Cassia

My wife was luckily gifted a voucher from work for Cassia. It feels quite exclusive based on where the restaurant is situated i.e. tucked away in Fort Lane just off Queen Street.

Modern feel with exposed brick, exposed wiring for lights, and dark decor.

Service was great - attentive staff and food came out quickly.

Modern Indian cuisine - we said we do not have dietary requirements and wonder if we could have told them my wife would have preferred mild / medium (she can eat spicy but prefers mild). The eggplant dish was fairly spicy but still tasty and not overpowering. This is not a complaint but rather a point to make for future visitors.

The food was not 'blow-your-head-off' spicy, but offered flavour and a general heat and tingly mouth feel.

Plates are made to share, except for the bites which are almost literally just that - bite sized portions.

We have fairly large appetites (!) and also wanted to sample as much as we could in our visit so we ordered x2 bites each, x3 small dishes, x1 'To Share', x1 garlic naan side, and x1 dessert to share.

Every single dish had heaps of flavour and was presented beautifully!

We ordered the following:
- Pani Puri - my wife had this and is not a huge fan of mint but she wanted to try it and was not disappointed
- x2 Wagyu Beef croquettes - these came to us hot and came with a delicious type of mayo / cream that I wish we had more of!
Crayfish and beetroot cone - also beautifully presented and delicious with a bit of a kick
- Roasted carrot - the macadamia masala was to die for
- Eggplant - divine and a good hit of spice. Perhaps could have done with a little more smoked yoghurt
- Tandoori fish - not too much heat, great flavour, and the fish was cooked perfectly!
- Caramelised duck - this came with rice, and also a bit of a kick. Tender duck, so good
- Chocolate, banana cream, walnut - ice cream, bits of cake/brownie, raspberries, banana cream. Great way to finish off a warm meal with a bit of tart, sweet, cool flavours

This is a fine dining restaurant so expect to pay a little more for your dishes though you certainly get what you pay for at Cassia.

Really lovely place and ambience .

Came here for dinner, had to book one and a half weeks in advance. The only days that were available earlier were times like 5pm or 9:30pm.

The waiter was friendly and attentive and gave us a rundown of the menu as well as a suggestion of how we should order.

We ended up with the caramelised carrots and kumara for a starter. It was paired with a flavoursome butter. Altogether it was a good dish.

There was a long wait in between starter and main but the waiter apologised so something must have gone wrong in the kitchen. This was forgivable because the mains were phenomenal.

Good service, cosy interior and great ambience.We tried their pork, lamb, chicken and paneer mains.Everything was really good but the pork has got to be the best dish on the menu.It was beyond amazing.Will be back try something else.Recommend.

Better the second time around. We had a large group so were lucky to escape the slightly louder restaurant area for the private dinning area. The waitress we had was fantastic gong above and beyond to explain the menu and help the vegan ,vegetarian and picky eaters to find the perfect food items to share. We didnt do the detestation which i did last time as the portions are smaller than getting a few to share. So we did this as the staff help ensure you have what you need. The food once again was faultless and we enjoyed each delicious dish between each of us . The fish was my favorite but there was so many to choose from i couldnt possibly list them all .
Reservations are a must and definitely taking on the advice of the waiters as they do not alter spice level etc either which i love but might not suit everyone