The Gully is tagged as an Urban Desi Eatery, but what exactly does that mean? The décor is modern Bollywood and the food relatively traditionally. Perhaps the Queens, New York setting is the lick of Urban for this business.
The Gully: Food
With the restaurant as the core business, let’s talk food! I visited the restaurant opening week, I remember being pleasantly surprised by the food. On this second visit, I feel the menu has gone through some tweaks.
Menu 
Calamari Chaat 
Fuska 
Lamb Chops
For appetizers, we ordered Fuska (traditional Calcutta City style crispy puri puffs stuffed with potato chickpeas and eggs) and Calamari Tempura Chaat (tempura style fried calamari, sev crisps topped with tamarind & mint sauce).
The Fuska was incredibly crunch, quite impressed with the layering of textures. I could have done with some more imli, but that’s personal preference and the way I eat all my chaat-style snacks.
The Calamari Tempura Chaat is a delight. There’s a generous amount of meat, the dish is satisfying without being too heavy, and something I would order again.
For main course, I chose the lamb burger and my husband ordered the lamb chops. I remember the burger from my first vist, it was moist and flavorful. Sadly, the burger this time was bland and forgettable. On top of that, the accompanying “chips” were prawn crackers (?) Masala fries would have definitely been more exciting.
Lamb chops, on the other hand, were scrumptious! I would swap the saffron rice for potato wedges or cumin rice, but the quality and cook of the meat was impressive.
My first visit included a tasting of the tandoori mac and cheese and I found it sweet. Having seen changes to the menu, I would consider trying it again.
On a final note, the chai is decent, for $1.00, I truly cannot complain. Perhaps as I pass through town, I will just grab a chai and maybe splurge on cake. Hm…
Ambiance:
The space is small but packed with visual treats! The ceiling is covered in throwback Bollywood film posters, the accent wall is covered in a hand painted mural with actors Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha, and parallel, the wall showcases canvases by Haf and Haf. Unfortunatley, the tight space makes it tough to snag the perfect selfie, but it’ll force you to just live in the moment.
The Gully: Urban Desi Eatery is where you’d go for Instagram clout and decent food. This isn’t a fancy or intimate space so grab a few friends (and your wallets) and check it out once. No regrets.
