Jasmine's Bringing Indian Food with a Modern Flair to New Brunswick

Jasmine's Bringing Indian Food with a Modern Flair to New Brunswick

George Street Restaurant Opening Jan. 9

A woman from Poland who makes her home in Sussex County has been inspired to open an Indian restaurant in New Brunswick.

Izabella Pal says Jasmine’s Modern Indian Fusion Restaurant at 365 George St. will offer heaping helpings of traditional Indian favorites, with modern twists.

The kitchen will be separated from the dining room by a low wall, which will allow diners to look on as chefs prepare their meals, created with halal meat sourced locally from an organic farm, breads from the ovens of a local bakery, and made-in-house desserts.

There will be an array of chai teas, and you are more than welcome to add your own spicy splash to the colorful mocktails on the menu.

To make the elegant night complete, there will be a corner reserved for live musicians to play on the weekends.

When Jasmine’s opens on Thursday, Jan. 9, Pal says the restaurant’s food will seek to, pun intended, curry favor with Rutgers students and members of the surrounding Indian community, as well as add to the City Center’s vibrant vibe that drew her here in the first place.

“It will be a place that, on Friday, Saturday, Sunday night, you feel like, ‘OK, I want to go out and have a good dinner with my wife or with my girlfriend. I want to enjoy good music, good food, flavorful food, and just have a good time,’” Pal said. “This is the place you have, I don’t know, an anniversary dinner or celebrate a special occasion.”

But why Indian food?

Well, when she and her husband, who’s from India, got married in 2018, they had an elaborate five-day Indian wedding. That’s when she learned a lot about the culture and customs.

“After it ended, I was like, ‘I’m missing something,’” Pal said. “It’s so fun, it has so much to offer. I feel Indian culture is rich in colors, in flavors, in spices. That’s what I want to bring in a more elevated way to New Brunswick.”

The melding of traditional Indian flavors with modern flourishes and a dash of the Polish hospitality Pal grew up with can be glimpsed throughout the brunch and all-day menus in dishes such as masala chicken egg Benedict, chicken tikka Caesar salad, and ras malai French toast.

“My goal was No. 1, quality, but we didn’t want to drive the prices super high,” Pal said. “So, the way you do it is you basically try to repurpose one item that’s fresh and you want to keep it fresh in multiple ways. And that’s what we did. Our menu, when you read it, is pretty short, but I want to focus on a flavor. Every single dish will give you a different taste. Everything is fresh.”

Shawn Ishtiaq, Pal’s longtime friend who will be serving as the general manager at Jasmine’s, says that Pal had an edict when forming the menu: Nothing canned.

The interior, too, is elegant with its emerald green accents and golden-hued light fixtures. It even carries outside, where the green signage and hanging Arabic-style lamps invite you to come inside.

“This used to be a beauty supply store, but I drove down George Street and saw this location and I called Shawn and said, ‘I need that spot. That’s where the restaurant is going to be,’” Pal said.

Click here for details about Jasmine’s.

Story and Photo By: Chuck O'Donnell