Copra

General Notes

Excellent upscale Indian restaurant near Japantown. They opened recently and have been generating a fair amount of hype, and for good reason. There wasn't necessarily any particular dish that was mindblowingly good, but everything was executed consistently well. Dishes were intensely flavorful and so savory, while maintaining a great balance. It's definitely on the pricier side, but it's actually not as much as you'd think (the dishes are surprisingly substantial, often with multiple components / sauces) and I think it's well worth giving a try.

Positives

> This is possibly one of the most beautiful restaurants I've ever seen. The exterior is unassuming (it looks like it used to be a bank), but I absolutely love the decor inside. It gives very cozy romantic vibes, particularly if you're on the first floor in the area with the dividers

Dishes Tasted

• ★★★☆ Copra's Watalappan -- pineapple, pine sugar, cashews, butterscotch cream. A nice combination, not too sweet, kind of has a similar texture to flan.
• ★★★☆ Peach & Nannari -- pistachio, yogurt, basil oil. I was a bit skeptical about the addition of basil oil, but it came together wonderfully! A relatively light and refreshing dessert.
• ★★☆☆ Rabbit Ghee Roast -- slow roasted byadgi chili, curry leaves, rabbit salan, kallapam. slow-roasted and simmered in green pepper masala, baby shallots, and garlic. Nicely tender, I personally found the flavor to be a little odd and too strong on a couple of spices. The kallapam was great though!
• ★★★☆ Dindigul Style Chicken Biryani -- jeera samba rice, red onion raita and pepper, salan. Very good -- rice was well cooked and flavorful, chicken was tender. I think it would have been a bit bland without the salan, but along with that and the red onion raita it rounded it all out nicely.
• ★★★☆ Black Cod Pollichathu -- wrapped in banana leaves, shallot crust, cooked on cast iron, served with ghee rice and moilee broth. Wonderfully tender and the flavor of the moilee broth with the ghee rice and black cod is delightful.
• ★★☆☆ Thattukada Fried Chicken -- fennel seeds, red chilis, black pepper, shallots, and masala crumbs. The chicken is cooked really well; I personally found the texture of the "crispy" part a little strange. I think this dish could have benefitted from a touch of sweetness
• ★★★☆ Chutney Palette -- wild goosebery chutney, burnt chili - tamarind chutney, coconut green sambal, ghost chili chutney. Served with poppadom and quinoa crisps. Intensely flavorful and well balanced.
• ★☆☆☆ Orange Ruby -- lemongrass, wilderton lustre, vibrante, orange blossom, tonic, makrut lime leaf. Looks cool, the taste is a little strange. It ... doesn't really taste like much, other than slightly bitter.