Best of Boston

2016 Best Indian Restaurant

Punjabi Dhaba

On our first visit, a pair of regulars told us, completely unprompted, that we’d love this place. Why? Is it Mohan Singh’s meltingly tender, bone-in goat masala, accompanied by hubcap-size naan? The sitar-heavy soundtrack? Or the adrenaline-fueled open kitchen, where a cluster of cooks pile steaming vindaloos and curries onto metal trays? By the end of our meal, we’d answered that question: all of the above.

225 Hampshire St., Cambridge, 617-547-8272, punjabidhaba.co