Sanjh Creative Indian Restaurant, Dallas, Texas
Sanjh Dallas: Elevating Cuisines of India in the Heart of Texas
Home to 21 companies that belongs to the Fortune 500 list, DFW International as the world’s second busiest airport and an Indian American diaspora gradually exceeding 220,000, Dallas Fort Worth is where the world is coming to in 2024. Coupled with the Soccer World Cup tournaments kicking off in 2026 and the Michelin Guide finally landing in Texas, the buzz around the gastronomic scene in this host city is something the entire country if not the world is listening closely to.
A vacuum had been created for decades in the metroplex for the lack of an elevated restaurant that would cater to bringing the finest cuisines of India. Finally, this space has been filled by the much-awaited arrival of Sanjh right in the heart of Las Colinas, in the ever-exciting city of Irving.
Sanjh, written as “सांझ” in Hindi, means the evening, is a true fine dining (defined it later below) Creative Indian restaurant with an impeccable dining room designed using rich muted gold and amber tones along with fine woodwork and carefully curated furnishings to set a luxurious ambience.
Reservations: Securing a table at Sanjh is made simple through OpenTable, though reservations are highly recommended at least two weeks in advance, particularly for weekends. The restaurant is open for lunch on weekdays and dinner every evening, with a smart casual dress code ensuring an elegant yet relaxed dining experience.
The Chef’s World: Chef Balpreet Singh Chadha, Corporate Chef at Tivona Group that owns Sanjh is at the helm of the kitchen along with Executive Sous Chef Sarabjit Singh Assi with their dedicated team of exceptional chefs.
Chef Balpreet comes from a background of having directed culinary operations at some of the most prestigious hotels and Michelin Guide rated restaurants globally including The Park Hotels, Hyatt Hotels, ITC Group and Benares Madrid to note a few.
“Our menu is a sensory journey, beginning with the aroma” says Chef Chadha while introducing the new menu.
The olfactory journey leads diners to a journey across and within India with a masterfully curated menu.
The kitchen has an open format where patrons can witness the culinary artistry firsthand with chefs artfully using an actual tandoor (traditional charcoal clay ovens where food is cooked over concentrated heat) to bring out some of the stunning naan along with succulent kababs that releases a flood of umami once in the mouth.
A True Fine Dining Experience:
For a change let’s define what TRUE fine dining experience is since these days this term has been thrown around so much to lose its value and prestige.
A true fine dining destination is where the executive Chef’s personality and creativity shines through in the menu with exceptional harmony of flavours in the food. It is a place where food is presented with painstaking detail making sure only the best is served. There is no compromise on ingredients, quality and the flavours. It is a time taking process to do R&D on each dish and to finally be able to create them on a daily basis with the same consistency. The food only holds up when the service team complements it. Without top notch service even the best of the food doesn’t add to the wholesomeness of the experience.
After having experienced 26 top Michelin starred restaurants across the globe including touchstone culinary institutions like El Celler De Can Roca, Spain, Sukiyabashi Jiro, Tokyo, Japan, and Gymkhana, London, United Kingdom it is a delight to be able to say that Sanjh is on its way to making it to the Texas Michelin Guide soon as a restaurant that is truly representing fine dining in Dallas Fort Worth.
One of my personal favourites from the gorgeous new menu are the Scallops kataifi in a flavourful seafood bisque. Only the freshest of scallops are sourced directly from Hokkaido, the northernmost island of the Japanese archipelago. A cognoscente with a highly refined palate can instantly recognise the peak buttery briny flavour so well in symphony with the blend of exquisite spices sourced from the farms in India.
Each scallop is carefully rolled in a flour batter and katifi is wrapped around it. It is deep fried till the katifi is golden brown at 160 degree celcius. Once cooked it is finished with grated lime zest, hazelnuts and pureed artichoke floating on top of a beautiful buttery seafood bisque.
Another favourite of mine is the Meen moilee fish where the seasonal local caught fish is cooked to crispy perfection while retaining enough moisture inside that the fish blooms in parts when touched with a fork. Meen moilee sauce whose origins can be traced back to the Portuguese influence in the southern state of Kerala is represented masterfully in this dish as the fish takes center stage.
Seasonal fish is pan griddled in cold pressed coconut oil tempered with ginger and curry leaves. Fish fillet is cooked golden on both the sides and a veil of herbs is placed on top. Fish fillet is served with mild turneric and ginger scented first pressed coconut milk moilee served with upma triangle, wilted spinach and fresh lime.
Beverage Program: Sanjh’s bar menu, curated by India’s top-rated mixologist Yangdup Lama, is an adventure in itself. Each cocktail is a journey through India’s diverse regions, with evocative names like Monsoon in Meghalaya and Bay of Bengal Gimlet. Ingredients such as bay leaf-infused tea and Ceylon chili tincture add layers of depth and intrigue to each drink, making the bar at Sanjh one of the finest in Dallas.
Price: Highest levels of cooking excellence that takes time and effort using the best of ingredients sourced from as far as Japan comes with a respectful price of about $100-$150 per person depending on selections.
Gratitude: An enormous thank you to Sanjh leadership and Chef Balpreet Singh Chadha for giving me the honour to write this article along with the valuable inputs without which this article wouldn’t have existed.
Food and beverage pictures courtesy: Samantha Maria Photography.
