Nine steps below the street lies this quaint Harvard Sq Indian restaurant called Tamarind Bay. It’s adventurous Indian food served up in an unadventurous setting. It’s got spice, it’s exotic (I’ve definitely never had banana dumplings before), and it’s definitely in a class of its own.

All told, however, it is not in my opinion the best Indian meal in Beantown. Namaskar and Bhindi Bazaar still reign supreme.

But Tamarind Bay’s rich home-cooked flavor makes it very promising, and I think it’s a place to keep a close eye on. They change their menu seasonally, after all. With some refinement, it could be an excellent restaurant. But tonight the entrees were way too oily, the naan was cold, and the rice was lukewarm (I like my food steaming hot when it hits the table, like at Punjabi Dhaba in Inman Sq). And while the food was exotic compared to your typical Indian fare, sometimes the spiciness killed all potential subtleties.

I have to admit a bias of mine about Indian food, though. These days when I go to new Indian places, I do a little prayer before my meal—inspired by Namaskar’s food—asking that they please involve saffron in some way in my entreé. And at Tamarind Bay my prayers were unanswered. I can’t really blame them for this—why should they use saffron, anyway? Do Indians really use saffron in home cooking?

Apparently not.

Name: Tamarind Bay
Menu: slick black plastic/faux-leather
Bathrooms: ‘tiny’ and ‘tinier’
Tablecloth: White, covered with plexiglas
Seats: Cloth-and-vinyl-backed benches and wood chairs.