Ashoka, St. Pauli, Hamburg

Considering the rave reviews, we must of either gone there on an off night, or chose the wrong dishes (Chana Masala & Jalfrezi) as we found it pretty average. We were really looking forward to it based on the excellant reviews and ended up a bit disappointed to say the least. The service was very good and friendly, and the restaurant is nicely done out and has a pleasant ambience.

Pretty much as Phil said. Ashoka is located over the road from the Millerntor Stadium. The curry was great - quite hot - just hot enough. The poppadoms were good, but could have done with some mango chutney (actually available for another €1.50). The supplied sauces were ok though.

We even went overboard and got a naan - it totally wasn’t needed though….

Ah, at last. Thankyou Qypers for finding me a decent Indian restaurant in Germany. The impossible dream, is realised.

SO - expectations were high. Ashoka is rated as THE BEST Indian in Hamburg, and it lived up to the hype. Unfortunately (or conveniently) located on Budapesterstr, you can still hear the traffic if you sit outside. However, the walled garden out front is very pleasant, so you don’t feel exactly like you’re sat on a main road.

On to business. A fairly standard menu with all my faves, we opted for 2 beers, a mango lassi, poppadums to start, followed by lamb rogan josh and chicken jalfrazi. I actually feel hungry writing that. To be brief, I asked for it hot, and it came hot! It was also delicious, really really nice.

It’s €20 per person with the trimmings (which are all chargable), but when you’re eating curry this nice, it’s not such a high price to pay. Excellent service too - highly recommended.

Along with Zala (there are four of them scattered throughout Hamburg), Ashoka is probably the best Indian to be found in the city.

We’ve eaten there only once, but the meals -- Chicken Makhan (#27), Lamb Moghulai (#35), and Dhal Tarka (#18) -- and appetizers were tasty and the portions more than sufficient. The Chicken Makhan could have been a bit more flavorful, as it lacked some of the tang that we’ve enjoyed elsewhere, and we did have a problem with stones (yes, tiny pebbles) in the vegetarian Dhal Tarka, but the owner was quick to accept responsibility and offer us free mango lassis by way of an apology. The lassis were some of the best we’ve ever tasted; I think we’d stop in just to enjoy them on a hot summer day.

Stones in our meals aside, we came away from the restaurant already planning our next visit. That should be some indication of the quality of food.

I do wish that Ashoka had a more up-to-date online presence like Zala, which still rates as my personal favorite for Indian food in Hamburg. Take-out meals are difficult to plan when, lacking any printed take-away menu or properly maintained online version, you have to photograph the menu on the outside billboard using your cameraphone. But it bears repeating: when the food is this good, you’re willing to tolerate a few minor inconveniences.