Cassia

The Kitchen

The tandoor is the engine. Sid Sahrawat built Cassia around a clay oven fired hot enough to char a naan in under a minute and to set a tandoori marinade before it dries out, and almost everything good here passes near that heat. The roti and naan are pulled to order, the spice oils are pressed in-house rather than bought, and the marinades are layered — a base of ginger and garlic, then the dry spice, then the yoghurt that carries it onto the meat. That is the difference between a serious modern-Indian kitchen and a reheated curry house, and it is why Cassia took Metro’s Restaurant of the Year in 2016 and has held a Cuisine hat since.

Sahrawat reworks the spice combinations he grew up with using New Zealand produce. The roasted carrot with vindaloo spice and cashews is the longest-standing plate on the menu and the one to order first — a sweet root vegetable carrying a sauce usually reserved for pork. The tandoori chicken tikka tacos are the city’s most-photographed plate for good reason; the goat shoulder is slow-roasted with northern-Indian spice; the lamb biryani arrives sealed in its pot and opened at the table so the steam carries the aromatics. Finish with the chocolate, coffee and miso dessert, a sphere that cracks to honeycomb miso and raspberry — a pastry-section flex with its own following.

The “Journey Through India” tasting menu runs about NZ$95 a head (a drinks match adds roughly NZ$85), and the à la carte lands in the NZ$95–160 range per person. After a decade in the SkyCity precinct, the restaurant is settling into a new corner home at Albert and Wyndham Streets, beside voco Auckland City Centre — a short walk from Britomart, in the working CBD dining grid.

The Room

A single open parlour of about seventy seats: two-tops, a long banquette wall, and the tandoor pass anchoring the back so you can see the fire from much of the floor. The sound is a warm, captain-led hum rather than a roar, the lighting is low, the tables are close enough to feel busy but not cramped, and the dress code is smart-casual. The bar runs a spice-led cocktail card — tamarind, cardamom, a Negroni rebuilt around the kitchen’s notes — and the wine list of about ninety labels leans into Marlborough Pinot Gris and Hawke’s Bay Syrah that pair into the spice without a sommelier round.

Not for

Skip Cassia if you want mild, familiar curry-house cooking — the kitchen seasons with intent and leans into real chilli and spice, so a diner who finds a vindaloo-spiced carrot too assertive will be happier somewhere gentler.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cassia worth it? Yes, if you want Auckland’s reference modern-Indian kitchen rather than a neighbourhood curry house. Sid Sahrawat’s room took Metro’s Restaurant of the Year in 2016 and has held a Cuisine hat for years, the tandoor work is genuinely skilled, and the NZ$95 “Journey Through India” tasting is the best-value way to see the range.

What should I order at Cassia? Start with the roasted carrot with vindaloo and cashews and the tandoori chicken tikka tacos, then the slow-roasted goat shoulder or the sealed-pot lamb biryani, and finish with the chocolate, coffee and miso dessert. If you would rather not choose, take the “Journey Through India” tasting at about NZ$95.

Where is Cassia now? After a decade at SkyCity on Federal Street, Cassia is moving to a new corner site at Albert and Wyndham Streets, beside voco Auckland City Centre, in the central CBD. Check the current booking page for the live address and opening dates before you go.

How hard is it to book Cassia? Plan about two weeks ahead for a weekend dinner, less midweek. Dinner runs Tuesday to Saturday from around 5:30pm. Ask whether the tasting menu is running on your night, since the kitchen sometimes limits it during the move.