Formerly a jewel in the crown of the city’s Indian restaurants, India Oven’s fires have appeared banked of late; even simple but usually satisfying flatbreads have fallen, well, flat, and vegetable pakoras have seemed perfunctory, relying on tamarind and mint chutneys to save the day. Nor have items from the tandoor tantalized. Chicken tikka has emerged dry and tasteless, and marinated lamb tikka kebab failed to live up to its relatively high price.

Yet more of exotic and aromatic India appears in stewed dishes such as the dal turka (yellow lentils with garlic, ginger, and spices), and in the even lustier and yet more harmonious prawns vindaloo with potato; here the flame leaped back to life. And as there are more wines than are customarily available at an Indian restaurant, avail yourself of a glass of Gewürztraminer; its affinity for spicy foods is admirably demonstrated here.

IO’s soothing pink interior also plays well against spiciness, but it does little to placate diners whose service may have been brusque and forgetful. We recommend an order of saffron-scented rice pudding as a cross-cultural chill-out and wind-down; it will salve both lingering spiciness and diminished expectations.