meddle
I had lunch at the Indian restaurant "Nataraj" in Harajuku. Just like the same-named restaurants I have visited in Ginza, Minami Aoyama, and Ogikubo, this place specializes in vegetarian dishes and also offers vegan options. While the Ginza and Minami Aoyama locations have closed, this one in Harajuku and the one in Ogikubo are still open, with a related store in Shibuya as well. The restaurant is located close to the Meiji-Jingumae subway station, along Meiji Street, and is only a 10-minute walk from Harajuku. It is on the 8th floor of a building and has a bright and casual atmosphere, different from the luxurious feel of the Ginza and Ogikubo locations. It was easy to enter and had many female customers, as well as foreign customers from Europe and America. For lunch, they offer set meals or à la carte options, but the main attraction is the buffet-style meal that most customers seemed to order. The lunch set includes 4 types of curry, 2 types of naan, rice, salad, pickles, sweets, black tea, and coffee, priced at ¥1,290, slightly higher than the other locations. The salad had two types of dressing and was fresh and tasty. The drink was mint tea, which was refreshing and complemented the meal well. The curries included Navaraj: a curry with potatoes, cabbage, and a slightly spicy taste reminiscent of Japanese home-style curry. Sambar: a curry with daikon, green beans, and a hint of acidity but not very spicy. Kabocha: a creamy and sweet curry more like a soup than a curry. Matar: a curry with green peas and some kidney beans, similar in taste to sambar. All the curries had a mild spiciness and were easy to eat as they were. I added chili powder from the buffet table to the kabocha curry, which improved the flavor to my liking. The curries were somewhat similar in taste, and I wished there was more variety. The plain naan was made with eggs and dairy, while the spinach naan was vegan-friendly and had a crispy texture. The turmeric rice was slightly soft, and I think a firmer texture would have been better with the curries. I usually eat rice as the main dish at other locations, but this time I ate more naan and finished with just the curries. The dessert was kheer, with a moderate level of sweetness. Overall, the meatless curries were delicious, and I was satisfied, but due to the similarity in curry flavors and the rice being slightly lacking, I rated it 3.5 stars.