by MARK SLUTSKY

Another addition to the burgeoning ranks of stylish St-Laurent restos this year is Atma, an Indian place occupying the space previously held by that strange theatrical restaurant, L'Endroit. They've completely renovated, and the results look good - it's multi-levelled and airy, with a winding staircase leading up to the top level, lots of plants and tasteful lighting. The décor feels pricey, but they've managed to create a relaxed atmosphere, abetted by the big, soft pillows lying around for easy reclining. The music is tastefully trendy; Villalobos was playing on the stereo on a recent visit along with a selection of minimal techno.

Like any self-respecting trendy resto, Atma's got a fine list of expensive martinis and aperitifs, mostly of the super-sweet variety. There's lots of mango, lychee, pineapple, watermelon and whatnot. I had an Indian Ocean Breeze ($8.50) before my meal, a great big thing (and strongly mixed!) of gin, pineapple juice and rum. I kind of wished I'd left it for dessert.

Atma serves Indian cuisine with a Punjabi bent, and there's a lot to choose from, with many vegetarian options. On a fact-finding mission last week with a couple of friends, we decided to start with a pair of appetizers from Atma's lengthy list. We went for the amritsari ($7), pieces of chicken and fish soaked in a citrus marinade and fried up good, and the pakora plate ($6), which apparently consists of lentil-battered vegetable and cheese fritters. They brought us the chicken pakoras instead (and we were too hungry to send them back), which were pretty good; the yellow lentil batter was tasty, though the chicken itself held no surprises. The amritsari was definitely a more interesting choice, little fried chunks of fish with a lemony zing.

Then it was on to the main courses. A little note at the bottom of the menu indicates, in a somewhat fatalistic manner, "All these dishes could be made spicy or not." We decided to let the chips fall as they may and not indicate our spiciness preference, and as it turned out, the food was mild for the most part.

We split a few dishes - a couple meat and a couple veg. On the meat/seafood side of things we went in for the shrimp curry (a kingly $14) and the chicken bhuna ($10, or $12 for the lamb version of the dish), and for our vegetarian dishes we went in for the egg curry ($10) and the malai kofta ($12). We were all excited about the baignan bhartha, that savoury roasted-eggplant dish ($9), but the kitchen was out of aubergines, so we had to make do without.

The first dish I sampled (and the most expensive), the shrimp curry, was also the most disappointing, and I got a little worried about the rest of the meal. While the shrimp were big and well cooked, the dish was surprisingly bland. There was barely a trace of the ginger and garlic that were supposed to be the main flavouring ingredients of the curry.

Luckily, the shrimp curry was the only dud in the lot. The chicken bhuna was a thick, meaty dish - chunks of chicken with wedges of tomato and onions. Very satisfying. The egg curry was new to me. Two hardboiled eggs sautéed with onions, various spices and peas (the menu promised potatoes but we couldn't find any), it was unusual but tasty. Probably the best dish we tasted, though, was the malai kofta, those little sausage-like tasties made of carrot and cauliflower, and cooked in a delicious yoghurt curry. Some malai koftas go overboard into almost-sour territory, but the flavour of Atma's rendition was pitched perfectly.

Atma loses a couple of points for its friendly but extremely inefficient service, but otherwise it's a pleasant spot.

Atma
ADDRESS: 3962 St-Laurent (just below Duluth)
PHONE: 798-8484
HOURS: 5:30pm–11pm daily
BEST FEATURES: The stylin' but relaxed atmosphere and the sumptuous malai kofta
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
NO-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: $15–$25 per person, before tax, tip, or wine
RATING: ** and a 1/2 out of ****