Description
Jammed into a strip mall, sharing a parking lot with a doughnut parlor, a kebab house and a check-cashing emporium, Mayura may be the last place you would expect to find a fine Indian restaurant. But just up the road from the Culver City hamburger stands and Thai restaurants that draw lunching studio workers, not far from divey Indian snack shops, grocery stores and cheap vegetarian joints but nowhere near anyplace you might stop for high-quality regional Indian cuisine, there is Mayura. It is a full-service establishment. preparing the usual plates of chicken tikka and lamb korma but cooking them in a separate kitchen so that vegetarians need not fear the errant bit of flesh. Mayura's cooking is halal, compliant with Islamic dietary laws, and the menu includes Pakistani meat dishes like nehari and haleem, as well as special iftar, postfast buffets during Ramadan (and special Muslim dishes on Fridays). If they happen to be offering the special Kerala-style biryani - your best bet is on weekends - order it without question. The fluffiness of the rice and the sharpness of the spicing are superb.
