Indian... Ish in Fitzroy

In 2020, when COVID hit and Melbourne first locked down, I was living in Collingwood.  I don’t remember too much of that era (mainly because I intentionally blocked it out), but I do remember trying Ish.  Their takeaway, of course, but it stuck in my memory as somewhere to go back to when the madness was over.

Fast forward three years, and I finally finally get there.  I don’t live in the area anymore (which is probably why it has taken so long) but it was Y’s birthday (almost - she celebrated the actual day by getting engaged on the Mornington Peninsula) and I was looking for somewhere that ticked three boxes:

• Good Food.  This was particularly important because not only do I refer to Y as my ‘foodie friend’, but because the man in her life is an incredible chef.  Her high standards, since meeting him, have gotten incredibly higher
• ‍Ethnic.  By which I mean: not of the Western, caucasian variety.  (Which I love, by the way, but I thought that category would be ample out on the Peninsula where she was the last few days)‍
• Mid Range.  I’ve not always enjoyed this kind of food when it falls on the more expensive end of the scale (Indu, perhaps, comes to mind) but my memory of that COVID takeout is what made me pick here

Ish is on Gertrude Street, which has a lovely atmosphere on both ends of the scale: on a sunny day with people spilling outside onto the pavement, or, on those cold winter evenings, huddled indoors housed in a cosy warmth.  

When we went in, on a balmy Spring Friday after our nine-to-five, Ish was pretty empty (it did fill up, though, while we were there).  You can get a set menu, but since Y and I both have a habit of overeating (once, at lunch, we got three desserts each), we decided to go a-la-carte:

DAHI PURI - We got two of these to start, and while it is a messy, messy dish (please do ask for a spoon each to scoop up the inevitable), it is one of my favourite Indian eats.  A savoury, sweet, sour combination housed in a crispy ball of delight: what’s not to like?

ROTI DUCK TACO - A good dish for two to share, since there are two per serving.  It was… unmemorable, but to be fair, the word ‘taco’ probably raises my expectations to unreasonable levels.  Blame Mexico.

TANDOORI PRAWNS - this was a special of the evening, and I must say, absolutely delicious.  When you can taste both the flavour of the seafood and the smokey char of a tandoor, you know you’re onto a winner.  If this happens to be on the menu when you visit, do try it!

CURED KINGFISH - I love love love cured seafood.  But unfortunately, this was the loser of the evening.  There was not enough acid in the dressing (which supposedly did include lime), and the flavour combination with eggplant was odd rather than interesting.

BENGALI LAMB CURRY - So, the reason we picked this was because of two things: 

• we both usually go for vegetarian curries (I love meat, but I find it unnecessary in curries which have flavour enough with all them spices) and we wanted a treat (it was a birthday celebration after all!) and
• the menu description.  Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, true, but I can’t help but think how a restaurant can steer its customers to particular dishes using the power of words

Anyway, dubious reasoning aside (I do try not to be swayed by words), this was delicious.  And bone-free, for ease of eating.  Not a soupy curry, but saucy enough to dip our naans into.

BLACK GARLIC NAAN - This was a good naan.  And not only garlic, but black garlic?  Please and thank you.

I wasn’t drinking that evening (Y doesn’t, so why bother?), but I did try one of their non-alcoholic options, which was much like the tacos… unmemorable.  Stick to a beer (my favourite option with Indian) or try one of their famed actual cocktails.