Restaurant La Nouvelle Lune Indienne

An A-​OK, but graded on the 514 Indian food bell curve of mediocrity.
I can say that LNLI is dependable: the Naan is always warm and moist, the starters all solid for the most part, and there’s some gems among the curries (to my taste the mushroom and eggplant Bhaji, as well as any variety of the Korma).
But for what’s supposed to be authentic and unpretentious cuisine, it is disappointing that a. it’s hard to keep a meal for two under $ 50 before alcohol (it is BYOB), b. I’m pretty sure the dressing on small salad accompanying the various starters is straight Kraft Italian, and c. the décor can project some absurd combination of posh homey which you never feel 100% at ease in.

The food and atmosphere leave a lot to be desired. While the staff are prompt and polite, the chicken tasted like leftovers, and the spicing was all wrong. The papadams tasted of old fryer grease. The atmosphere reminds me of an old SAAQ waiting room…

WOW. The food here was INTENSELY good. The chicken curry had literally 5 or 6 flavors that I could taste distinctly. Somehow the chef managed to make a curry that didn’t just mask everything else… the cumin, lime, coriander were all popping out, so delicious. The cauliflower dish (can’t remember the name) seemed to have been sauteed lightly, then steamed to perfection — I’ve never had a vegetable so well-​cooked, tender but not wilting.
My husband enjoyed the butter chicken, whose sauce was not too oily, and again had distinct notes of coriander… yum.
Service was slow and our table smelled strongly of cigarettes; indoor seating was not offered to us, maybe because of the large party seated in there, athough there were open tables. I“d go back just for the food, though.

La Nouvelle lune Indienne seemed to be pretty a-​ok all around. The ambiance is pretty chill, dimly-​lit, and worked well for a casual dinner. The service was in turn epically slow and then surprisingly fast: I think it tool some 45 minutes for the waiter to muster the courage to approach our large group, but once things were ordered, dishes found their way to our table in no time!
The butter chicken received rave reviews, but half the group was heartbroken that they had neither eggplant or fish that night. I ordered the vegetarian combo (Thali) which included, well, everything really. My entrée was a single papadom with sauces, followed by a huge tray with four mini meals. I remember a zucchini thing that was delicious. The chickpeas were fairly spicy and super filling. I also had a small tower of nan bread at my disposal. Oh and a dessert (a sweet purée ball, delicious!). This was an enormous amount of food, even for me. And all for $ 23, brilliant!
Also of note, their full page of nan-​bread selection.
I’m not the best critic of Indian food, but a Pakistani friend approved whole-​heartedly of his shrimp dish, so there you have it!

Excellent food (best palak paneer I’ve had in a while!) very tasty, not too sweet but not too spicy. My only disappointment is the cheese naan who is not actually topped with paneer but rater with mozzarella & cheddar, two things you don’t expect to see in an Indian restaurant. Otherwise the service was good and quick and the atmosphere/​decoration is stunning!!! Great place, I’ll come back !

I guess I shouldn’t have expected much from a place that sounds like a Bollywood «Twilight» sequel (New Moon of India.) Turns out it was, predictably, just as bland and unremarkable as its film namesake.
First off, they delivered a flyer around the neighbourhood that said all orders were 10% off AND tax (15%) included for pick-​up order. Upon inquiry, the latter was «no longer valid». If there’s a printing mistake, a restaurant should honour the better of the two discounts, at least.
Second, they’re one of «those places» that take credit cards, but not debit. I can’t stand that.
Last, and least, was the food. We ordered the Afghan Special, which we learned included the following:
2 broken papadam
2 food court quality samosas
1 barely passable chicken korma (for which they receive their first star)
1 lamb bhoona that was so different from its picture (ie: it had nearly no meat OR vegetables in it) that even McDonald’s would accuse them of false advertising.
1 order of the driest basmati rice I’ve ever had.
1 random KFC-​style iceberg lettuce salad
2 larger-​than-​average Naan (for which they are getting their only other star)
Overall, this ended up being arguably the least impressive India food I have had in Montréal (incl at take-​out only places, which this is not.) The folks working there seem friendly enough, but their joy is not derived from a pride in their cooking.
My advice to the owners: When you’re not a super busy place, and a new client responds to your advertising, you need to do your best to woo their business, long-​term. Your specials/​combinations should be representative of the very best you have to offer, so that someone who order on impulse will plan to come back for a more involved meal. Unfortunately, we never will.
There was only one couple eating there on a Sunday night, so perhaps the rest of the neighbourhood knows what I just learned… to avoid «New Moon» of India, as you would avoid the next Twilight movie… unless, of course, you’re a big Twilight fan… in which case, with your taste, you’ll probably love this restaurant.

Came here on a Saturday evening with a friend and we were promptly seated and served in no time. We ordered a dinner for 2, when one does this, one has to be aware that there are NOT too many choices to be made, for $ 31.95. The appetiser was composed of poppadoms and spiced marinated carrots, this all came with a very tasty yogurt sauce. Then came the main dishes: chicken Korma and lamb in tomato curry sauce, with rice and naan bread. The chicken came in a little bowl, as did the lamb. I thought this certainly would not be enough for 2 people! The chicken and lamb, however small the portions, turned out to be both piping hot, tasty and delicious. The naan was piping hot as well, and slathered in ghee, reminded me of what the famous chef VJ said about Indian food «It IS fattening». What really impressed me about the lamb dish, was that it was neither fatty nor grisly, as I’ve found lamb dishes usually are. The rice was hot and fluffy, all in all, the meal turned out to be enough for us both. We ended the meal with spiced tea, which is included, but I found to be rather disappointing. The place itself is not very large, quite dark, if seated away from the raised platform– dining area at the window, but quiet, with various paintings all over the walls representing famous Indian stories and legends.

I must disagree with the previous review. I went there once and not going back. I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal but it’s pretty disapointing to be served in English when your first language is French. That being said, that’s not the reason why I disagree. If you’re going to eat lot of stuff, what I always find confusing in Canadian Indian restaurant is somehow the will to blend in Canadian culture and offer a product that is the most true to their «food culture» as possible.
Last time I went it was pretty expensive compare to what I’ve paid somewhere else. Every plate will cost around 8 $, plus a glass of a bottle orange juice is like 2.50 $. It cost me something like 50 $ with tip included and a longggg time waiting. It was just opened and nothing was ready. Pretty disapointing and not really professional (when you know you’re business open at 5PM, please prep everything before so you can serve quickly.) Maybe I have a large appetite but i still think it’s a bit expensive for indian food.

Great place for a cheap lunch if you’re around.
For 8 $ (CAN, which isn’t that great of a deal for our Unitedstaders anymore…) you have a lentil soup, a nan bread or rice, a meal, and a coffee or tea.
They used to also offer a glass of wine and a dessert… but they probably realized that is was not profitable. Glad they didn’t know for all these years…
Oh, and BTW, it’s La NOUVELLE lune indienne now.