There aren't that many Indian restaurants in the city, at least compared with how many Western, Asian, and Greek places there are. So you could be forgiven for accepting a less-than-exceptional standard of Indian cuisine.
Luckily, you don't have to.
Nirankar is a lovely place. I've had my share of Indian food over the years, and the stuff I've sampled at Nirankar is as good as any I can remember. It's not as cheap as your local takeaway, but if you're in the CBD and want quality Indian you can't just try the next curry place down the street.
The restaurant is located in a sort of half-basement, with a dark yet somehow expansive dining room. The kitchen is along one side and you can see the chefs at work (at least, you can see their heads over the wall separating the rooms - one chef was very short and all we saw was his tall hat, like a shark fin, going back and forth). The decor is muted, except for what looked like Christmas decorations by the front door.
The prices are pretty good for the city location. Most entrees are under $10, and the mains range from around $15 to $20. We started by sharing the Chicken Tikka Malai ($10), which was tender, juicy, and full of that good-ol' tandoori oven flavour. Yummy. I could have handled it a little spicier but that's really not much to complain about, since we didn't ask for it spicy. For mains we shared the Lamb Nirankari (baby lamb sauteed with tomatoes and herbs, with a touch of tamarind, $16) and the Saagwala Chicken ($15.50; saagwala refers to the creamy spinach curry in which meat or cottage cheese cubes can be served). The lamb was quite good but the chicken was superb, and extremely more-ish when combined with the tender, flaky Naan bread we ordered ($2.75 each).
We each ordered a glass of house red. As is usually the case, it was respectable but not outstanding.
For dessert, Dave tried the Gulab Jamun ($5), which is desribed as "sweet milk dumplings" and turned out to be tasty little deep fried batter things in an extremely sweet rosewater syrup. I had the Pista Kulfi ($5) which was a very rich pistachio ice cream. Yum.
The service was good, though we forgot to do the water refill test. The restrooms are at the back of what seems to be a sprawling underground villa, with the dining room at the front and various storerooms and preparation areas in between. The restrooms were clean and simple.
Overall we enjoy Nirankar a lot and it's a place we're always happy to come back to. Nirankar means "eternal bliss" and whilst that may be exaggerating just a bit, the experience is pretty darn pleasant and lasts as least as long as it takes to fill up your tummy.
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Dave's summary: "Not really." (answer to "Do you have a summary?")
Probability that we will return: 40 / 42
Note that the probability rating is affected by the fact that there are hundreds of places to eat around here.