Cassia

Absolutely wonderful… We had the Prix Fixe and could not have been more deliciously orchestrated. Top notch service and attention to detail. Scallops were to die for. I would do 6 stars if we could.

This is great place, without booking, we got opportunity to sit in front of kitchen and enjoy this intense «cooking show». Food was great, from starter to main. Some spicy dishes are depends on your tolerance to hot stuff, but trust me, when you get the charm of spice, you can’t say any more words to those dishes than «this is really good!»

Firstly I consider Sid Sahrawat to be one of, if not THE best chef in New Zealand. I am a massive fan of Sidart, it’s one of the very few restaurants I have been to multiple times, since I love the adventure of trying new places, so I generally try and vary my experiences as much as I can.
I took my sister, nephew and his girlfriend to Cassia for dinner, and dined on the 5 course restaurant month menu. Our reservation was promptly found and we were seated quickly. It’s a nice building with a massive kitchen which is semi exposed, something I quite like.
Drinks came quickly and were reasonably priced.
It was pretty loud there so it was quite hard to hear the wait staff who told us a little about the place. Our first courses came out quickly. It’s clear to see the influence of Sid at his new restaurant. Presentation is considered important here and all the dishes looked as well as tasted fantastic. The dishes are modern Indian and sometimes the Indian influence is pretty mild, but you always know it’s there.
The highlights were the second entrée, with prawns, and the dessert, which was excellent. Sadly I couldn’t hear the particular details of what was included with each dish due to the noise, but the taste made up for it.
The main course, was a chicken curry which was moderately spicy. I didn’t struggle with it too much but the rest of my table found it hotter than they’d normally like. The accompanying flat breads were the best we had ever had and 2 orders of those went down quickly.
I can’t recall a chicken curry where the chicken was so tender, moist and well flavoured that it was more noticeable than the sauce itself.
The experience was excellent, I can’t wait to bring my wife.

Large group10 amazing set menu
Great portions enough different flavours reasonably priced but drinks were expensive. The duck curry was the highlight of the night.

I can’t fault Cassia, which is pretty rare for me. From the very friendly welcome when we arrived to the assistance with my coat when we left, this place is top notch.
My husband made the comment we were vegan almost in passing to our waiter, but he heard and adjusted his spiel accordingly. He accepted it without a qualm and was really helpful and knowledgeable about what they could do for us.
The food was awesome. The taste and texture of everything from the entrée to dessert was heavenly and I enjoyed every mouthful. Our waiter was assiduous without being annoying and kept our glasses full, our table clean and our cutlery complete and we hardly noticed.
I was floating already as we paid the bill, but the maitre d’ holding my coat for me ensured my smile was glued to my face for quite a while.
Thanks Cassia. We will be back.

A Fort Lane basement is the perfect location for what I’m sure will become an Auckland icon. One of my favourite things about Siddart is the way the setting makes you feel like you’re in someone’s Ponsonby apartment, with the sinking carpet and soft walls that seem to close in throughout the night, and Sid’s new project has the same slightly awkward intimacy. I love it.
The food is dreamy. The smells wafting from the kitchen prepared me for the heady spices but I wasn’t ready for the technical precision. Each dish is a beautiful, vibrantly coloured masterpiece. A shame the clever ambient lighting can’t be vamped up for the moment your food is put on the table, because I wanted to oggle it properly before my friends got stuck in.
We went with three and shared everything. Our waitress was really knowledgeable about the wine list and very accommodating of our argument with each other, and with her, about our choice of a bottle. In the end we took her advice about a gewurtz and she was dead right. We had three small dishes, two big ones, two sides and a bottle of wine. All up, it was probably a bit much (in volume as well as on our taste buds) and next time I would swap a big dish for some plain naan. The bill was $ 250ish.
The carrots were the winner on the night — the first thing that came out. Deliciously sweet, rich, nutty and flavoured expertly with cardamom and a cocktail of spices I wish I knew more about. The scallops were great and I’d like to go back for more of the duck curry.

This is a contemporary restaurant that offers innovative creations of Indian basics… as in tapas style.
We started off with the Pani Puri, and at $ 4, you hardly get a mouthful. Good that we also ordered a starter of scallops, $ 22, with garlic naan, $ 10.
The Kerela Lamb, $ 34 was excellent, as was the Bengali fish, also $ 34. Between the starters and the mains, there was plenty of food, so we didn’t need any other sides.
However, we did make room for the chocolate Kulfi, $ 15, which was a nice way to finish the meal. See all the photos.
We enjoyed this restaurant, and would have returned.

Sid Sahrawat of the justly celebrated Sidart is behind a new venture in the former Mandarin Dumpling premises in Fort Lane. The dishes are using traditional Indian flavours and spices but given a modern twist.
We started with shared Onion Kulcha with a very kicky relish. The soft shell crab I was hankering for and it was so very good. And a generous starter size.
The lamb I chose for my main and swapped with a friend for half of his veal and both were very very good. The basmati rice with a hint of cardamom showed a nicer way of offering something as simple as rice.
My highlight of the night was the burst of flavour in your mouth when you gobbled a whole Pani Puri. The Tamarind liquid was poured in front of you into the little edible vessels which I thought was a nice touch.
The food is visually appealing, the service was almost flawless — great for a restaurants first month — and the wine list is well designed to match the food.
The Matre-​D Matt whom I have followed from French Café to Masu to Cassia didn’t bat an eyelid over our complicated splitting of the bill for our group of 6 due to shared wine.
Final verdict — A great place I recommend and will be back to and a far cry from the restaurant that was previously in here.

Usually when a new Indian eatery opens in the neighbourhood, there isn’t so much attention drawn to it. But when you hear it’s Sid Sahrawat of the famous Sidart restaurant that is the mastermind behind Cassia, there is excited anticipation for what he’ll add to our Auckland food scene.
Instead of the usual butter chicken curries you can eat at your local Masala, the philosophy is a modern twist on traditional Indian flavours using fresh local ingredients. And that is exactly what I experienced.
Being the indecisive diners we are, the bubbly but experienced waitress offered to start us with the onion kulcha. It was soft with flaky layers which we dunked into the coriander relish.
These scallops were one of the best I’ve had, being the ultimate melt-​in-​the-​mouth experience that great scallops should have. The apple added a nice touch of crisp texture into the dish and balanced out the richness of the foie gras.
The duck was cooked beautifully and fell nicely off the bone. Whilst I’m not a spicy eater, I loved the fragrant heat of the curry and battled the burn with mouthfuls of white rice. The lychee was a nice addition to the dish and always surprised me whenever I felt the pop of sweetness mixed with the gravy.
With the curry being so hot for a weak spicy eater like me, I opted for one of the cocktails to distract my tongue. Lychee is a recurring motif on the menu and with a love for this tropical fruit, it was an instant attraction. It was as good as it promised to be, with the gin quite strong.
Cassia is a beautiful place for a night out. Following the industrial casual chic trend, the overhanging lights gives it a mysterious ambiance to the low ceiling. As slow eaters, not once did we feel hurried to leave and we enjoyed bright conversations with the staff. The food was aromatic and presentation was flawless. While you do pay more than your average $ 10 butter chicken, the quality of fresh ingredients doesn’t come cheap. I’d recommend going with an open mind and be ready to try some flavour combinations you’d never have thought of!

I’ve been to Cassia a couple of times now and am really impressed with the style of food and drink.
The décor is really cool, it’s a concrete bunker with clever lighting and enough textures to take away that cold feeling.
The cocktail menu is one of the best i’ve come across in Auckland. They have a special gin list that includes all the top gins of the moment, paired with different ingredients that touch on the unique botanicals of each gin. My favourite was the Westwinds gin with green capsicum and tonic. The first time I went I had the Northern Bengal Sour that blew me away! Definitely recommend indulging in a couple of these with the beautiful food.
I really like the way the food is more indian flavoured than full on indian, and it’s really light. The food is designed to be shared with a good short selection of entrees and mains. I’ve tried just about everything on the menu now and adore it all especially their wide range of seafood.
Highly recommend for a special occasion.

I FINALLY made it to Cassia last week and I’ve got to say, it exceeded all expectations! I’d been meaning to go for ages and the perfect opportunity arose — a good friend was back in Auckland and wanted to try one of the new hot spots.
As per usual we left it to the last minute to book but fortunately they had a cancellation and we were able to sneak the somewhat private dining space down the back. The «room» is separated from the main dining area by a sheer curtain, which I loved because it meant you still got all the atmosphere from the busy restaurant without being squished on a small table. As for the space itself, it was beautiful. The back wall was covered with a large print of India’s festival of colour and the square table (I reckon it’d seat 16max) was perfect for interacting with a large group.
Because there were more than 10 of us we had the set menu. It was $ 65 per person for three courses. Although some of the dishes weren’t that conducive to sharing, all were delicious and had the perfect balances of spices. They even made a special dish for our vegetarian friend — an eggplant number. I was lucky enough to get a mouthful and it was delicious!
After only one visit I think Cassia has become my go-​to for special occasions! The food is exciting and plated beautifully with out being at all pretentious… my kind of restaurant!
p. s. Chocolate lovers do NOT miss out on the chocolate kulfi! Kulfi is kind of like a cross between mouse and ice cream — dense, decadent and velvety smooth. Cassia’s is served with a banana mousse and cumin caramel…