At 179 Essex St in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Gazab is a contemporary Indian restaurant built around bold spices, shareable plates, regional influences, and playful updates to familiar dishes. The kitchen describes its food as scratch-made, and the current menu ranges from street-food-inspired bites to biryani, paneer, curries, and tandoori preparations. Gazab NYC works especially well for diners who want Indian food with more creative presentation than a standard curry-house experience, without turning dinner into a formal special-occasion production.
The dining room leans casual and lively rather than quiet or dressy, making it comfortable for dates, dinners with friends, and small groups. Current posted hours have Gazab closed Monday, open 5–10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and serving both lunch and dinner Friday through Sunday, with later closing at 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Reservations and online ordering are available. The menu also clearly identifies vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free selections, useful for mixed-diet groups, while beer, wine, mango lassi, and Indian soft drinks provide several pairing options.
For a first visit, sharing a few contrasting dishes gives the best sense of the kitchen. Kolkata pani puri offers a bright, sweet-and-sour start, while the charcoal-smoked chicken tikka brings deeper spice and smoky flavor. Vegetarians have substantial choices such as methi palak paneer, made with house-prepared paneer, fenugreek, spinach, cumin, and fried garlic. For a main course, Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani combines basmati rice, saffron, whole spices, yogurt, and fried onion, while the Parsi lamb shank takes a richer route with tangy tomato gravy and crisp potato salli. Current pricing places most small plates in the mid-teens and many larger plates in roughly the low-to-upper $20s, before drinks, tax, and tip.
Customer feedback is generally strongest on flavor, friendly service, and dishes that feel distinctive without losing their Indian roots. Recent diners have praised the staff’s recommendations and well-judged spice levels, while broader feedback rates food and service particularly well. The atmosphere is described as energetic, with moderate noise rather than a hushed dining room. Not every experience is seamless: at least one recent diner reported a reservation problem on arrival, so confirming a busy-night booking directly may be sensible.
Gazab is best for casual date nights, group dinners, adventurous Indian-food fans, and diners who enjoy ordering several dishes to share. It may be less suitable for someone seeking very inexpensive takeout, a silent business dinner, or only familiar restaurant standards. First-timers should consider pairing pani puri or chicken tikka with a biryani or paneer dish and finishing with the gulab jamun crème brûlée,a well-rounded way to experience what makes Gazab more interesting than a routine curry stop.
Semolina crisps, potatoes, white peas, sweet & sour flavored water, boondi.
Sweet & sour yogurt, mint avocado chutney, tamarind & dates chutney, Fine sev, pomegranate.
Crispy cauliflower, soy chili sauce, garlic, chives, sesame, masala sour cream.
Queso cotija, fennel, dry mango powder, chaat masala, clarified butter, fresh mint.
Homemade Cottage cheese, peanut, coconut, pickled onion, chili garlic labneh
Fried chicken cubes, coriander, black pepper, rice flour, curry leaves, baby radish, fresh coconut zest.
Chicken wings, chili tomato sauce, broken cashew, curry leaf ranch.
Ghost chilli marinade, mint yoghurt sauce, pickled onion, lemon
Monday Closed
Tuesday 05:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Wednesday 05:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Thursday 05:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Friday 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM ,
05:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Saturday 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM ,
05:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Sunday 12:00 PM - 04:00 PM ,
05:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Contact Details
