Indianoceanmd

Our friend invited us to join her in the soft opening of this new Indian restaurant in Hunt Valley. We are so glad that she did. Have you ever known as you walked into a new restaurant to you that you were really going to like it. This is what happened to us. First of all, we were warmly greeted by Ali, who upon hearing my name knew that we asked for a quiet table. He showed us to a booth. Unfortunately, not knowing the layout of the restaurant, I should have told them when making the reservation that we do not like booths. Ali immediately switched us to a table. And, we were pleasantly surprised that despite the fact that most tables were occupied, it was quiet enough for us to freely carry on our conversations.
The decor and colors in the restaurant have everything to do with the ocean - creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere in which to dine. Don't miss the back wall – a huge video display featuring ocean scenes. They have booths and tables.
What was nice to see was the restaurant was almost full with couples, families, and friends dining together. A super plus for us is BYOB with no corkage fee! Ali immediately brought over water and wine glasses. He started us off with Papadum (light crispy Indian wafers) and two dipping sauces.
The menu is quite extensive offering Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Indochinese, Mugal Biryanis, Indian Breads, Specialties of the House, Lamb Delicacies, Goat Curry, Tandoori Clay Oven Specialties, Chicken Specialists, Vegetarian Delight, Vegan Delights, Accompaniments, and Tempting Desserts.
We started off with Peshwari Naan – a naan stuffed with raisins, cashew nuts and coconut. Our friend ordered the Lamb Saag (lamb cooked with spinach and herbs. My husband had the Lamb Tikka Masala (lamb cooked in a light creamy onion and tomato-based sauce). I decided to try something new to me and ordered the Lamb Pasanda (lamb cooked with crushed cashew nuts and almond sauce, then enriched with a fresh cream). All of our entrees were served with Basmati rice. You can tell them how you would like the entrée spiced: Mild, Hot or Indian Hot. We all went for Mild. The portions were very generous, and the lamb was really tender. They even replenished the rice as we dined. We split a Kheer (traditional homemade rice pudding topped with cinnamon powder and almonds) for dessert. Everything was made to order, fresh, and delectable.
The owner and chef, Raju, came out to welcome us and let us know that this is his third restaurant – Taj Palace in Owings Mills and Bombay Nights in Perry Hall. Indian Ocean offers a full buffet for lunch for $19.99, including seafood entrees. We can't wait to return!