Culver City: Eating at Sāmbār is like traveling to India

I loved dining at Sāmbār in Culver City. Eating here reminded me of my three months of travel in India–see the 57 videos below from my 130+ hours of travel on the public bus all over the subcontinent. The tastes and smells brought back memories of incredible meals because the food here is authentic and tasty. It opened this summer in June and is run by Akasha Richmond (who also runs AKASHA down the street for the last seven years.)

On the site of Ford’s Filling Station, Akasha’s love and affinity for the Indian culture is based on her travels to this rich and diverse country and the food is fantastic. The menu included small plates and snacks like Pakoras and Papadoms, and housemade Turmeric Naan as well as Sevpuri Chaat, Black Quinoa Uttapam and Sāmbār.

I loved everything we tried and we ate cheese thali, sevpuri chaat, coastal organic zucchini kofta, basmati rice, turmeric naan, Kachumber salad, Uttapam (quinoa pancake) and sambar (like dal) with red onion &tomato chutney. The truck stop goat curry was my favorite dish! The Ora king salmon curry was great and try the Punjabi mama greens too! The makki ki roti is gluten free. And then there is dessert including coffee ice cream pie, vanilla soft serve sundae and homemade cookie plate. I was impressed with the range of flavors and the variety on the menu. 

As for cocktails, Mixologist Clare Ward oversees the cocktail program introducing spice-forward drinks using exotic ingredients such as Kokum (sour fruit from Southern India), Indian cardamom bitters, as well as fermented ingredients to name a few. Stand-out cocktails on the menu include: The Maharaja, Smuggling Monk with coffee infused scotch, Vegetable Wallah or Bangalore Blues using a turmeric infused gin.

 

Authentic #indian food from @sambar_cc cheese thali and sevpuri chaat. Wow! I feel like I traveled back to India. The food is so fantastic. Opened June 1, 2015

A photo posted by Lisa Niver (@wesaidgotravel) on Jul 14, 2015 at 7:10pm PDT

Seriously stupendous @sambar_cc Samosa Kachumber salad Uttapam (quinoa pancake) and sambar (like dal) red onion &tomato chutney A photo posted by Lisa Niver (@wesaidgotravel) on Jul 14, 2015 at 7:43pm PDT

Coastal organic zucchini kofta, basmati rice and turmeric naan. The tasty surprises appear @sambar_cc in #culvercity

A photo posted by Lisa Niver (@wesaidgotravel) on Jul 14, 2015 at 9:04pm PDT

The truck stop goat curry @sambar_cc was my favorite dish! The Ora king salmon curry was great and try the Punjabi mama greens too! The makki ki roti is #glutenfree. A photo posted by Lisa Niver (@wesaidgotravel) on Jul 14, 2015 at 9:07pm PDT

And then there is dessert @sambar_cc coffee ice cream pie, vanilla soft serve sundae and homemade cookie plate

A photo posted by Lisa Niver (@wesaidgotravel) on Jul 14, 2015 at 9:11pm PDT

VIDEOS: 57 Videos from 3 months in India