New Site, but Same Good Food

It was an emotional first week back in business for India’s Oven, which burned down last month during the violence that followed the Rodney King verdicts. Long-time regulars and even startled newcomers who stumbled into the relocated restaurant were greeted like family.

“You see?” said the owner to a tableful of old customers, “the menu is exactly the same--we haven’t raised our prices.” He looked around the room, at the black lacquer tables and mirrored walls, almost in disbelief; the original India’s Oven on Pico Blvd. was the kind of storefront restaurant where the food came on Styrofoam plates. But this space, this smoked-glass Westside dining room where the now-defunct Indian restaurant Aashiana put its waiters in tuxedoes, is downright posh.

Like the man said, the food hasn’t changed much. It’s still good family-style Indian cooking: tandoor-baked lamb, chicken and breads; spice-filled meat and vegetable stews; several rice dishes. But this time around it’s served on real plates.

* India’s Oven, 11645 Wilshire Blvd., West L.A., (310) 207-5522. Entrees $ 4.50 to $ 8.50 .