When I first drove down University Boulevard and passed the iconic restaurants and bars that comprise the DU’s food culture, I was curious to see what might inhabit the home of the Southern Belle restaurant Four Friends Kitchen, who specialized in grits of all kinds. The space’s bright white accents glistened in the sun while the faux grass in front of the restaurant always upheld its lovely green color. The unusual outdoor seating brought out your inner child with swing chairs that looked nostalgic if you were to rock in them. It seemed like a refreshing spot compared to the run of the mill restaurants that live beside it. Would it become a California-style clean eating restaurant, a smoothie bar that transports you to the tropics or your next all American hang out slinging burgers and fries the way your dad does on the grill all summer long? Instead, Serene Cuisine of India has taken root and will definitely transport you away from the ice covered streets of Denver. 

Upon entering the restaurant, their lively, lavish colors are the perfect complement to the bold flavors and spices that everyone loves about Indian cuisine. Serene Cuisine of India is one of the newest residents at DU, and their authenticity will ensure that they continue to sign their lease.Their menu is a bit long, but that is to show its patrons that Indian food expands far beyond the traditional red curry. Instead, they are here to display all the different styles of cooking ranging from stewed meats to the intense heat of a 900-degree tandorri oven that can create a beautiful charred crust to any meat while leaving the inside tender and falling apart. This much variety calls for you to bring at least five friends so that everyone can experiment with?a different sauce and protein to see how diverse the dishes truly are. 

Let’s begin with the starters. While Italian restaurants often serve bread with olive oil and American restaurants love a good chunk of butter with their rolls, Serene doesn’t hesitate to put papadam as your replacement for your first carb course. These light cracker shards are lined with bubbles so you can see just how weightless it is, and immediately upon crunching down on one piece it shatters like glass and dissolves. These pieces are huge but won’t sit in your stomach like the breadsticks from Olive Garden. Instead, they offer a beautiful whole wheat taste that reflects a nutty quality. 

This starter comes paired with three accompaniments that surpass any butter or oil that other restaurants will provide. The vibrant green coriander and mint sauce, when freshly ground, releases all its oils to light up the room with a fresh scent. The already bold flavors in this sauce receive a tanginess from the addition of lime, and mellowing out the pugnet quality. Next, you can dip the crackers in what looks like thick maple syrup; instead, it’s the sweet and tart tamarind paste. Mixed with ginger and cumin to give it some saltiness  its deep red color is stunning with the flavor causing you to douse your cracker in it. Finally, the mango chutney sauce has all the sweetness of your favorite jam, but Serene surprises you will a heat that hits you in the back of the throat.

Now that you enjoyed your appetizer, it’s time for the star of the show. The tandorri style of cooking is unique to Indian cuisine as other cultures cook in standard ovens, sauté pans, deep fryers and grills, none of which can elicit the heat that a tandorri oven does. This massive clay oven quickly heats any protein to lock in all its  juices with mesquite charcoal, giving it a hint of smokiness. It makes fish break apart effortlessly, and their Mahi Mahi is a great example. The chicken and lamb are also traditionally baked tandoori style, as the oven cooks the protein all the way through while preserving its flavor. It’s paired with long grain basmati rice that soaks up all the masala sauce that gets served right along side it. 

However , don’t forget about getting naan.  Its similarity to soft-chew pizza dough replicates an Indian style bread stick, but instead of marinara sauce, you drench it in masala instead. I like to use it to make Indian style tacos, where you can stuff the bread with food  to max capacity. The bright orange masala sauce is a compilation of the warm spices of fall often seen on Thanksgiving or in a pumpkin spice latte. However, this sauce adds smokey and spicy seasonings like cumin, turmeric, mustard seed and red chiles. All this flavor does not overwhelm the meat – instead, it brings out its natural flavor. The lamb comes through with it’s beloved gameiness and the chicken is a more neutral flavor that gets uplifted by all the spice. 

Additionally, Serene offers a variety of curries and other sauces that simmer with the meat for hours on end. It reminds my of coming home after a cold wintery day to my grandma’s pot roast that was a beloved brewed dish in our house that expressed love based on our patience for it to cook all day long. The restaurant can get the meat so tender based on long cooking times as well as the often flavorless yogurt marinade’s acidity that also breaks down the meat’s tough fibers. The marinade also makes the meat absorb all those warm spices that perfume the entire restaurant. 

You walk into Serene knowing that something is cooking in the kitchen – and it’s being cooked well. Each sauce has its own unique twist to the soulful style of Indian cooking. Some are laced with vegetables like onions and bell peppers and are the base of any great stock or sauce. The saag sauce is green from the spinach that resembles a fantastic spinach and artichoke dip that no one can live without. The vindaloo sauce has to be one of my favorites because the spicy chile pepper hits you upon impact. It elicits a minor sweat and a tingle on your tongue but something about the combination makes going back for more addictive. It has vinegar and garlic as the backbone to the flavor profile and an extra hit of yogurt to soothe your palate.  The chefs will also add any heat you want to their assortment of sauces. Another cool feature of Serene is that you can make new combinations of meats, vegetables and sauces to ensure you never run out of options. 

 DU’s neighborhood is not short on ethnically diverse food options, and Serene is just another way to explore the intricacies of Indian culture through the love and attention curated in their food. Also,  since it is so new, they often offer lunch and dinner species, so don’t miss out on their discounts to get the fantastic soul food with added perks.