Marga's Foodblog

It's been so long since we went to Sansar, an Indian Restaurant in Pleasanton, that I don't feel I can write a proper review. Still, as so far this is the best Indian restaurant I’ve discovered in the Bay Area I can’t let it pass unacknowledged. So, and until we go again and I can write a formal review, I figured I’d write my recollections of our dining experience at Sansar here.

We went there in June 2004, when Kathy was visiting us. Our actual intention had been to go to the Pleasanton Hotel for music and outdoor food, but we had gotten there late and there was no place to sit anywhere. That may have been for the best, as the crowd mostly consisted of middle-aged, high-heal bearing, suburban looking folks - not exactly our types of people.

We noticed Sansar right across the street and we figured we’d have dinner there - we all love Indian food and are always in the look for a new place. Kathy - who until then was convinced she disliked Indian food - wasn’t thrilled with the idea but went along with it.

The restaurant was quite empty that Thursday night, which may have accounted for the very friendly host. It’s an OK-looking place, perhaps a tad nicer than most Indian restaurant, though still retaining much of the look of whatever restaurant was there before it. The menu is quite expensive, with vegetarian dishes averaging $9 and non-vegetarian dishes ranging from $12 to $21. The food, however, was worth it.

I don’t remember if we ordered an appetizer, but I do know that both the chicken tika masala and the lamb korma we ordered were excellent, probably the best we’ve ever had. They were quite spicy, however - even though these are dishes that are not usually spicy. They were so good that they made Kathy into an Indian-food convert. Her lamb byriani was also excellent, the rice was very flavorful and the lamb was tender. Like the curries, it was quite spicy.

I don’t remember what Regina and Boris ordered, I think Boris was quite happy with his dish though Regina felt hers was too spicy and didn’t eat as much. Still, everyone agreed that this was very high quality Indian food.

We’ll certainly go again, next time I’ll ask for my dish “mild” and I’ll write a proper review.

Sansar
824 Main St.
Pleasanton, Ca.
925-600-0202
M-Sa 11 am-3 pm, 5-10 pm
Su, 5-10 pm