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.

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.

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

“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.

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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?

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“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.

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.

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