BY VEENA RAO

SThe Viceroy is an apt name for this restaurant. The royal touch is evident in the elegant, fully renovated black and white interior, in the eager to please service, and more so, in the fantastic array of quality food. 

Run by ex-Indian army captain Jay Dhir and his wife Poonam, Viceroy is the newest addition to the growing list of Indian restaurants in the Atlanta area. Located in the busy Wal-Mart center off Ashford Dunwoody Road, Viceroy is full of patrons on a weekday afternoon.

“It is all word of mouth publicity, “says Dhir. “Patrons visit us for business lunches or from work, and inevitably come back with their family or friends for dinner.” 

It is not surprising that the restaurant has built a considerable clientele within just weeks of opening. Priced at $10 over weekdays and $12 for an expanded menu over the weekends, Viceroy’s lunch buffet is to die for.

The typical weekend buffet includes two soups, an amazing salad bar, a large round tava with chaat items like aloo tikki, paani puri, samosa etc, four vegetarian entrees, four non-vegetarian entrees, tandoori items, biriyanis and two desserts. All this for just $12 per person! The quality, North Indian/tandoori fare is tasty without being too heavy or greasy.

The menu is enticing. Unlike most Indian restaurants, Viceroy offers an innovative salad menu that is appealing to the carb and calorie conscious. There is the tandoori tikka salad, the shrimp or fish salad, the traditional kachumber salad or the garden salad to choose from.

The soup bar includes the traditional mulligatawny soup; the delicious herb and spice infused chicken soup, the creamy tomato soup and the Viceroy special seafood soup.

The tandoori mixed grill is served on a sizzling platter, and is popular amongst patrons. Tandoori entrees include the ubiquitous chicken tikka, sheek kebabs, tandoori chicken etc and some novel delights like the tandoori shrimp, salmon tikka, lamb chops and fillet mignon.

Appetizers include vegetarian chat items as well as new ideas like the shrimp poori, goat chops and the fish kulcha.

The restaurant has a range of vegetarian fare, and is possibly the only Indian restaurant in Atlanta to specify vegan items on its menu. The eggplant bharta, aloo gobhi, bhindi masala and mushroom broccoli karahi are labeled vegan. The vegetarian thali includes an appetizer like the samosa, three vegetarian entrees, and is served with basmati rice, naan and a dessert item.

Like some upscale, fine dining restaurants, Viceroy offers entrees that can be cooked in a meat or seafood variation, or with potato, paneer tofu or vegetables. For instance, the patia- a mango, ginger and scallions based dish- can be a shrimp, fish, crab, chicken, lamb, goat, or veggie entree. The made-to-order fare includes tikka masala, jalfrazie, saag, korma, vindaloo, curry, karahi, chilly, rogan josh and achari.

The chef’s recommendations include five dishes that conjure up images of royalty. The ‘Tropical Tang’ has a mango base to it. The ‘Taste of the Backwaters’ is a Kerala dish with a coconut milk and tamarind base. The ‘Royal Feast’ is a rich entree with cream, green cardamom, cinnamon, pistachios, raisins and cashew paste. The ‘Indian Kitchen’ is a vindaloo/curry experience. Finally there is the ‘Viceroy’s Touch’, a velvety tomato and basil base richly flavored with Indian spices and herbs for an Indo-European experience. All dishes can be ordered as meat, seafood, paneer/tofu or vegetarian entrees.

Beverages like the mango and strawberry lassi and desserts like the gulab jamun, kheer, ras malai, kulfi and cheesecake complete the dining experience.

The Dhir couple moved to Atlanta recently, after seeing a need for an upscale fine dining restaurant in the Perimeter area. Jay Dhir, who has served in the Indian army, moved to North Carolina in 2001 to join his brother-in-law Raj Arora who owns two Indian restaurants there, and has over 20 years of experience in the restaurant business. The chefs at Viceroy are from the NC restaurants and have been with the team for over 16 years.

Encouraged with the early success of the restaurant, the Dhirs are now looking for a banquet facility in the Perimeter area. 

Want to feel like royalty without spending like one? Head to Viceroy with your family this weekend!