Large food hall with a variety of cuisines, all offered with full service.

Punjabi is the regional focus. The foods are honestly spiced, and the staff is welcoming.

Named for one of the Crown Jewels, Kohinoor is indeed a gem. The lamb korma was wonderful. The yellow sauce was smooth and creamy and coated the tender bite-sized chunks of lamb. It was great spooned over a mound of fluffy basmati rice. The vegetable biryani, a rice dish, was chock-full of such veggies as broccoli, cauliflower and green peas, plus some cashews and raisins. It was an ample and filling vegetarian alternative. The naan, a thick, slightly leavened bread, was delicious. The dining room is showing some signs of age and could use some updating, but the staff remains as friendly as ever.

Mynt has moved into the Hannibal Square neighborhood, and just like its similarly spelled namesake, it’s a refreshing addition. It took over the space that was previously occupied by Fresh Cafe. I’ve always liked the intimacy of this place — it can feel like one of the small restaurants in Brooklyn or the West Village. But Mynt’s owner, Sunny Corda, has also reopened the upstairs dining area, where there is a bar, which adds more seating while still maintaining the cozy atmosphere.

Corda also owns Saffron on Sand Lake Road’s Restaurant Row. But even though both restaurants are Indian, Mynt is quite a bit different.

Mynt takes a fresher and more healthful approach to its food. In fact, it uses no ghee, the type of clarified butter that is somewhat of a staple in Indian food. Instead, Corda told me, the kitchen uses more olive oil in the recipes.

A winner of the Best Indian Foodster Award for Independent Restaurants, Saffron is part of the group that includes Madras Cafe, the all vegetarian and vegan restaurant, and the estimable Mynt in Winter Park’s Hannibal Square neighborhood.

The menu is African with Indian influences, but not to the point of excluding beef or pork. Look for those touches in the spicing. The food may be a bit more exotic than most people are willing to try, but it’s almost all done expertly. And you can’t beat the atmosphere, with a ground-level view of the grazing area where you’re likely to see giraffes galloping by.

Moderately good Indian food near the UCF campus.

Tabla Bar & Grill is a terrific Indian restaurant in a really lousy location and space. The dining room has the feel of having once been the sort of diner you usually find attached to a motel. And, in fact, it seems to be attached to something similar, perhaps a timeshare facility. To get to the restaurant you have to pass a booth touting tickets to local attractions as well as a convenience store of sorts.But the important things, the food and the service, are first-rate. The cuisine is authentic, and the staff is welcoming and friendly and they go out of their way to do a little extra. My favorite among the entrees was the alu bukhara gosht, hunks of lamb in a sauce seasoned with plum and ginger, which gave a sweet note to counter the spiciness. I also enjoyed the murgh dhansak, chicken in a sauce flavored with pumpkin and fenugreek with lentils. It was ordered medium-spicy, which was just hot enough to perk up the taste buds without singeing them.
Lamb rogan josh was a more recognizeable dish of lamb with tomatoes and almonds. There is a long list of vegetarian dishes. I had the cauliflower mussallam, which had florets in a creamy sauce tinged with tomatoes.

A third location for the popular independently-owned Indian restaurant.

Though smaller than the Orlando location, the Winter Park restaurant offers a dining experience that is simultaneously intimate and distanced, using the interior dining room with its full-wall window looking out to an atrium with covered dining under a never deciduous tree. And if that isn’t enough, there are also tables on the sidewalk fronting Park Avenue.