This is the first place I ever had Indian food, it was from their lunch buffet a few years back. Ever since then, my Indian food experiences haven't deviated much from chicken tikka masala, samosas and naan; I had also never been to Kumari for anything other than the lunch buffet, so I decided to "get crazy" and get something vaguely different during a DINNER service.
If you've never been to Kumari before (and the odds are stacked in that favor considering Mughal Garden and Akbar are within spitting distance), allow me to paint a picture. It's located above the Mount Vernon Tavern (formerly Liam's), and has about four tables in the front overlooking Charles Street, and a bar and buffet that guide you into a rear seating area. It's been there for awhile and it seems the only thing that has changed is their sign out front.
Getting back to dinner experience, we were promptly seated and were offered some fried flour puff things with dipping/dripping sauces; I discovered that they were quite horrendous and completely pointless. After much deliberation regarding the menu I ordered the curry chicken, which probably sounds less interesting than the tikka masala... but whatever. I was actually interested in trying some fish, but found it very puzzling as to why all of the dishes used salmon. Shouldn't they be using something that would accommodate Indian spices better than salmon? Also... since when have salmon flourished in India enough to be the their culinary fish ambassadors?*
Anyway, before we got to the food, we had a good long sit at the table, "enjoying" the conversation from our fellow patrons. That is to say that it took quite awhile for the food to come out, despite the fact that it was a Friday night and the restaurant was only at about one third capacity.
When the food did come out, I ate it. It was good, it was Indian food. I really don't know what else to say about it, I mean... to some degree all Indian food tastes the same. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just hard to discern any notable differences.
Since my only qualms were with the atmosphere of the restaurant itself, I guess I would suggest getting take-out if you had the choice. Or you might want to stop in at lunch time for the buffet, I don't know if they jacked up the price, but the last time I went it seemed to be pretty cheap.
Kumari Restaurant and Bar
911 N Charles Street
Baltimore MD 21201
Phone: (410)-547-1600
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
Lunch Buffet:11:30 am to 3:00 pm
Dinner: 3:00 pm to 1:00 am
http://www.kumarirestaurant.com
* Thankfully no one knows this blog exists, otherwise I might get railed from some foodie regarding the use of salmon in Indian cuisine.
