Ensconced away in an underground bunker on Fort St, Cassia is moody, noisy and nearly always full. Under an array of dangling light bulbs, diners dig into considered food with a clear point-of-view. It’s best, then, to leave the decision-making up to the team via the Cassia Journey menu, where signature dishes arrive at the table and all you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy (though do make sure to ask if they will be including the roasted carrot, which, with vindaloo cream, macadamia and coconut, is possibly the best carrot dish in any restaurant in Auckland).
Cassia is the most accessible of Sid and Chand Sahrawat’s restaurants and when it opened in 2014, it was one of the only, if not the only, restaurant in Auckland to serve modern Indian cuisine. Although the options are now more plentiful, what Cassia did to alter the culinary landscape can’t be underestimated. Spices and flavours are never dumbed down (in most cases it’s the opposite); curries are complex and layered; dishes are original, with familiar notes twisted into something inventive.
It’s also, happily, just great fun to dine there. With everything ideal for plonking in the middle of a big group among bowls of rice and stacks of naan, it’s a wonderful place for a birthday or special occasion, with a private room to boot.