If American fast food met modern Indian street flavours and had a baby, it would look just like Desinental. The quirky Prahran eatery’s logo is an Indian man in a turban, cleverly designed to appear like a smiling blonde Westerner when inverted. But that’s only the beginning of Desinental’s neat tricks, which include slapping searing naga jolokia (ghost pepper) onto burgers, serving a homestyle masala lemonade based on the owner’s mother’s traditional recipe, and frying up the first and only Indian-style fried chicken in Melbourne.
So is it good? It’s bloody good, arguably joining the ranks of the city's best fried chicken. Take the free-range Maryland fillets for example, which come piping hot and fried in a perfectly seasoned, crunchy gold batter with slaw and your choice of sauces. You can pick from original, butter chicken, tangy clarified butter and cream, Desi’s special spicy date or the jaggery and tamarind sauce. There are drums and wingettes too, if you prefer to gnaw off the bone.
When it comes to burgers, you’ve got spicy lamb mince in a sloppy joe-style, masala beef chopped cheese, a 'super smashed' samosa patty, fried chicken and more. Funky Indian street food sides and sauces round out the feast (the masala fries are a must-try), and there’s also a range of cocktails, wines and beers to suit your fancy. For dessert, the kulfi comes in a variety of flavours like pistachio and cardamom, mango and rose, and raspberry, the proceeds of which go to a rotating selection of charities.
Many eateries claim to make fusion 'fun' but few do as good a job as Desinental. The difference here is it might look like fast food, but it’s done slow, crafted and cooked by a creative, quality-obsessed team. Grab dinner on your next night out with friends – it’s a party in there with bouncy psytrance, themed dining alcoves and visual oddities to reward the curious eye.
And fried chicken lovers? Consider Desinental the next spot on your map.
