Mehak Cuisine

★★★★| Indian | Collegetown | $20-30

Written By: Retna Arun

Edited By: Christina Tong

Photos By: Haruna Floate

Mehak Cuisine has become an established hit among students for its affordable and delicious Indian food, once popular for its lunch buffet and now hailed as a go-to takeout spot. Here, Crème de Cornell checks out Mehak and evaluates its atmosphere, service, food, and value.

Atmosphere (7/10)

In the center of Collegetown is Mehak. Enter, and you will find an immediately warm and homey restaurant colored with muted pinks and reds. Artificial bouquets of magenta roses, white carnations, and lavenders adorn the door and walls. A kind waitress sits behind the counter in front of tall stacks of plates. Candy red lamps shaped like gourds dangle above each table. Some tables offer a bright open window view down onto Eddy Street. In the corner, a massive golden landscape mural arches over the wall and onto the ceiling. 

Despite the inviting decorations, we found it noticeably quiet inside. There was no music, just sparse background chatter from the kitchen, an over-the-phone order, and the running sink. It was also largely empty of other diners while we were there for Sunday lunch, except for the occasional student that would pass through to grab takeout. 

Service (N/A)

Mehak currently has an unusual dine-in situation due to the pandemic. We ordered at the counter and were seated at a table with reusable ceramic plates and disposable packs of utensils. The food came very quickly, packaged takeout-style and tied in a plastic bag. After we ate, we put the plates in a bin and discarded the containers.

Food (8/10)

For appetizers, we ordered the Vegetarian Combination Platter ($9.99), which came with one samosa, one aloo tikki, two paneer pakoras, two vegetable pakoras, and two chutneys. Per the server’s recommendation, we ordered Shahi Butter Chicken ($15.99) and Garlic Nan ($4.49). We got a Masala Chai ($3.79) to drink and a Mango Kulfi ($4.49) for dessert.

The Vegetarian Combination Platter was a mixed bag of sorts. The samosa—a fried triangular pastry filled with spiced and mashed potatoes—was excellent. It reminded me of the homemade ones sold at my local Patel Brothers Indian grocery store (but even better). The Mehak samosa was stuffed with a fluffy yellow potato filling speckled with crushed seeds and spices, so soft it practically melted in the mouth and spiced to be flavorful but not overpowering. The fried samosa crust was so crisp it cracked audibly when cut. The aloo tikki—a breaded potato patty— shared the same tasty spicy filling as the samosa. Unfortunately, the paneer pakora, which had two paneer cubes fried in chickpea batter, was not as soft inside and tasted almost like a tough mozzarella stick. The vegetable pakora came as an irregularly-shaped fritter filled with shredded vegetables in chickpea batter. It had a well-seasoned filling, although the exterior was less crispy than I hoped. These came with a mint chutney, which gave a herbal freshness to the fried starters, and a tamarind chutney, which was a little diluted and watery but still retained the classic sweet and tangy flavor. When I return, I would probably just order the samosas. 

The butter chicken tasted as one might expect—a creamy tomato sauce with hunks of tender chicken, which was mildly sweet, mildly spicy, and wholly hearty. The chicken-to-sauce ratio was ideal and the dish was piping hot with wisps of steam lifting from the curry. This is a dish one would crave, and I definitely see why it is one of their most popular.

The curry was great mixed in basmati rice, but was made even better by dipping the garlic naan into it. The naan came wrapped in a foil and was so wonderfully hot in the hands. It was soft and easy to bite, and the garlicky butter topping rounded the curry so perfectly. 

Opening the lid of the cup of chai revealed the tea’s lovely even bronze color; however, it tasted surprisingly plain and mostly like milk.

We finished our lunch with the pale yellow mango kulfi, which came in a portion of about four spoonfuls. Although the texture was not entirely uniform – icy in some places, while creamy and frothy in others – it was well-flavored with stray bits of cardamom and left a pleasantly sweet last note to our meal. 

Value (10/10)

Mehak has excellent value! It is reasonably priced and the dishes are filling. Especially with their 3.5% discount for paying with cash, the meal felt relatively inexpensive.

Total (25/30)

If you are searching for an affordable, nearby, reliable, and quick meal to satisfy your Indian food cravings, visit Mehak!