AUTHOR BIO: Dana Somerstein’s passport is stamped with perfect pizza slices, delicate dumplings, and buttery baked goods. When she’s not chasing her next reservation, she practices real estate and banking law as a partner in Fort Lauderdale.
Dinner at Junoon is the culinary equivalent of a Carnegie hall symphony. The tempo, the textures, the temperature of each bite are so intentional that somewhere between courses, you stop eating dinner and start experiencing it.
The food transports you, but the service deserves its own standing ovation. At any moment, someone glides over to refresh a glass, reset silverware, explain a dish, or notice something before you do.
Junoon is a family run, upscale homage to Indian cuisine, opening in the Flatiron District in 2010. It pushed back on the idea that Indian food in America had to be casual, inexpensive, or predictable. Michelin noticed quickly: the restaurant earned a star in 2011 and kept it for eight years. After closing during the pandemic, Junoon returned in 2021 a few doors from its original location, smaller and more intimate but still intent on treating Indian cuisine as serious fine dining.
We opted for the Journey through India with the coursed wine pairing, which begins with champagne because, as the sommelier Andrew Gianvecchio put it, “That’s the move.” He was right. The warm brioche notes and bright acidity somehow prepared the palate perfectly for the layers of spice, smoke, and richness ahead. Like stretching before a marathon.
And if you choose the Journey Through India tasting menu, it is a marathon — one paced so beautifully you barely notice how far you’ve gone until the final course lands. Junoon chef Akshay Bhardwaj understands that flavor alone isn’t enough. The magic is in contrast. Cold against warm. Crunch giving way to silkiness. Smoke followed by brightness. Every dish is built not just for taste, but for movement.
The amuse-bouche featured a mango canapé so bright and sweet with a boba-like burst into liquid upon the first bite it practically mic-dropped onto the table. Then came the single-bite samosa which was a shatteringly crisp outside, deeply spiced and comforting inside.
Later, a saag rota arrived. It is a truffle-covered mushroom falafel-like earthy and crisp morsel served on a delicate lotus-shaped roti crisp. I didn’t know whether to frame it or eat it. Next, the dosas came in waves: crunchy, tangy, sweet, spicy, and impossibly delicate. The gunpowder masala dosa which rivals another NYC acclaimed Indian restaurant known for the same dish.
Duck in ghost pepper curry
Next up was the galouti kebab. The goat patty balanced sour, sweet, herbaceous, and pickled notes with astonishing precision. It may make your palate sing an entire opera of notes in just three bites. We are unapologetically kebab people, and Junoon turns that devotion into religion.
The high point of the night was the duck in cashew ghost pepper curry served alongside crispy naan and rice. The heat built slowly, then dramatically, each flavor layering onto the next until the dish practically hummed with intensity. Not punishingly spicy — just thrilling.
Just as the meal reached its peak, dessert softened the landing beautifully: creamy rice pudding that is lovingly prepared by the chef’s mom is topped with slivered candied almonds that tasted like comfort at its finest. The servers themselves clamor for it as it’s freshly made to travel home in one bite.
As someone who doesn’t always enjoy the overindulgence of a tasting menu, this one was never flair before food. Each dish was as delicious as beautiful and none of them overwhelming. Junoon doesn’t impress through excess. It impresses through precision, hospitality, and an almost obsessive understanding of balance.
The meal is thoughtful and each dish tells a story of a different region of India with flavors that slowly build toward a deep, rich crescendo.
Let them conduct. You’ll leave ready to applaud.
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