Indian Pavilion

FOOD

Indian Pavilion’s daily lunch buffet draws from regional Indian and Indo-Chinese cooking, with a rotating spread that can stretch from creamy tikka masala to goat curry and gobi Manchurian. Weekends can bring a bigger selection and a little live cooking. Curries, tandoori dishes and biryani form the main spread, with the snack dishes and weekend dosa station giving lunch plenty of reasons to stray.

Tikka masala is the familiar creamy curry in the mix. Goat curry gives the savory spread a particularly welcome name for diners whose Indian-food cravings extend beyond chicken. The curries rotate, so let the day’s selection lead a little. Goat alongside tikka masala is an encouraging combination: lunch has room for the comfort-food favorite and the dish someone has been hoping to find all week.

Tandoori chicken and biryani are among the selections that have joined the buffet. The chicken brings the clay-oven cooking tradition to lunch, while biryani is a spiced rice dish with a place of its own in the spread. Goat curry, chicken and biryani make a persuasive little trio for a leisurely lunch. The precise biryani and tandoori selection can change; a favorite is a fine reason to return, and the next lunch may bring another.

Gobi Manchurian is another name to watch for: battered cauliflower from the Indo-Chinese side of the kitchen. Cauliflower has landed itself a rather more interesting assignment than steamed side vegetable. Pakoras also bring fritters into the savory selection. These are the dishes that make the smaller buffet trays worth a look, especially when the curry line has already caught your eye.

Some weekend spreads also include samosas, chaat and dahi vada, the lentil fritters dressed in yogurt. The samosas and pakoras bring pastry and fritters into lunch; dahi vada gives that snack selection a different preparation altogether. There is a chutney bar, too. Taken together, these smaller dishes give the buffet some of the character of a meal that began with snacks and simply kept finding good reasons to continue.

Fresh naan arrives at the table, with plain or butter naan included and garlic naan carrying an extra charge. For a committed garlic person, this may be the shortest deliberation of the afternoon. The bread gets its own arrival, even in a meal whose main dishes are waiting on the buffet. That little bit of table service suits Indian Pavilion’s dressed-up dining room rather well.

The weekend addition to keep in mind is a live dosa station, serving filled dosas with coconut chutney. A South Indian crepe made at the griddle gives this spread a specialty with its own little performance. If dosa is the reason for your outing, check the station’s availability before settling on a day. A weekend can have excellent intentions and still need a little planning.

Dessert selections have included fruit and pineapple pudding, with pistachio topping among the pudding’s finishes. Pineapple is a cheerful note after the savory spread, and the pudding gives lunch a properly sweet farewell. Pudding under chandeliers? The room has already dressed up; dessert might as well join in.