05/21/09

Chill atmosphere, great cocktails

by travelbugg1980

Was desperatly searching for a decent place for drinks and appetisers around the Market, Powell St. area, and was told by everyone there is nothing but high priced hotel bars or low quality tourist restaurants. Well apparantly they had never been to Amber India! This is a little gem right near the mall in a courtyard just off of Market. AMAZING happy hour deals! High quality cocktails (not a mix) for $5, and excellent selection of dishes also for a great price, and good for vegetarians and meat eaters alike! The bartenders/servers were very cool and made lots of suggestions (I had only had Indian food once before) and I even noticed they gave a small "tasting" plate to a couple sitting at the next table who were having a hard time ordering. I will certainly go here again. Recomend the "butter chicken" with naan and rice. and there was another dish made with puffed wheat and mango--don't remember what it was called, but we all loved it. Spicy sweet.

• Pros: Easy location, great happy hour prices, great drinks.
• Cons: Small tables in the lounge make it hard for multiple plates.

10/23/08

Great happy hour

by eltemblor

Wonderful cuisine, but I loved the cocktails the best! They really know how to mix a smart beverage.

• Pros: Drinks

07/07/08

Best Indian in SOMA

by maui77

The decor is eye catching. The food was spicy and perfect. The service is friendly, and the bar is engaging, and the bartenders are very helpful and fun. Go there!! Couldn't be a better spot for happy hour for Indian or just happy hour. Perfectly snuggled in the middle of the city. Kudos!!

• Pros: Food. Drinks Great Service. Bartenders are fun
• Cons: Not really a negative thinker

The Yerba Buena outpost of this upscale contemporary Indian restaurant is both business-lunch friendly and hungry-man ready.

by Patrick Heig

The formality of Amber India's polished, multi-tiered, museum-like space of Amber India belies a menu of exotic-but-accessible, pan-Indian cuisine served a la carte or in an all-you-can-eat format. Off the menu come the house specialties (pan fried yogurt and chili-spiced duck skewers, lobster tails marinated in red chili vinegar) that make Amber a critic's favorite, while the buffet's elegant copper vessels are filled with the makings of a food coma: basmati rice, tandoori chicken and tikka masala. Both the spacious bar and the restaurant overlook Yerba Buena Lane at street level, which makes for great people watching, and given Amber's elegant museum-esque interior, plenty of people watching you.