A couple nights ago I ate at Shosha, a newly-opened Indian restaurant in downtown Sunnyvale. I’d first heard of it a month or two ago when I noticed someone passing out flyers for the restaurant. I picked one up and was instantly intrigued by its claim to combine molecular gastronomy with classic Indian cuisine.
Shosha Ambience
Shosha calls itself a fine-dining restaurant, and the ambience does fit that. It has an upscale feel with its dark lighting and colour scheme. Although, apparently the lights get switched on if guests request it – that happened during our meal. Downstairs is the main seating area and bar, and upstairs is the function room.
Shosha Food
Shosha has an extensive dinner and dessert menu, which can be found here. It seemed quite meat-heavy for an Indian restaurant, but there are still plenty of vegetarian options.
The meal started off with a complementary snack, which consisted of some wafers and an Indian-style mayonnaise. It tasted good, and the presentation was interesting.
We ordered two appetizers: the Dahi Papadi Chaat with Dahi Bhalla “Ice Cream” ($18) and the Tandoori Bhutta ($12).
The presentation of the chaat was beautiful, and it had a good flavour. I wasn’t a huge fan of the “ice cream”, but the pomegranate was a nice touch.
The Tandoori Bhutta also came in an interesting container – maybe not the smartest design, because it almost rolled off our table once. It had a strong flavour, and the spices were more intense than anything else we ordered (which I liked). It was best eaten with the accompanying chutney.
For our main course we ordered the Paneer Saagwaala ($22), which is basically an Indian cheese in a spinach sauce. It tasted great but the small quantity was inadequate considering the price.
We also got the Mirchi Pyaaz Ki Roti ($4.50) and the Lachcha Paratha ($4.50) to eat it with. My sole critique would be that the roti had absolutely no spice, despite being described as “spiced with green chilies and onions”. Other than that, both were hot and tasted fresh.
Dessert
They were out of the dessert I’d wanted to try, so we ended up having the Gulab Jamun ice cream ($12). The flavour was exactly like a gulab jamun, but the texture was a little off. I also wondered where the sugar corals and rose caviar were, as I’d previously seen pictures containing them. Ours, however, was just the ice cream and a syrup.
Drinks
In addition to the bar, Shosha also serves a few non-alcoholic drinks. These include tea, mango and rose lassis, and Chaas Buttermilk. Mango lassis are my go-to drink at Indian restaurants, so of course I ordered one ($7). I have to say, this was the one disappointment of the meal. It’s hard for me to dislike a mango lassi, but this one was pretty bad. I couldn’t finish it.
Shosha Service
Prior to our meal, I’d read multiple reviews online saying the service was less-than-perfect and needed some serious improvements. I didn’t find that to be the case at all. We did have the benefit of dining at an off peak time, so that may have helped, however I still can’t imagine that the service would ever be as bad as some of the reviews described.
They were constantly checking on us – asking if we were ready to order, making sure everything tasted right. They were happy to accommodate my nut allergies and provide requested information. And they were friendly while doing so.
The only problem was that the hostess didn’t wear a mask, and they are currently required in my county. Everyone else was properly wearing one though.
Also, at the start of the meal, they burned some incense to create a nice aroma before the food was served. This was a nice detail that they didn’t need to add – it shows they put some effort into making the meal a good experience.
Final Thoughts
I had a good experience dining at Shosha and could see it becoming popular in the next few years if some improvements are made. The food is delicious and the presentation is fantastic, but it’s very overpriced. Even if they just decreased the price by a few dollars per item, it would be a significant improvement. Because of the price, I won’t regularly return to Shosha, but I intend to eat there again sometime.