With luck, I just might pry you away form your kitchen and into a recently opened establishment. Don’t overlook the benefits – nary an onion to dice or dishes to wash and someone else to pour the wine. And at Allô Inde, there is an appliance you’re unlikely to have at home – the mighty tandoor. Allô Inde doesn’t wander far from the customary style of most Indian restaurants. Tucked neatly into a half-basement on Stanley Street is a large dining room, divided by a frosted glass partition. A service bar and two elevated banquettes (with sidewalk level views) dominate the front half, while a more intimate setting completes the back. With linen tablecloths, high bancked chairs and walls painted snooker-felt green, it’s quite surprisingly pleasant for its price range. Lunch is especially a bargain, with complete meals offered at a remarkable $5.50. the menu is lengthy and well-annotated – every item is described in great detail. There’s a rich mulligatawny soup, thickened with a fresh vegetable purée, well-seasoned but not as spicy as the menu suggests. An order of vegetable pakuras was delicious, if slightly undercooked on my second visit. The pakuras are made of finely diced vegetables rolled in an onion and lentil batter, deep-fried to a crispy finish. The accompanying yogurt and mint sauce was a perfect complement. Our first foray with the tandoor came early with an appetizer portion of chicken tikka. Small cubes of skewered chicken had been marinated, cooked in the tandoor and served with a simple salad of shredded lettuce. Ah, the familiar orange-red hue of tandoor spices. Allô Inde follows tradition, but only to appoint. While there are a number of fine vegetarian offerings, there’s no strict allegiance to traditional Indian taboos. Beef figures prominently on the menu, beyond which, both garlic and onions are used in many of the dishes. We abvoided the beef but eagerly devoured a sampling of vegetable dishes. The finest was the mushroom bahji, in which common white mushrooms had been sliced, very briefly sautéed in butter, and then folded into a subtle sauce of peppers and onions. The mushrooms had retained their delicate flavour. Despite the preparation, this was neither a heavy nor oily dish. Indeed, everything that emerged from the kitchen was low on grease and remarkably fresh. And this kitchen has a flair for seasoning. We ordered a tarka dahl – lentils stewed with ginger and garlic – but implored our waiter to make sure that is was super spicy. The result was a wonderful balance between essential flavours with a fiery peppered aftertaste. The chicken biryani was a superb saffron-scented rice dish, topped with sliced boiled eggs and fried onions. If you have a tendency toward butter chicken (which is offered), I’d suggest you give the balti chicken a try. Coriander, vegetables and chicken blend perfectly in this rich sauce-based dish. Chicken is an important ritual food in many Indian cultures, and the result of this particular dish was nothing short of fantastic. Excellent food at reasonable prices make Allô Inde a perfect choice. With attentive service, a quiet atmosphere and its convenient location, this new restaurant is a welcome addition to downtown.