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Red Flags to Look Out for at an Indian Restaurant

Published

9 months ago

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  • Chef Akshay Bhardwaj shared red flags to look out for when trying a new high-end Indian restaurant.
  • Skip places that overly “Westernize” dishes or use expensive ingredients without reason.
  • Ask if the spices are freshly ground and inspect if the restrooms are well-kept.

When it comes to fine-dining Indian cuisine, Chef Akshay Bhardwaj understands the challenge that Indian chefs face when balancing authenticity with American palettes.

He’s been the executive chef at NYC’s renowned Indian restaurant Junoon since 2016, which won Michelin stars for eight consecutive years, three of which were under his leadership.

“Indian fine dining, as a concept, is a relatively recent phenomenon that has picked up in the last 10 to 15 years, especially in America,” Bhardwaj told Business Insider.

This is, in part, because when Indians immigrated to the US, many came from humble backgrounds and did not have the means to spend money on fine dining.

That’s no longer the case. Indian Americans have since built their wealth and are ready to spend on upscale dining.

It’s no longer uncommon to see a mix of high-end and mid-range Indian eateries popping up in New York, with Bloomberg reporting that the city’s Indian restaurants are “becoming something of a power dining scene.”

Bhardwaj said his first advice for anyone wishing to taste modernized Indian items is to “come with an open mind and just try.”

As someone who has worked closely on developing menus and reimagining traditional Indian flavors with a global twist, he knows when something is amiss and shared the top five red flags he looks out for when he’s craving a high-end Indian meal.

Here’s how you — like him — can distinguish the authentic from the superficial.

Steer clear of restaurants that chase social media trends.

A dish that transcends trends — Aslam’s butter chicken is a grilled dish made at Aslam Chicken, a roadside shop outside Jama Masjid in Delhi. At Jazba, chef Bhardwaj recreated it for New York.


Alex Lau

These days, almost everyone can hype a restaurant or a particular dish through FoodTok or Instagram. But just because a restaurant or dish is trending on FoodTok or Instagram doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth a trip, Bhardwaj shared.

The best way to decide if a place is worth your time and money is to make these decisions the old-school way: by asking around in your social circles.

“I look for more word-of-mouth places where people have actually been,” Bhardwaj told BI, adding that he prefers direct recommendations from friends or people who have been to the restaurant and will advise him on what to order and what to skip.

That way you get a first-person account of the spice levels, if the restaurant got the classics right, and what’s unique to their menu.

Using expensive ingredients that don’t enhance Indian flavors is a big no.

The “Tree of Life” is a dish at Junoon made with madras curry, rosehip chutney, and spiced chocolate cake.


Nico Schinco

Many people think expensive ingredients equate to fine dining, but Bhardwaj believes this could work against some restaurants if the ingredients stray from their native cuisine. Bhardwaj admitted he learned this the hard way because he’s guilty of doing it.

“We’ve had foie gras on our menu in the past, and I’ve loved cooking with it, but then there came a time when I realized this isn’t something we do.” By “this,” he means fois gras is not native to or popular in India.

He then reworked the menu to feature an Indian specialty instead.

“So, I thought, ‘Why don’t I make a dish with goat brain instead?’ It’s fatty, an organ, and more of a delicacy in India,'” Bhardwaj said.

He added, “I think bringing it [dishes] back to your own culture is important.”

Changing classics like chicken tikka masala without retaining authentic flavors is a bad sign.

Bhardwaj said that even when experimenting with flavors and textures, restaurants should not abandon what’s culturally important.


Metamore Studio/Shuterstock

As someone constantly cooking new ways of serving existing popular dishes, Bhardwaj said he understands the need to innovate, but also, the importance of not messing with a dish’s original flavors.

According to him, if a restaurant reinvents classics, such as the chicken tikka masala, but does so to appeal to Western tastebuds rather than innovate, it’s usually a bad sign.

“You could easily lose sight of maybe making something a little too Western in terms of the flavor or the dish itself. So I would say that’s probably the main thing that we try to stay away from,” Bhardwaj told BI.

“Make sure that the dish itself has that authenticity to it, and then try to elevate it through a fusion of techniques and ingredients.”

Spices shouldn’t be store-bought but rather ground in-house.

For Bhardwaj, upscale restaurants should use freshly ground spices as they enhance the flavors and aroma when made fresh.


asmiphotoshop/Shutterstock

One of the things that sets apart the butter chicken at Jazba from most other places is that Bhardwaj and his team make everything in-house.

“We get the whole spices ourselves, roast them, and then blend them into the powders,” Bhardwaj told BI.

This speaks to the quality and freshness of food, which Bhardwaj said is all the more important to maintain at an expensive fine-dining haunt.

So, if you’re at a restaurant, ask the servers about how food is sourced and what items are made in-house versus store-bought. This will indicate whether the restaurant takes shortcuts or really goes above and beyond to serve quality food.

Finally, a poorly kept restroom is usually a bad sign.

The decor, presentation, and interiors of an upscale restaurant all add to the experience of eating there.


Mehmet Cetin/Shutterstock

“This might sound funny, but the restrooms are always very important,” Bhardwaj told BI, adding that this is a rule of thumb among most chefs and restauranteurs, who make mental notes on how well-kept the restaurant, especially the restroom, is.

“When you walk into a good restaurant, you’ve got to see that they’re taking care of their spaces. That’s No. 1,” Bhardwaj emphasized.

This, of course, applies to any fine-dining haunt you visit.





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Char kway teow in India? Meet the Singaporeans bringing local food to Mumbai

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4 hours ago

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August 4, 2025

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MUMBAI – One runs a supper club that evokes memories of home-cooked flavours, and the other is billed as the city’s first Singaporean street food restaurant.

For these two chefs abroad, food is a way to stay connected to their Singaporean identity. 



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FSSAI Mandates QR Codes in Restaurants for Instant Complaints and Transparency from August

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4 hours ago

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August 4, 2025

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India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) has implemented a new mandate from August 2025, requiring all food businesses—such as restaurants, cafes, cloud kitchens, and food trucks—to clearly display both their FSSAI license and a QR code linked to the Food Safety Connect App at key customer touchpoints.

This QR code allows consumers to instantly check food license details and raise concerns about food safety or hygiene. The aim is to strengthen consumer safety and regulatory transparency by enabling real-time, direct reporting of issues to authorities for quick resolution.

Enhancing Consumer Safety Through Digital Empowerment

Under the new rules, the QR code and license must be prominently displayed at entrances, billing counters, seating areas, and digital platforms like food delivery apps and websites.

By scanning the QR code, consumers can verify if an establishment is genuinely licensed, report hygiene violations, mislabelling, or unsafe practices, and even track the progress of their complaints in real time. FSSAI officials emphasise that this initiative “empowers consumers and modernises India’s food safety framework,” providing “a user-friendly tool for swift grievance redressal and heightened accountability”.

Who Must Comply – and What’s at Stake?

The directive applies to all food business operators (FBOs): restaurants, cafes, catering units, retail food outlets, cloud kitchens, food trucks, and even online delivery aggregators. Failure to comply may lead to penalties or suspension of food licenses, as per the Food Safety and Standards Act.

FSSAI highlights that this shift was driven by recent food safety lapses and widespread consumer complaints about poor hygiene and misleading labelling. With this move, India aims to foster a safer, more transparent, and trustworthy food landscape for every consumer.

Expert Advice: How Consumers and Businesses Can Stay Safe

Food safety experts and advocacy groups have welcomed the QR code initiative, calling it a much-needed reform for India’s fast-evolving food sector. Experts advise consumers to regularly scan the QR code whenever they visit a food outlet, always look out for a valid FSSAI license, and use the Food Safety Connect App to flag issues regarding hygiene or food quality.

For food business operators, experts recommend educating staff and customers about the new requirements, keeping the license and QR code up to date, and responding promptly to complaints. Professional food hygiene auditors and compliance consultants are now advising businesses to conduct regular kitchen audits, maintain proper documentation, and train teams on hygiene protocols to avoid penalties and protect business reputation.

Building a Transparent Food System – The Road Ahead

The introduction of digital QR code reporting marks a significant shift in food regulation, encouraging transparent operations and timely action on consumer complaints. By simplifying redressal avenues and holding food businesses to higher standards, this initiative takes Indian consumer protection a step further.

The Food Safety Connect App is available on both Android and iOS, ensuring wide accessibility. FSSAI encourages all food sector stakeholders to see this not just as regulatory compliance, but as a collective mission to build trust and ensure public health.

The Logical Indian’s Perspective

At The Logical Indian, we see this bold step as a cornerstone for a safer, digitally enabled, and empathetic consumer ecosystem. With robust reporting tools and strict accountability, Indian diners are now better equipped than ever to demand safe food and fair practices. 





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FSSAI mandates QR codes at restaurants for easy complaints

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23 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a fresh directive for all food business operators (FBOs) across the country, including restaurants, cafs, dhabas, and street-side eateries, to visibly display their FSSAI licence or registration certificate along with a QR code that links to the Food Safety Connect App. This move, according to the authority, is aimed at empowering consumers and making it easier for them to file complaints about food safety, hygiene, and misleading product labels.

The QR code, which is now a mandatory part of the FSSAI licence, must be placed in areas easily visible to customers, such as entrances, billing counters, or dining sections. Customers can simply scan the QR code using their smartphones and be redirected to the app, where they can submit complaints or view key information about the outlet’s registration status.

Once a complaint is submitted through the app, it is automatically routed to the correct jurisdictional authority for faster resolution. This direct reparation mechanism is expected to save time, cut through bureaucratic delays, and improve accountability within the food sector.

In a statement, the FSSAI said that this initiative is part of a broader strategy to ensure that food safety remains a priority for businesses and consumers alike. “This measure is aimed at empowering consumers by providing them with a direct and user-friendly platform for grievance reparation,” the authority noted.

The app not only allows users to report hygiene and safety violations but also helps them check if a food outlet is officially registered or licensed. Users can also stay updated on FSSAI’s latest food safety alerts and initiatives.

Additionally, FSSAI has asked all FBOs to integrate the QR code across their digital platforms, including websites and food delivery apps, wherever applicable. This would allow consumers to verify details or report complaints even while ordering food online.

The new rule comes shortly after FSSAI issued warnings to e-commerce platforms to comply with food safety norms. These platforms are now also required to display their FSSAI licence or registration numbers clearly on all receipts, invoices, and cash memos issued to customers.

By making it mandatory to display QR codes at physical locations and online, FSSAI aims to build greater trust among consumers and promote a culture of safety, transparency, and accountability in India’s vast food and hospitality sector.

– Ends

Published By:

Smarica Pant

Published On:

Aug 3, 2025



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