Camel and ‘illegal pheasant’: Welcome to NYC’s wildest Indian restaurant

It’s New York’s strangest new restaurant — an Indian eatery with a speakeasy atmosphere and a “Godfather”-themed menu that lists camel kabobs and “Illegal Pheasant.”

Veerays hides behind a narrow doorframe on East 45th Streets without a sign. It gives it the feeling of an after-hours spot on Avenue C rather than a luxe pleasure pit in the heart of corporate Midtown.

Then there’s the decor. The main dining room and a small, perfect-for-seduction nook behind it have a “roaring twenties” speakeasy theme with lush, red velvet banquettes, a turquoise fainting couch and an abstract black-and-white wall panel of Patagonian quartz.

Veerays’ interior has an unexpected speakeasy vibe. Brian Zak/NY Post

As if that weren’t enough of a cultural mishmash, the soundtrack on my last visit included Yusef Lateef’s “Love Theme from Spartacus” and 1950s hard-bop classics by Art Blakey.

But all the confusion’s happily forgotten on the plate.

Chef/owner Hermant Mathur earned a Michelin star at each of two earlier New York restaurants, Devi and Tulsi.

His work at Veerays, in collaboration with chef de cuisine Binder Saini, again displays his sure hand with northern and southern Indian styles.

Chef Hermant Mathur’s cooking is mind-blowingly good. Brian Zak/NY Post

“Jazzy Breads” — the theming extends to menu sections — were uniformly excellent, especially amul cheese and garlic-olive naans.

A starter of spiced “Anglo” tuna and potato cakes ($18) — “made for colonial British officers,” we were helpfully informed — crackled on the outside and burst with flavor inside.

Then there’s the camel kebabs ($35), sourced from a New Jersey ranch called Fossil Farms. It was a bit too dry on one visit but deliciously moist on another. It’s deeply herbed and emerges simmering hot from the tandoori oven.

Don’t be shy: The camel kebabs are delicious and no more challenging than eating goat or lamb. Alex Staniloff/ Veerays The camel is sourced from a New Jersey ranch called Fossil Farms. Alex Staniloff/ Veerays

Don’t be shy if you’ve never had camel — it’s no more challenging on the palate than lamb or goat. Plus, Mathur is a tandoori master who knows how not to bake meat and fish.

“Millionaire Moliee” ($44) is his take on Chilean sea bass, firm but moist, served in a vivid coconut-mustard sauce with coconut rice.

“Illegal Pheasant” ($35) is served in a scorching, tomato-and-ginger curry. Why that name?

The “illegal pheasant” is served on the bone in a scorching, tomato-and-ginger curry. Brian Zak/NY Post

“It flew in from Mexico,” the manager said, adding, “That’s a joke.”

“Bootlegger” bison, described on the menu as a “modernist take on a South Indian favorite,” is a compelling stir-fry of red and green bell peppers, curry and mustard seeds.

In the end, Veerays gimmicks aren’t just a bit odd. They do it a disservice. I’m all for breaking with cliches — Indian restaurants have too many marble elephants.

The Millionaire Moilee features Chilean sea bass in coconut gravy. Brian Zak/NY Post

But the gangster motif theme is goofy and might offend Italian- and Indian-Americans equally.

The restaurant’s owners and chefs are identified on its website as “The Don,” “The Underboss,” “The Consigliere,” and “Madame Queen,” the name of a real-life Harlem gang leader in the 1920s. Lamb chops ($48) are called “The Don’s Lamb Chops.” What were they thinking?

Skip the shtick and let Mathur’s cooking speak for itself.