What’s on the menu at Leela, a new Indian tapas restaurant from the owner of Amaya

Name: Leela Indian Food Bar Neighbourhood: The Junction Contact: 3108 Dundas St. W., @leelabyamaya
Owners: Hemant Bhagwani Chef:  Sudhan Natarajan

The food

Snacks like curried popcorn and chaat, a crunchy street-food staple in India; curries, including a charcoal-smoked butter chicken; naan “pizza”; and two tasting menus of 12 to 15 dishes. “The idea here is to try small portions of lots of different things,” says Bhagwani. “I feel that with Indian food, the palate gets tired very quickly because diners typically get bigger portions of spicy or rich dishes like chicken tikka or butter chicken. Here, you just have a couple bites of one dish and then move on to a new one with a new flavour.”

The drinks

Bottled beer (Amsterdam, Beau’s, Muskoka); signature cocktails with Indian twists, like the Bollywood Gin Tonic made with fig-infused booze; and a list of mostly international wines Bhagwani selected to pair with his dishes. Non-potent potables include lassis (mango and avocado) and masala soda made with fresh grapefruit juice, soda, lime and a house-made masala syrup.

The space

The colourful, 30-seat space has a big open kitchen and one wall decorated with foodstuffs imported from India.