Tis Me Michelle

Now I have quite a few Indian restaurants I have saved to try throughout the city. And then I saw a brand new Indian spot opened up right off of Park Ave. in Winter Park. Jala is a fine dining Indian restaurant, and I was intrigued to see how it would be. I went for lunch on a Sunday afternoon.

The Parking: There’s plenty of parking in the main parking lot off Park Ave. near the train station, given there’s no event happening. Street parking and parking garages are also available off Park Avenue.

The Atmosphere: The decor is bright, but it feels like it’s trying to be many different things. From the pictures I’ve seen of the restaurant that housed this location prior, it appears they did not change much of the decor. And unfortunately, I think that takes away from the character of the place. It feels… Less authentic.

Jala identifies as a fine dining restaurant. Considering some of the other places I’ve tried around greater Orlando, Jala has a more standard restaurant feel. The prices are definitely leaning high, but the experience is run-of-the-mill. My servers were lovely, don’t get me wrong. Very accommodating and open to feedback, which is wonderful. I think there’s great potential here. I hope they continue to adjust to truly find their footing.

The Menu: Overall, the menu has everything you can think of for a standard Indian restaurant. I was excited to see samosa chaat, so I went right ahead and started with that. It was a good portion, I ended up having leftovers, so definitely shareable between 2 or 3 people. If you aren’t familiar with a samosa chaat, it is indeed a samosa topped with even more deliciousness. Toppings like chutneys, chickpea curry, and more. A solid appetizer.

A bit hidden in the menu is a lunch special. I don’t think it was intended for the weekend, but I asked they were more than willing to allow me to order. It’s a pretty decent option with a choice of veg for $15 or non-veg for $17. I opted for non-veg, which has the option between chicken, lamb, or fish curry. I assume this is a work in progress, because I assumed there was a house curry, but they offered to prepare the dish any way I chose. I recommended clarifying that the type of curry could be a choice. The menu also says it comes with rice, naan, and a salad. It comes with the first two, but for a good surprise, instead of salad, it came with a samosa with a mix of both mint and tamarind chutney, daal, and a piece of gulab jamun for dessert.

I thought the portion was perfect for lunch. Always love the ability to taste a few things. I could have done without the chaat, since the set came with a samosa. Who’s mad at too many samosas? For the main portion, I chose the lamb vindaloo. They warned me that it would be ‘spicy’ and confirmed I wanted it to be ‘Indian spicy’. It was heavily spiced, yet not nearly as spicy as I was expecting. The lamb was cooked well, it was good, but probably not something I would order again. I may have enjoyed a more basic, tried-and-true option like butter chicken or tikka masala. The daal and gulab jamun were pretty good too. I would have definitely tried the ras malai, gulab jamun isn’t my go-to, but I appreciated a sweet treat at the end of the meal.

My favorite item was the ginger chai I had to end the meal. It was sweetened, a tad more than I would have liked, but not terribly so. I enjoyed the extra ginger to give it a lil kick. A good way to end the meal, and a good pairing with the gulab jamun.

Overall: It wasn’t busy during lunch, so my servers were very attentive, along with the owners. They came around and talked for a bit, and were super sweet. The service was great and accommodating. I had a good experience. The food was good, just not unique or particularly memorable for a fine dining restaurant. I admit I am harsher on Indian food, especially when I know I could have better at home. However, for the price point and marketing, I expect a bit more.

Rating: 8.3/10

Address: 155 E Morse Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32789