Indica Indian Bistro

I had lunch today at the brand new Indica Indian Bistro in North Oakland. It's on Craig Street, two blocks NORTH of Forbes.

This is a terrific new place, for a lot of reasons. One, the food is very, very good, and it's fresh. Two, it's a local business, with partners who renovated (beautifully renovated) an old house in a neighborhood that is in dire need of this kind of investment. Three, it's a middle-tier restaurant: The style is very nice and professional, but not high-end. The pricing is moderate--not beyond a student's price range, but not so cheap that it turns off local professionals. The restaurant is nice enough that it's easy to imagine hosting a private party there, but casual enough that a small group of colleagues from an office down the block might walk down to grab the lunch buffet.

In short, this is exactly the kind of restaurant that Pittsburgh needs more of, not only in Oakland, but downtown, in other neighborhoods, and in the suburbs. To those who think that we already have enough Indian restaurants, I say: We can never have too many Indian restaurants. If we have a few extra, then may the good food and service drive out the bad. Go, eat!