chops. Get those, too.
