Restaurant review: Ruchii provides a fun, diverse Indian dining experience

Ruchii Indian Restaurant, Blackrock, Co.Dublin. Pic: Paul Sherwood.

• Ruchii Indian Restaurant
• 9 George’s Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin, A94N563
• Tel: [phone]
• Mon, Wed, Thurs & Sat: 5-10pm; Fri, Sat: 5-11pm
• Dinner for two including three starters, two mains, two desserts, three glasses of wine and a beer cost €164.00
• www.ruchii.ie

The interior of Ruchii Indian Restaurant, Blackrock, Co.Dublin.

Move over Kentucky and Korea — Keralan Fried Chicken is here. 

Ruchii in Dublin’s Blackrock has a new premises and menu, and one of the fun highlights is a South West India take on fried chicken: tender chicken thighs and breasts encased in a golden crunchy shell enlivened with a mix of complex spice flavours and a curry leaf mayonnaise for dipping.

I realise Indian fried chicken could be seen as unserious but Ruchii is a serious restaurant and I applaud them for having a bit of fun with their menu. Their shiny new premises is just up the street from their old one and are a nice step up in atmosphere. And it is busy. On a recent Monday, there were 30 booked in for the tasting menu (with matching wines).

Myself and the Physicist were more interested in exploring the à la carte which had a choice of 11 starters and 11 mains, most of which were unfamiliar. Too often Indian restaurants in Ireland feel obliged to fill their menu with kormas and vindaloos but in Ruchii I spotted just a couple of dishes that could be found in a typical takeaway menu — chicken tikka and lamb seekh kebab.

Pulled Jackfruit Phulka 'Tacos'. Pic: Paul Sherwood Photography

The abundance of choice led to us ordering three starters as we simply couldn’t pick just two. Pulled jackfruit phulka (€9.50) was a duo of what could be called tacos given their presentation, but were in fact crisp flatbread filled with meaty creamy jackfruit flavoured with fragrant warming spices and with yoghurt and lime to balance out the richness.

Keralan Fried Chicken at Ruchii. Pic: Paul Sherwood.

Keralan fried chicken (€11) as mentioned above, had layers of flavours in that golden crust while adraki lamb chops (€14.50) were sweet Wicklow lamb marinated with ginger, cumin and aromatic fennel flavours. The ginger and fennel added heat and pungency but this was balanced nicely by a bracing mint chutney on the side.

Ghee roast lamb botti (€24.50) had been marinated overnight and then cooked in ghee (clarified butter) on a cast iron tava pan. Rich earthy flavours abounded with lots of black and green cardamom notes adding bitter-sweet pungency. This worked well with the sweet dried fruit and coconut flavours of a Peshwari naan (all the breads were so good we asked for extra to take home).

Adraki Lamb Chops at Ruchii. Pic: Paul Sherwood Photography

Mango coconut jumbo prawns (€26.50) are one of Ruchii’s signature dishes and the plump luscious prawns in their sweet-savoury sauce (cut with green mango) were a pleasing contrast to the lamb and the darkly spiced flavours in Ruchii special black daal (€8.50) made from urad lentils.

The wine list is another highlight with prices starting at €30 for decent Languedoc, and a pleasing mix of classic and modern choices with fair pricing throughout. I gather Tom Doorley had a hand in the list and he has chosen well. 

Had I been feeling richer on the night I might have opted for Niepoort Douro, Mount Horrocks Sémillon or perhaps Blank Bottle Moment of Silence or maybe a bottle of Domain Matrot Meursault. 

I like that the emphasis has been placed on aromatic and richer-flavoured wines, the type that go best with Indian food. My glass of Henschke Peggy’s Hill Eden Valley Riesling (€10) was crisp and textured and the Physicist’s Baron de Badassière Viognier (€8.50) also worked well. Beer choices are also judicious.

Desserts cost €9-10 and having eaten more than I should have I felt ice cream was in order. Kulfi Falooda was typically dense, creamy and fragrant while vermicelli strands added some slippery textures and rose syrup and basil seeds enlivened proceedings. 

Bellam gaare’ lentil doughnuts had been dipped in earthy sweet jaggery syrup which was cut nicely by a tartly refreshing lemon sorbet. 

Chef Sateesh Sayana visited our table (and every other one) a couple of times, and we felt very well-minded by the staff. We loved our meal and the chef’s ambition to open diners up to new flavours is an admirable one — we’ll be back.

The Verdict:

• Food: 9/10
• Wine: 8.5/10
• Service: 9/10
• Ambiance: 8/10
• Value: 8/10
• In a sentence: Ruchii is serving creative, inventive, and supremely tasty Indian food well worth the journey to Blackrock.