David and I love Indian food. We really love Indian food. Until recently, we had not yet found a good Indian restaurant in Atlanta that I confidently felt could ensure a safely gluten-free meal for me. Much Indian food should be naturally GF, as it’s centered around rice and yummy (flour-free) sauces but sometimes there can be a language barrier, which can make it difficult to be completely clear on what’s gluten-free and what’s not.
Upon recommendations from friends, David and I decided to try out Bhojanic, a Decatur Indian restaurant, for our belated Valentine’s date. I emailed with the manager earlier in the week and they assured me that many of their items are gluten-free. Bhojanic is located in a strip mall on Claremont Road (just off of I-85), not downtown Decatur. It’s very easy to get to and parking is hassle free, unlike downtown Decatur.
When we arrived at Bhojanic, we were immediately seated and of course started salivating at the menu. There were so many items on the menu, which made me feel confident that there would be something I could enjoy. It was actually a bit overwhelming to know where to start with the menu, but our waiter was very patient and took the time to explain many of the dishes to us. (David and I both ask lots of questions!)
In talking to our waiter, he was a bit overly confident that certain things were gluten-free. For example, he assured us the cornbread was gluten-free, but we had him double check and it turns out that they do dust the bread in flour. This was a good reminder to me that it’s always worth it to really make sure your waiter verify ingredients with the kitchen. Even though I didn’t want to be pushy, I also didn’t want to ruin our Valentine’s date. David is my biggest advocate when it comes to dining out, so he’s always willing to ask, if I’m not feeling as assertive as I need to be. (Thank you, Valentine.)
We ended up ordering a handful of different items on the menu, but our meal centered around Chicken Tikka Masala, which is hands down my favorite Indian dish. At each restaurant, tikka masala is a little different, so you never know exactly what you’re going to get, but it’s a tomato based sauce that is delicious, and varying in spice levels. At bhojanic, you can order different sizes of this dish but David and I wanted enough for two (and leftovers) so we got the bigger serving. We also ordered a rice bowl to share with our tikka masala. The tikka masala had a bit of a kick to it, and was one of the best we’ve ever eaten and the leftovers the next day were equally as delicious.
Chicken Tikka Masala…so good.
Everything we ordered at bhojanic was gluten-free so we could share all of our dishes. It’s so much more fun when you can happily stick your fork in your date’s food and take a bite, without worry. At this point, I don’t fully remember what we ordered (apologies!) but it was all delicious. We enjoyed a chickpea side dish, a tapas dish that involved shrimp, and a cheese appetizer. Bhojanic has a long list of specials each night so the menu online is not comprehensive and most of the items we ordered aren’t even on it. Hence, I can’t tell you exactly what we ate, but you can see the photos.
Shrimp tapas
Yummy cheese dish: Beware, those are jalepenos, not okra, like I originally thought.
I would definitely recommend bhojanic, but you want to make sure to check with your server or the manager about each specific dish. Also, they do not use a separate fryer so I would avoid anything fried. A successful Valtentine’s date night and David’s already advocating that we go back! Next time, I’ll remember what I ate.
bhojanic – 1363 Clairmont Road, Decatur,GA 30033
404.633.9233