Two new Indian restaurants both opened in Center City over the past few months. One is a reincarnation of a popular budget restaurant and the other is a high-end spot where dinner for two can easily top $60. Palace At The Ben and New Samosa both fulfill very specific niches in Philly dining and we like it that way. New Samosa is an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet opened by new owners in the Walnut Street space that formerly belonged to the beloved Samosa. The food is different though—the buffet now steers towards South Indian cuisine (dosas, iddlis) with the occasional oddball Caribbean or East Asian dish thrown in. But they still have the usual samosas and saag paneers and are just as popular with office workers on a budget, students and the Jefferson Hospital lunch crowd. Palace at the Ben, on the other hand, is a branch of a New Jersey Indian restaurant that sells a less-greasy, higher priced take on Indian food. The menu sticks to classic Indian-American cuisine—no Indo-Chinese, nouveau curries or tandoor tofu is to be found—but the dishes are lighter and more delicately spiced than at most of Philly’s Indian restaurants. Not to mention they offer lunch thalis and South Indian food at brunch as well.
Palace At The Ben [MenuPages]
New Samosa [MenuPages]
New Samosa [Official Site]
[Image via Michael T. Regan / CityPaper]
