There doesn’t appear to be a runaway favorite Indian restaurant in the Las Vegas Valley. The foodies with whom I speak cannot come to a culinary consensus; like me, they get it from their nearest neighborhood spot when a craving strikes.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but it seems to me that Indian food is generally spectacular and therefore deserving of more attention and exploration. So please go try a new Indian restaurant you’ve never heard of and report back. It will be fun, promise. Here, I’ll go first.
Marigold Fine Indian Cuisine opened last fall in the already wildly diverse food intersection of Flamingo and Decatur; there’s ramen, Chinese, Ethiopian and a vegan food store within steps of this place. A small group of family and friends that had been working together at other local Indian restaurants, most notably Taj Palace in the Henderson area, struck out on their own here, aiming to please with a vast menu of different flavors made slightly more accessible to the American palate.
Basically, that means your favorite dish is probably available at Marigold, be it juicy, bright-red tandoori chicken ($14) or the creamy tomato-based classic chicken tikka masala ($15). You can thumb through protein sections (chicken, lamb, goat, seafood and veggie), and the incredible breads we all love are here, too. Keep your naan simple with butter or garlic, or try the sweet kabuli ($6) with almonds, raisins, cashews and cherries, or the savory keema ($7) with minced lamb and cilantro. I adore the onion kulcha ($5), an extra-soft flatbread with roasted red onions, cilantro and other herbs.
Other appetizer options include pakora chickpea fritters ($8), various samosa options and chicken- or vegetable-stuffed momo dumplings ($8-$9).
The Marigold menu is too vast to summarize fully, but you should know that nothing costs more than 20 bucks; the most expensive dish is a tandoori platter of chicken, fish and shrimp, plus chicken tikka and kabob ($20), which is a steal. Maybe get your one fave and try a couple new things, like goat mango curry ($18) if you’re feeling adventurous, or mushroom and green pea curry ($13) if you’re not.
Meat is fine, but I like to veg out when eating Indian. One go-to is saag paneer ($14), spinach and cheese in a subtle curry sauce, and Marigold has plenty of other vegan options worth sampling. Bhindi masala ($13) takes humble, under-appreciated okra, puts some delicious char on it and mixes it with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, ginger, garlic and plenty of spices.
Roasted eggplants are peeled and pureed, fried potatoes are dusted in cumin seeds and black lentils and red beans are simmered forever in spicy gravy. There’s a lot happening in this kitchen, so many different flavor combinations coming to life.
MARIGOLD 4850 W. Flamingo Road #43, 702-473-5466. Daily, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-11 p.m.
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