In a city riddled with contradictions it only seems logical that the paradoxical Indya by Vineet should be a hit. For some guests Indya will present as an oxymoron of sorts because the basic premise is high end street food. Looking past that and delving into the creative culinary twists offered up by Chef Vineet Bhatia and there’s a sense of genius to it.

So what is Indya actually about? Essentially, it’s tapas style Indian street food presented in an elevated way. The majority of the dishes are all set price and the menu is then assembled into categories based on food origin, so you end up with a series of sections that feature dishes from ‘from the earth,’ ‘from the land,’ and ‘from the sea.’  The intention seemingly is to be a little experimental which results in a a bit of an East meets West style fusion. In all there’s 70 plates to choose from, allowing you to build and share the meal as you like.

From a design perspective, Indya seems to take cues in no small part from the likes of Little Miss India with its eclectic style and colonial veneer. It’s a little less over the top and also brings in the seemingly obligatory street art element with everyone’s favorite elephant Ganesh. In this case it works well here both figuratively and spiritually, as Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and the deva of intellect and wisdom - which no doubt helped the Meridien fast track the opening with DM.

Getting back into the food and there’s a lot on offer here with many dishes having fun names. Perhaps none more so than the KFC, Kerala Fried Chicken (AED 75) which gives you three pretty chunky drumsticks served in newspaper with a kind of sweet and sour dipping sauce and yes it’s finger licking good.

As the food is made to order and drops when ready, your flow could end up being quite random, thankfully it all works pretty well together, with some of the highlights being Mr. Aloowalia (AED 65) and the Tandoori Cauliflower (AED 65). The former being a cheddar cheese potato patty and the later being an extremely tasty roasted cauliflower number with a tahini sauce. There’s also the Dahi Sev Papdi (AED 60) which looks the part with its bright yellow sauce contrasting nicely with the black charcoal bits lushly layered onto a crispy chaat, which is a classic Indian street snack.

Moving on to the heavier items and we opted for a couple of classics in the form of the Butter Chicken (AED 75) and the Lamb Biryani (AED 75) along with a Butter and Garlic Naan (AED 15 each). Both were good, but in reality offered little in the way of fusion and thus came across as over priced for what they were. Still, no real complaint as the overall food offering at this licensed venue is excellent and the service absolutely immaculate.

In all, this is the perfect spot for a special occasion or to get together with a group and try something really quite different. Either way, it’s a culinary journey you’ll be happy you went on.