Badshah Social Makes a Strong First Impression in Park Slope

1.1K Situated just a few minutes away from the Barclays Center, Badshah Social, is the acclaimed new restaurant from Chef Abishek Sharma. One of my favorite questions to ask on a date is, “If you could ask a crystal ball anything about your past, present, or future, what would you ask, and why?”. I remember testing it on my friends in Malibu a few years ago and deciding they were resoundingly boring when every one of them chose not to ask anything at all. What’s funnier, of course, is that I still do not have a particularly good answer myself. Perhaps more revealing than the answer is whether someone chooses to look backward or forward. I love thinking about the future, but I try not to dwell on it too much because you truly never know what tomorrow holds. Case in point, if you had told me a week ago that I would spend two consecutive nights in Park Slope, I would have called you mad. Yet one night I found myself watching cheesy shark movies in a neighborhood bar, and the next I was reviewing Badshah Social, a new and remarkably solid Indian restaurant just steps from the Barclays Center. Badshah Social is the latest concept from Chef and Owner Abishek Sharma, whose hospitality portfolio also includes Swagat on the Upper West Side, Madam Ji in the West Village, and the catering company A13 Events. The restaurant takes its name from the Hindi word for “king,” but the menu is less interested in royal excess than in the more democratic pleasures of India’s streets. To develop the concept, Sharma traveled through Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Gujarat, Punjab, and Southern India, collecting recipes and revisiting the techniques that define the food of each region. The resulting menu moves freely across the country, pairing recognizable Indian comfort food with dishes inspired by neighborhood markets, street vendors, and regional traditions. That breadth could easily produce a menu that feels scattered, but Badshah Social largely avoids that problem. The restaurant understands itself first as a gathering place, somewhere to share plates, order drinks, and move through different regions and flavors over the course of an evening. In fact, I find the menu to be incredibly beginner friendly while never forgoing any of the authenticity. We began with two cocktails, one built around a blackberry-infused whiskey and the other, a sweeter riff on a Negroni. Both were solid and well balanced, providing enough character to stand on their own without competing with the food that followed. The pani puri offered an early test of the kitchen. It is the kind of dish that can easily be overcomplicated, but Badshah Social kept the execution traditional and precise. Each bite delivered the familiar contrast of crisp shell and bright, layered filling that makes pani puri such an enduring pleasure. The paneer and fig tikki moved in a similar direction. The flavors were notably mild, with the sweetness of the fig complementing the paneer rather than overwhelming it. Its soft, almost potato-like texture made it a more subtle dish than the pani puri, but no less comforting. The entrées arrived with garlic naan, butter naan, and white rice, creating the sort of generous spread that encourages everyone at the table to try a little of everything. The butter chicken was exactly the kind of comfort food the dish should be. The chicken was cooked perfectly, remaining tender beneath a rich and satisfying sauce. They did not attempt to reinvent one of Indian cuisine’s most recognizable dishes, however they executed it well and avoided the pitfalls a lesser spots rendition would be plagued by. The Hyderabadi dum biryani was even more compelling. The meat is marinated for 24 hours before being layered with basmati rice and cooked using the traditional dum method, in which the pot is sealed to trap steam and flavor. We were told that the dish will soon become available by reservation only, a decision that makes sense given the preparation involved. What arrived tasted like a kitchen taking that process seriously. This was not biryani softened or simplified for a broad audience. It was an authentic rendition. The sort of dish that anyone familiar with biryani would immediately understand and to test that, I made sure to bring a friend who could test that. For a restaurant attempting to represent several regions of India on one menu, it served as the clearest evidence that Badshah Social remains grounded in the traditions it draws from. The lamb was another highlight. Lamb can easily become heavy, particularly alongside rich sauces, rice, and bread, but these were unexpectedly light on the palate. The meat was tender, and the seasoning remained subtle enough to let its natural flavor come through. It was a restrained dish on a menu otherwise filled with bold flavors, and that restraint worked in its favor. Dessert brought Motichoor Ladoo ice cream, vanilla ice cream topped with saffron, an edible flower, and a sweet garnish that reminded me of fine coconut shavings. The ice cream itself was straightforward, but the toppings transformed it, adding fragrance, texture, and just enough sweetness. Sometimes a dessert does not need a complicated premise. It simply needs to understand how a few small additions can make something familiar feel special. Badshah Social succeeds because it does not confuse creativity with reinvention. Sharma’s travels across India give the menu range, but the kitchen’s strongest dishes remain attentive to the traditions that inspired them. The restaurant is modern in its presentation and energy, but rarely at the expense of the food’s identity. It is the kind of restaurant Park Slope and the area surrounding Barclays Center can use: polished enough for a full dinner, casual enough for drinks and shared plates, and varied enough to reward repeat visits. On top of that, it excels at large events, of which they’ve had a few since their opening just a few weeks ago. More importantly for me, Badshah Social was good enough to make a second consecutive evening in Park Slope feel entirely justified, though the night before had already shown me that the neighborhood could be far more fun than I had given it credit for, especially with good company. Perhaps that is the closest I have come to answering my own crystal-ball question. I still don’t know what I would ask it, but I no longer need its help finding excellent Indian food near Barclays Center.

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