Restaurant of the Week: Koyla

Koyla Indian Restaurant, 8140 Haven Ave. (at Foothill), Rancho Cucamonga; also at 1845 Holt Blvd. (at Vineyard), Ontario

Koyla opened earlier in 2011 in a former Daphne's Greek fast-casual spot at the Chaffey Town Square center, and it's a big upgrade. Koyla is swankier inside than expected, with muted lighting, white tablecloths and table service.

Dinner entrees are from $10 to $20 and encompass chicken, lamb, seafood and vegetable dishes. See the menu here. Of course they do a lunch buffet too, which seems to be a requirement for an Indian restaurant, at least the ones out here, but I visited at dinnertime.

A friend and I shared an appetizer, tawa mushrooms ($10); two entrees, chili fish ($15) and shrimp saag ($14); and an order of plain naan ($2), the Indian flatbread, and basmati rice ($4). A little of all the above is pictured at top.

The mushrooms were sauteed with onions, bell peppers and tomatoes; good stuff. The chili fish, chunks of deep-fried fish, came with tamarind sauce, onions, bell peppers and spices. A little spicy for my taste but I'm a sensitive Midwesterner. My favorite was the shrimp saag, which is a sort of creamed spinach; you can also get it with chicken, vegetables or lamb.

We liked all the dishes, although the chili fish stuck out a bit as an offering that didn't seem particularly Indian. We had a coupon that knocked a chunk off the bill as long as the total was more than $40, which it was.

Koyla has two locations, both aggressively located near longstanding Indian restaurants; the one in Rancho Cucamonga is a block from Haandi, while the one in Ontario is equally close to Bombay. I'd give Haandi the edge over Koyla, but Koyla was pretty good too.