When chef Avinash Kapoor introduced his elegant style of North Indian food to the South Bay nine years ago, a standard was set for the area.
He brought ideas we had never seen before, both traditional and original – tandoori Chilean seabass, wild salmon cake with Indian spices and mango chutney, lamb in green peppercorn curry with saffron, and much more. Akbar hosted the South Bay’s first wine dinners with South Asian food, events that were both successful in themselves and that encouraged people to think of this as a cuisine that deserves to be thoughtfully paired with fine wines. Plenty of people visit the restaurant for their modestly priced lunch buffet and never experience the range of genius of this chef, who continues to flourish and take his food to new heights.
Akbar: 1101 Aviation Blvd., HB. 310-937-3800.
Runner-up: Addi’s Tandoor, 800 Torrance Blvd., #101, RB. 310-540-1616.
