Food unbelievable. Service fantastic. Restaurant vibe amazing. The chili Gobi and phuchka are absolute musts !

An absolute gem of a place and the latest triumph by Unapologetic Foods that honors Bengali cuisine in a way I have never seen done outside of India. Everything about the experience here is 5 stars in my view - the fragrant, mustard-forward sauces and curries and fried fish are to die for, the smoky black pepper based lamb and goat, the delightfully refreshing rose-and/citrus inflected cocktails... not to mention great service every time and an inviting, cheery and comfortable ambiance complete with hand painted murals that make you feel like you're dining in your fun Bengali aunty's apartment. As a park slope resident and longtime fan of Chintan and Roni's love letters to real home style Indian cooking, I consider this place one if the best Indian spots in Brooklyn and an absolute must to try. My only wish is that they'd serve some piping hot chai to revive you after you've stuffed yourself silly!! Thank you Roni and Chintan for bringing a taste of home to Park Slope.

Well, drove 40 miles to Jersey City, took the path to SOHO, then the subway to Brooklyn, and walked 15 minutes to come here, because my wife is Bengali and she has been craving good Bengali food for a long time. It is from the same group which runs several of New York City's absolute best restaurants of any kind, including Dhamaka, Semma, and Adda. The owner opened the original Masalawala on the Lower East Side. It is owned by Rony Mazumdar and his father, Satyen Mazumdar. They put lots of dishes on the menu from their native Kolkata, in West Bengal. The menu is almost entirely Bengali. They have three portions category in their menu and prices are set accordingly so make sure you check what you are ordering. We ordered from the medium category. You can see the price difference. * Lamb Chaap: so it's not your usual Lambchop, it's CHAAP. The big fat juicy mutton piece covered in gravy comes with paratha. Well, have it while it's hot as the fat part gets cold after some time and it's not fun. - 4/5 * Biyebarir Butter Fish: Some recipes have been around for generations -- like a roasted eggplant finished with scrambled egg -- while others are more recent innovations,. One of them isbiyebarir fish fry, a technique that only became popular in the '70s and '80s as a celebratory wedding dish. too good- 5/5 * Chilli chicken: Usual Kolkata style chili chicken - 4/5 * Ghee Bhaat: Too much ghee for me. I wanted to try their Kosha Mangsho (Mutton Curry) but no space left in my tummy. There are many other entree-sized options, starring things such as spicy chicken, rice and lentil porridge, eggplant, mutton, and fish heads, all of which are delicious, but don't skip over the snacky starters at the top of the menu to get there. Some dishes they serve in a kadahi, I guess they cook into that, and the same kadahi is brought up to your table. Ambiance: The dining room is colorful, bright colorful paint, beautifully decorated with a few chains of paper marigolds. The space is not that big, kind of congested when it's crowded but still, that should not stop you from visiting this.

Another gem from unapologetic foods, truly authentic Kolkata Bengali style of food has finally arrived. We had to reserve through Resy, a bit unassuming neighborhood and was a bit of hike to get here, but it was all so worth the food. Kids who don't enjoy Indian food gorged in. We started with begun bhaja, fried eggplant and fish fry both cooked to perfection. Ordered a watermelon based drink which I don't remember but was a perfect combination. For mains we ordered the kosha mangsho aka goat meat which is quintessentially Bengali with chilli chicken and indochinese favorite of Kolkata, steamed mustard fish with porota, luchi,Indian bread and white rice. The portion size was huge, in fact we wanted to try the shrimps in coconut milk but had to cancel as we had no room for more. Every dish was cooked to perfection the flavor the smell and texture made me miss home. The goat meat came in a huge hot cauldron, the fried fish had the green coating just as they make it in Calcutta. Kudos to the chef and team for not "Americanizing" the food. Was sad to hear a few traditional dish like ilish fish and fish egg fry was removed due to folks not ordering. As it was my birthday weekend I was pleasantly surprised with bhapa doi the sweet yogurt flan hybrid, added with a cute candle. Amazing friendly and accommodating staff with very cute interiors, I hope they come to New Jersey one day!

This restaurant is a 10000/10! I loved it so much! I had a nostalgic dinner with my family. Out of all of the restaurants the owners have in the city, this is the best! The restaurant lives up to the name (masala = spices.) All the food was spiced well. As a Bengali, this food reminded me of a good home cooked meal. We started with the Phucka which I didn't think would taste home made or like the street vendors. The tamarind sauce was perfection! Then we had the Biyerbari Fish Fry. I don't like eating fish but this was an exception. It was battered with green sauce It was crunchy yet soft. Surprisingly loved every bite of it and would order again. For mains, we got the Dab Chingri, Kosha Mangsho, Murgh Rezla, and Chicken Biriyani. The Dab Chingri is a coconut shrimp dish. Not sure about the cooking process but the waitress poured the curry out of the coconut and scraped the coconut meat out too. It was spicy, saucy, and went great with the biriyani. Wish there was more shrimp in it though. Kosha Mangsho is a traditional goat dish. I don't eat goat but wow the sauce was heaven. It reminded me of eating breakfast in Bangladesh with roti and curry. The Murgh Rezla is a chicken curry. It tasted creamy and spicy. I wish it had a little less salt but I still enjoyed it and would get it again. The chicken biriyani really surprised me. Big restaurants fail to get the spice level correct when they make biriyani. This biriyani however did not disappoint. It was spiced to the nines. I could've eaten this without any curry. We also got Luchi and Ghee Bhat that were great sides. Luchi goes well with the curries. Loved that the drinks were named after prominent Bengali artists and figures. The decor was beautiful and felt like I was attending a Holud party. I wished the decor had Bengali writings on it instead of Hindi. Nonetheless, the place ambiance was magical. I loved how the owners created this amazing space to introduce authentic Bengali food. I felt happy noticing people of different backgrounds enjoying our food. I definitely recommend Masalawala

Along with all of the other NYC foodie lists, Masalawala & Sons appeared on ours as a "Must Try New Restaurants" for the past half-year, so we were delighted when there was alignment in the stars between their reservation availability and our own personal schedules. At 6:30 PM, the restaurant was almost completely filled with a nonstop rotation of reservations, which makes sense given the ambiance, service, and "yums" provided at this establishment. The moment you walk in, your senses are awakened and welcomed: the bright colours and beautifully decorated walls and ceiling; the perfectly blended aroma of South Asian spices that hit your nose receptors and tongue; the energetic but still gentle thrum of music. We knew we were in good hands. Service was quick and after perusing the menu for a hot second, our waiter came over with recommendations and we settled on the phuchka (Bengali panipuri), lamp chaap (slow cooked, falling off the bone lamb rib in cashew sauce), vegetable biriyani (potatoes, cauliflower and spices -- enough to feed 2 people with this dish alone), one mezcal drink, and another with gin. The phuckha was a table-service app which was really impressive, though taking one bite with that tamarind sauce made me worry for a second I'd choke. Pani puri is always such a fun appetiser/street food, so we were happy to have some small bites to start. The lamp chaap came next and was true to its description -- the meat was incredibly tender and flavourful, though it was deceivingly spicy. The yogurt sauce really helped. Last came the biriyani which was HUGE, so only order it if you come hungry. It arrives in a grandma style Earthern ceramic pot with lid, which felt like a warm hug from an auntie. I can't remember much about the drinks except they were well mixed and smooth. Overall, we had a great experience at Masalawala and would come back to treat ourselves, but it is a pretty penny. Just a heads up that promptly at 8PM, they blast the music to try and create ambiance, so I'd elect for an earlier reservation if you're particularly sensitive to noise.

The Unapologetic Foods hospitality group has been on an absolute tear since 2018. Helmed by restauranteur Roni Mazumdar and chef Chintan Pandya, it specializes in hyper-regional Indian cuisine. Adda and Dhamaka (rustic pan-Indian), Semma (South Indian), and Rowdy Rooster (Indian fried chicken) all debuted to critical acclaim and netted a treasure trove of accolades including a Michelin Star for Semma and a "Best Chef New York" James Beard award for Pandya. Masalawala & Sons is their newest venture and highlights one of the best kept secrets in the food world: the dynamic cuisine of Kolkata, West Bengal. Both my parents hail from the city, so it was with a mixture of pride, nostalgia, and apprehension that I sat at the table. I hoped it would do the flavors justice. The space is small but lively, adorned with colorful streamers and wall art. Fair or not, I confess I found it strange that there were seemingly no members of the waitstaff of Indian heritage. This was particularly noticeable in the strained pronunciation of certain menu items, which no doubt affected the perceived authenticity of the experience. The service was otherwise decent enough. The three cocktails on the menu bore clever references to famous Bengali figures, but we found them rather run of the mill. My in-depth takes on the menu: Dahi Vada - known as "doi bora" in Kolkata, this is a spongy lentil dumpling soaked in a spiced yogurt. Here was a deceptively potent version of the beloved street snack that struck a wonderful balance between bitter and zesty cumin, refreshing mint, and sweet and sour dairy. Macher Dim - a stylized homage to a regional delicacy, the roe of the ilish (Hilsa) fish. While I am more used to consuming the eggs in a fried spherical form, here it is served as a sort of paste swimming in ghee (clarified butter) and mustard oil that you scoop up with a wooden spoon. I will be the first to say that this is an acquired taste. The roe is salty and funky and the mustard oil, which perfumes a number of Bengali dishes, is super pungent and tad bitter. I happen to love it, and the nostalgic flavor is well reproduced here. Biyebarir Fish Fry - "Biyebari" refers to a wedding reception, where fried bhetki (barramundi) is a fixture in Bengali tradition. This was an incredible version that captured the essence of the dish while elevating it. It almost borrows from fish and chips, in the sense that there were three distinct layers: super crunchy battered crust, followed by a steamy pocket of air, and then juicy well-seasoned fish. Amazing. The accompanying kasundi (mustard sauce) further bumped up the flavor. Bhetki Pathuri - fish caked in a paste of mustard, poppy seeds, and green chili and steamed in a banana leaf. Just incredible and as good as any I've tried. The flesh is moist beyond belief and the flavor is sharp, spicy, and sweet. Morog Boti - these neon red bone-in chicken bites are intense, rich, and spicy. The cool mint chutney is a necessary salve. Kosha Mangsho - a lovely take on the beloved and aromatic mutton (lamb/sheep) curry, oozing with ginger, garlic, and earthy spices. Not as good as my grandmother's, but can't hold that against them. Daab Chingri - this sweet and spicy coconut-based shrimp curry was heavy on aesthetics, coming piping hot in a hollowed coconut shell, but light on flavor. I found it to be flat and lacking in salt and complexity. Luchi - a deep-fried flat bread that is typically torn and used as a doughy vehicle for curries. Whether due to issues with construction or timing, the luchi came to our table deflated rather than in the characteristic puffed state, which was disappointing. My dinner at Masalawala & Sons was a memorable one, and I felt proud to share my regional heritage with my friends. The spirit of home cooking is there but with a more sophisticated touch and look. Indian Bengali cuisine has yet to really achieve a foothold outside of foodie meccas like New York, and I hope the success of this concept portends a future where that is not the case.

We came here on a Saturday evening with a reservation. It's hard to get a reservation, but not as hard as Dhamaka and Semma, the other two popular restaurants also owned by Unapologetic Foods. This restaurant is Bengali food, while Dhamaka is Northern Indian and Semma is Southern Indian. We ordered a couple of drinks, appetizer, entrees and dessert. Fish is more common in Bengali food than other parts of India. We had two fish dishes - Biyebarir Fish Fry and Bhapa Ilish. Both were good, though Bhapa Ilish has a lot of bones. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who's not comfortable with fish bones. Also, there's limited availability for this dish, and you'd need to go there early in case they run out. My favorite dish was Kosha Mangsho. It's braised goat and very flavorful. Overall, we enjoyed the food. The interior decor looks traditional, and the service was not bad.

5 STARS for the Bengali chicken biryani and the phuchkas!!!! I have high expectations when it comes to biryani so you have to get this. My fav biryanis in the city are now this and the one at Semma! The food has a kick tho (I have a higher spice tolerance and love spicy food so if you're like me this place is perfect! Was pleasantly surprised by this spot due to things I heard about it being too spicy but glad I tried it! Don't listen to the nytimes. I would come back to just have those 2 things again. I am not even a fan of pani puri really and I LOVED the phuchka. It's prepared table side and each one is bigger than usually but was hoping that more than 4 would come in a serving. The serving for the biryani is large and can easily feed 3! If I could order this to go I would! We also tried the bhekti paturi - this didn't have enough favor for me and had a fishy taste. I would try some of the other fish dishes next time. Decor is super cute with a bunch of spices written in hindi and the servers are great!! Will be back!!