There’s a cozy new restaurant serving both Indian and fusion cuisine in Milwaukee’s Yankee Hill Neighborhood. Turmeric Indian Cafe & Bar opened its doors just before Thanksgiving at 1014 N. Van Buren St. That’s the former site of Mykonos Gyro & Cafe, which closed in 2018.
Behind the new eatery is Paramjit Kaur, who has operated Royal India on South 27th Street since 2017. Under her guidance, the restaurant space has been transformed into a bright, welcoming space with turmeric-hued walls, a blue ceiling and red accents. Seating is available at red vinyl banquettes and low-top tables, as well as at the cafe’s bar, which serves a menu of specialty cocktails.
On the menu
Overall, the menu is very much a pared-down version of that found at Royal India. However, guests will find several new items including Indo-Chinese bites like chilli momos, an Indian variation of the dumplings found in both Tibet and Nepal, which were brought to India by Tibetans in the late 1950s.
Turmeric’s are filled with guests’ choice of chicken or vegetables and served tossed in a sweet and spicy chili-tomato sauce. Chilli Meatballs are also available, featuring beef-based meatballs tossed in the same tangy sauce.
Also new is a section of the menu entitled Fusion Feast, which features approachable American comfort foods, some prepared with a bit of Indian inflection. Options include burgers, pasta alfredo, lasagna, chicken or paneer tikka pizza and palak paneer lasagna.
From there, the menu focuses solidly on Indian staples, many from Northern India where Kaur is from. Starters, priced $5.99 to $14.99, include vegetable and meat-filled samosas, chaats and fish pakora, a highlight at Royal India which features bite-sized pieces of flakey white fish (classically Swai) coated in chickpea flour and spices and fried until golden brown.
Familiar favorites include vegetable offerings ($12.99-$15.99) like chana masala, dal makhani, aloo gobi, baingan bharta (spiced eggplant), rich tomato and cream-based navratan korma and saag paneer featuring spicy pureed spinach and Indian cheese.
Entrees ($16.99-$24.00) include tandoor specials like malai chicken, paneer or chicken tikka, tandoori chicken and lamb boti kebabs; biyrani (chicken, goat, lamb, shrimp or vegetable); and curries including korma, butter chicken and the ubiquitous creamy, spiced tikka masala.
Meanwhile, Southern India is represented in dishes like the storied Chicken 65 ($14.99), the spicy starter which finds its storied origin at the Buhari Hotel in Chennai in 1965. Turmeric also features vindaloo (with a choice of chicken, lamb, goat or fish, $16.99-$19.99).
Breads include a variety of na’an (garlic, aloo and chicken), along with roti, kulcha stuffed with onions, bhatura, poori and buttery malabar paratha ( $3.99 to $6.99).
Desserts at Turmeric include staples like tender gulab jamun (syrup-soaked rounds of fried dough) and kulfi along with rasmalai, a fragrant paneer and milk dessert scented with cardamom and saffron.
Lunch specials (including both vegetarian and meat-based options) served from the cafe's mini buffet are also available between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Turmeric Indian Cafe & Bar is open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The restaurant is closed on Tuesdays.
As a passionate champion of the local dining scene, Lori has reimagined the restaurant critic's role into that of a trusted dining concierge, guiding food lovers to delightful culinary discoveries and memorable experiences.
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with every dish. Lori is the author of two books: the "Wisconsin Field to Fork" cookbook and "Milwaukee Food". Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or planning for TV and radio spots, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
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