Scrumptious Food at Sarovar

This past weekend, I dined at Sarovar Indian Restaurant, 8440 Burnet Rd. I was apprehensive as I haven't enjoyed much of the Indian food I've had in Austin and found the Clay Pit particularly unenjoyable.
I needn't have worried. Sarovar's food was incredible. I chose the chicken tikka, which is generally chicken stewed in a yogurt sauce. When my order arrived, I thought they had made a mistake. It didn't look at all like the chicken tikka I've cooked at home. It looked more like tandoori chicken, which is a yogurt roasted chicken that comes out to the table bright red. My dining companions assured me this is how the chicken tikka always looks at Sarovar. I shrugged my shoulders and ate it. The dish was incredibly tasty: moist and flavorful. I had chosen the popular thali platter, which is available with all entrees. With this option, you get a tray full of side dishes such as naan bread, vegetable soup, dal and various sauces. Everything was delectable. One friend's chicken korma, which is in a very rich cream sauce was also quite good.
My only complaints were with the dessert, which was a fried cake ball that was sitting in a syrup made of honey, mint and rosewater. I found it appallingly bad, rather like having cough syrup for dessert. My three dining companions all liked it, however, so I'll chalk it up to everyone having different tastes in food. The raita, which is a yogurt side dish, was way too thin and watery, instead of thick like it should be.
The one other problem of the evening was the incredibly slow service. We had to request a friend's beer three times before she finally received it. And we also waited a lifetime to receive our check. If you want really fantastic Indian food and don't mind slow service, Sarovar is the place to be.

Check out my ethnic foods column at Examiner.com!