Tusker House Restaurant

FOOD

At lunch and dinner, spit-roasted tandoori chicken sits alongside pork marinated with berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend. Cumin features in the chicken’s seasoning. The roast can be served in bone-in pieces with browned skin and tandoori sauce alongside. Doro Wat brings pieces of chicken and vegetables in a red-brown curry sauce. Green curry shrimp has a paler, vegetable-studded sauce, with peas and broccoli among the additions. Braised beef tajine has been served as a chunky stew in red sauce, with green olives scattered over it. Selections change, especially the breads, accompaniments and seasonal sweets.

The breads and dips are worth more than a passing glance. Naan can come seasoned with za’atar, joined by curry corn cakes and honey-rosemary roti. Apricot-raisin blatjang brings fruit into a chutney-style condiment, with coriander chutney and whipped butter also among the accompaniments.

South African spiced cauliflower curry, potato-and-pea curry and North African pilau are among the plant-based offerings. Carrot-ginger soup can be accompanied by cardamom granola, an unexpected pairing for a buffet soup. Couscous salad is also on the plant-based menu. Red Red supplies African-stewed beans among the savory sides, with spiced broccoli and jasmine rice also offered.

Watermelon-feta salad puts sweet fruit alongside salty cheese. The carrot-olive-raisin salad has its own sweet-and-savory combination, with dried fruit and olives sharing the bowl. Anyone expecting the lentils to be the mild option should know jalapeños can be part of the lentil salad. The dressings can include house-made ranch as well as peri-peri and coconut-curry vinaigrettes for the salad greens.

The children’s selection includes chicken strips with barbecue sauce and meatballs, with broccoli and potatoes alongside. House-made macaroni and cheese can have a lightly browned baked top, with strands of melted cheese through the pasta beneath. Additional savory offerings have included rotisserie pork served with raita, chermoula salmon and spicy North African meatballs. Plantains have been roasted with honey and za’atar.

Breakfast offers cooked-to-order omelets, scrambled eggs and plant-based frittatas. Shakshuka brings eggs cooked in tomato sauce with onion, herbs and spices to the morning spread. Rotisserie ham, pork and turkey sausages, bacon and breakfast potatoes accompany the eggs. POG juice blends passion fruit, orange and guava, and is also known here as Jungle Juice.

South African French Toast, called bulkas, shares breakfast with Mickey and Simba waffles and pancakes. Macerated berries, syrup and whipped cream are among the accompaniments; banana-caramel sauce has also been offered. Banana and caramel make a persuasive argument for waffles. Pastries can include a chai-spiced croissant, guava Danish and mango-apricot jam cake.

Seasonal desserts include small cheesecakes, blondies, mousses and verrines—desserts served in small glasses—plus a plant-based dessert. The rotating assortment has included guava mousse on a coconut base, passion-fruit cheesecake with fruit on top, and blondies containing chocolate chips and raisins. Pumpkin cheesecake tarts are among the autumn examples; malva bread pudding is another lunch possibility. Small portions are rather considerate of the indecisive.