3/5 stars
Dear Elephant Walk,
I really did want to love you (and don't worry, there's still chance for a redemption song).
I loved your name, I loved your sign. I even loved the musk you emitted into the street.
But here's what I didn't love:
1) Beer cost - we each ordered a large Taj beer (when in Rome), and they were $10 each. We got exposed because there was no drink menu with pricing, so we rolled the dice and the dice set our cash on fire.
2) The Lamb Vindaloo should've been called "Vindaloo with a dash of lamb". I am of the opinion that you can never have enough lamb - in this case, they fell short of my preferred lamb quantity of infinity by......infinity.
3) There was a similar volume problem in the saag paneer, except in this case the absentee was the paneer.
Saag paneer, to me, is to an Indian restaurant what a burger is to an American restaurant. That is, the whole menu lives and dies by the saag paneer. In this case, the saag paneer didn't kill the meal, but it certainly left a bad taste in my butt.
As an Indian myself, I have the luxury of having homemade Indian food any time I make it home. So the fun of going to an Indian restaurant is to treat yo'self to "restaurant style" Indian food. That is, greasy oily fatty (delicious) Indian food. Elephant Walk walks more along the line of homemade Indian food - so for those who don't have the luxury of getting homemade Indian food at home, this is a good option.
Also, this place does have the nicest interior of any Indian restaurant in Cincinnati. In fact, I just assumed that this was the owner's SECOND restaurant, because typically the first effort has a sloppier (read: budget) interior. But they balled out the first time around, so holler@yourinterior.com
OTHER SMALL TIDBITTIES
1) All night long, they played great bollywood songs, which made me want to shake my bollywood bum. In my bollywood booth. With a bollywood broad.
2) That Bhaingan Bhuna is the most bangin dish on the menu, girl hit that
3) Description of dishes would be helpful, so someone doesn't ask for a Rogan Josh only to get a plateful of Josh Groban.