Once upon a time if you wanted to eat Indian in Boston you had to go to the Back Bay, which is home to more curry houses than any other neighborhood. Fortunately a few years ago a successful local management company that owns several Indian restaurants in Boston opened Mela in the South End.
Mela consistently cooks flavorful dishes at a reasonable price. Dinner including an appetizer, main dish and dessert (no drink or tip included) will cost $20.00 – $25.00 per person. However, if you are like me temptations like Samosas and Naan will lead you to order more than you can eat and result in bringing home extra food. Mela recently added a limited organic menu featuring locally sourced ingredients, which I didn’t try on this visit but wanted to mention.
Tomato & Coconut soup – $5.00 and Vegetable Samosa – $4.00
For our main dishes we ordered chicken tikka masala, a tandori-style plate cooked in rich tomato cream sauce. We also ordered baingan bhartha which is a house specialty that includes baked eggplant with onion, garlic, ginger and spices. Both meals were extremely satisfying and flavorful. Not depicted below is the large bowl of jasmine rice which accompanies all entrees.
Chicken Tikka Masala $15 and Baingan Bhartha $13
Mela is open for lunch as well as dinner and is relatively easy to get a table except during peak hours on weekends when a reservation are recommended.
Mela is in the South End at 578 Tremont Street Tel: (617) 859-4805
BosGuy 
When I was in grad school in 89-91 we loved going to this mexican restaurant in Cambridge, down the blow from Harvard and a movie theater. It was a big restaurant and always a very long wait. I can’t recall the name, obviously, but could get there in my sleep. Does it sound familiar and could it still be there?
It’s been way too long since I’ve been back.
LikeLike