Anarkali Indian Restaurant

A couple of weeks ago I met a friend for lunch at Anarkali Indian Restaurant. There was plenty of 1-2 hour parking at meters and on the side streets during the day. It looked like after 6 or so it started to be permit parking in the area and meters would be a little tough to come by. Located on Melrose, just east of the trendy part, this restaurant didn't have too much lunch time traffic.

When I arrived, the only table that was occupied was by my friend. The restaurant is large with booths lining either side as well as tables down the middle. On the table was a crispy cracker with 3 types of sauces. It was a nice appetizer that didn't leave me feeling too full. As time passed, more people started arriving at the restaurant and there seemed to be a crowd for take out. This was a good sign, because I was starting to feel bad for the owner who was presumably also our waiter.

We ordered the Businessman's lunch for two. It came with more than enough food to feed us both, and it came relatively quickly. We started our meal out with the included bowl of vegetable soup. The soup tasted like any other vegetable soup but still warmed me up. Then the rest of the dishes came. There was tandoori chicken on a still sizzling cast iron skillet, vegetable curry, naan and lamb biryani. I had never had the lamb dish but enjoyed it immensely, it was mixed with rice and spices and was very satisfying.

All the food was delicious and the service was friendly. The meal was also insanely cheap. When we saw the menu we expected the $15 to be for each person--but it was actually the total price. Our lunch for two (that fed me another day) came to a total of less than $20. For Hollywood, this was quite a surprise! I think I will be going back there soon.





Analkari Indian Restaurant
7013 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Map