Tonight, after getting home from geocaching around Menomonie, WI I was looking for somewhere different to eat that would give me the spicy food I desired. We haven’t eaten Indian food in quite some time so I poked around on the web and found Sambol in Eagan, MN. When I brought up Sambol I expected to be immediately shot down by Kim who isn’t much of a fan of trying something outside her comfort zone. I was shocked when she agreed and soon we were out the door to Sambol.
They open for dinner at 5pm on Sunday and we arrived at about 5:45 to a nearly empty restaurant. There were only 5 people, at three tables, all next to the window. After waiting for a large takeout order to be carried outside and some other minor business to be attended to, we were seated in the far corner by the window overlooking most of the restaurant. The place was decorated nicely and there was some soft Indian music playing in the background. Everyone at their tables seemed to be enjoying the food they had and I was looking forward to my meal.
I opened the menu and on the first page they say, “Sambol restaurant was started with a simple idea — to provide a unique dining experience that will bring back memories of far away lands… The cuisine is an artful blend of exotic ingredients that finds its influence from India and Sri Lanka which includes flavors from all regions of the two countries.” Sounds good so far!
After much decision making, we chose their Vegetarian Sampler Platter (for two) which included samosa, paneer pakora, vegetable pakora, and alu tiki for $9.95. We also ordered a side of garlic naan to nosh on. Kim chose their Palak Paneer which is a dish of homemade cheese and spinach that’s gently spiced for $11.95. I asked the waiter to recommend something spicy as that’s what I was looking for tonight (to clear our my sinuses affected by allergies) and he offered two dishes. The first I didn’t catch but he mentioned the Chicken Tikka Masala which I was actually considering and went with that. He asked if I wanted it “spicy” or “very spicy”. I went with “very spicy”. Chicken Ikka Masala is described as tender pieces of chicken cooked in a spicy sauce of tomatoes, made heady with chopped onion and green pepper cooked to a creamy perfection for $13.45. Sounded very yummy.
After taking our orders, I looked over the drink and dessert menu. They have numerous wines and beers available ranging from your typical domestics ($4.25) to beers imported from India ($4.95 to $7.95). They also offer Chai, Lassi (a fruit and yogurt drink in Mango, Strawberry or “Sweet”), a mango milkshake and mango juice for $3.25 each. There were several dessert items listed and all sounded quite tasty. When assuming Kim wouldn’t want to try Sambol, I told her that the desserts looked so good that she just had to try it ;)
Our appetizer was out first with two sauces (I am unsure of what either were but Kim and I really enjoyed the brown one) and then a few minutes later came our garlic naan. The appetizers were absolutely fantastic and were very reminiscent of what we ate at my buddy Manu’s wedding reception in Los Angeles. The garlic naan was very tasty and I quickly snarfed it down while Kim enjoyed her’s a little more slowly.
Our food came out in two bowls alongside a another of rice for my dish. Kim’s dish was a deep green color and mine a very bright orange-red. As I was taking photos Kim mentioned that she could already smell mine. After putting my nose directly up to each dish I was able to smell them but with the allergies wrecking my sinuses it wasn’t as pronounced for me.
I took a small bite of mine before asking Kim if I could try some of her meal. The menu didn’t intend for her dish to be eaten with rice but she chose to do it that way so I did it that way as well. I was immediately impressed with the flavors and was quite surprised at how very good it was. My dish was equally as impressive. It wasn’t as spicy as I really had been looking for but the flavors were not muddled and all had me really wanting for more and more — I had to hold myself back to save some for lunch tomorrow!
We ordered desserts after dinner. Kim went with the Gulab Jamun (deep fried milk balls in sweet syrup) and I went with their mango custard (creamy mango pudding with fresh fruits) for $3.55/ea. My mango “pudding” didn’t have much of a pudding consistency but tasted very good. Kim’s milk balls were very sweet and reminded her of doughnuts. I didn’t care for her dessert at all but I thoroughly enjoyed mine.
In total, with a large appetizer, naan, dinner and two desserts, our bill was just under $48. Please note that they will automatically add grituity of 15% for parties of 4 or more.
While we are not at all well versed on this type of food we both agreed that this was a top restaurant for us and comes highly recommended for service, ambiance and food. I am really looking forward to returning for their lunch buffet as well as future dinners with friends. It certainly rocked what we had at Tandor in Bloomington. If you’re looking for a nice night out and some decent Indian food, we recommend that you give Sambol a try. Please let us know what you think.
Address:
Sambol Restaurant
1260 Town Centre Dr
Eagan, MN 55123
Phone:
651-688-8686
Lunch Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Friday: 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Saturday and Sunday: 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Dinner Hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Sunday: 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Check out all the pics from Sambol on Flickr here (camera).
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May 18th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I can’t stand places that automatically add gratuity if you party size is over “x”. Especially when “x” is relatively small (such as…hmm…maybe 4?).
Gratuity is based on service. If a party of 4 gets crappy service then maybe they wouldn’t want to leave 15%….
May 19th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Bill, I continue to appreciate your reviews. You seem to constantly hit up places that, in my opinion, really deserve more talk.
I used to work within walking distance of Sambol and would partake in the lunch buffet far too often. Universal to buffets, things are dumbed down a bit, but it’s very good if you recognize that context. Things are generally fresh and rotated frequently. The staffmembers are very nice (I don’t suspect Pear Head’s concern of being forced to tip crappy service is an issue there ever).
On a side note, and speaking of spicy foods made me think of this, have you been to Spice Thai in Savage (on County 42)? That’s another place that flies way under the radar. Thai is one of the foods I know the least about but my trusted friends and family enjoy it and I’ve had good meals there.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:13 am
There’s a 15% off coupon in the magnet-coupon-for-your-fridge thing they distribute Eagan way - offsets the gratuity if you can find it. I love the Sambol lunch buffet. It’s expensive for lunch, but it’s delicious and has a wide variety of foods - some days you can even try goat.
May 19th, 2008 at 10:46 am
MSPD,
The service definitely deserved more than 15% and I gave it to them. I am definitely looking forward to the buffet and another trip back for dinner with friends.
I have Spice on my list of places to go but I’m waiting for Josh to come up and visit with me. Kim isn’t so much for that type of food (although she does go with me to Satay 2 Go often) but Josh loves it as hot as it’ll go. I’ll be sure to write up what I thought when we do. It won’t be this coming weekend as we already have another freshly opened restaurant on the list to visit.
Scooter,
Thanks for the coupon heads up but as both MSPD and I mention I doubt that will be any issue — at least not in the near future. I have had goat before and enjoyed the little I had but I would really like to try it at Sambol as I’m sure it’d be awesome.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
[...] story. I was quite impressed with the quality and level of spice at a buffet. While this was no Sambol, it was well worth the $9.95 per person. The Tandoori Chicken was a bit on the dry side but the [...]
July 11th, 2008 at 1:15 am
If you like the Lunch Buffet thing, we went to Sambol on July 4th and I thought everything was very good.. The lunch buffet is $9.95 Mon - Thurs but a little more expensive at $11.95 Fri - Sun
Their website does give the menu as they change things on the buffet a little each day..
We ate at around 1:00 and I ate enough that I *almost* wasnt hungry enough for dinner at 8:00