crown of india - florence, italy

Rating:  8 / 10

I don't know about you, but I cannot last a month without eating Indian food. Sure, the food in Italy is some of the best you'll find anywhere on earth, but the flavours are all generally stemming from one pool of herbs and seasonings, and it was high time for some ghee, coriander, chilli and cumin. 

I'll be the first to admit, we went overboard. Having had such a shockingly bad version of Indian food in Napoli, the temptation to not order the entire menu at Crown of India proved too large......

As with most food, Indian is best done in a group so you can try lots of different dishes and find your favourite. At Crown of India for starters we ordered Poppadums, Pani Puri and Masala Pappad. For main course, to share, we went for the Chana Masala, Dal Tarka, Aloo Gobi, Eggplant Masala and a Chicken Tikka for us meat eaters.

Every single dish was prepared with balance and care (except the Masala Papad which was earth-shatteringly salty). This was most definitely not one of those "mother sauce" places where one gravy is heated up and random meat/vegetable thrown in. The eggplant was a standout dish, almost taking on a smoky baba ghanoush taste. Every vegetarian dish held up to immense scrutiny, the Tikka was succulent and nicely spiced and our waiter was knowledgable and friendly but didn't hover around the table like an irritating mosquito. 

I know there won't be many non-Indian visitors to Florence who would consider trying this place, since they will be stuffing their faces with pasta, beef and gelato, however, if you happen to have a couple of days to spare, I would implore you to try this restaurant as they are serving up the real deal.

This just goes to show, no matter where you are in the world, you can find amazing Indian food if you look for it. 

These recommendations are just personal opinions based on my palate, things change, chefs get fired or replaced, places open-close, relocate, so take it all with a pinch of MSG  and discover your own gems too. But please do try a few of these, they have been researched exhaustively