Indian food meant to sizzle

Sat Garg of AkarStudios in Santa Monica is the designer behind this new restaurant from Nikki Sood (daughter of Sudesh Sood, owner of Gaylord Indian Restaurant, which occupied the space for two decades). Garg also designed Tantra in Silver Lake, but his Tanzore budget was clearly bigger, making the overall effect -- sleek contemporary punctuated with sizzling color and fabrics -- much grander.

African daisies float in the knee-high pool that divides the dining room into two parts. Of course, any high-end trendy restaurant has to have a few regal high-backed booths and a long banquette perfect for accommodating big groups, like the dozen or so young actors and their handlers playing with their phones. "Wazzup?" coos one ingénue into her phone, activated the minute she sat down.

In the lounge, another group meets for drinks, ordering up exotic cocktails. There's an impressive wine list as well, and a good international selection of wines by the glass and half bottle. The wines are stored in a glass wall behind the maitre d' station.

Executive chef Gautam Chaudhry refers to his menu as Indian modern, the waiter tells us. It's lighter than the usual heavy Indian fare, he says, and when he mentions that the spiciness is toned down, I worry.

But a few tastes of the food and I stop. The very astute cooking might be less scorching hot than, say, a Goan vindaloo, but it is not lacking in flavor. And most of the dishes are much better than the menu descriptions imply. One difference from traditional Indian restaurants is that nothing is served family style, so if you want to have a taste of this and that, you'll have to trade plates.