No buffet means freshness at Turmeric Flavors of India in downtown Las Vegas

Most Las Vegas-area Indian restaurants serve lunch buffets. Unfortunately, that’s all they serve in the early afternoon.

That makes some sense in an all-you-can-eat town, but if you’re looking for Indian food that’s spiced to your specifications and hasn’t been sitting in a heated pan, you’re out of luck until evening arrives.

To its credit, Turmeric Flavors of India, a much-needed addition to a downtown that had been a desert for Indian food, doesn’t offer a buffet. And a 15-minute wait for a pair of fresh dishes isn’t likely to leave diners wishing they’d been able to grab a plate immediately and stand in line.

Turmeric’s garage-chic atmosphere isn’t pretentious — nor was our tattooed waitress, who introduced herself as Utopia and added it was neither her real name nor her dancer name. Water was free — no $3 water-bottle surcharge, as is the case at many restaurants — and the menu options were pleasingly varied, with distinctive combinations such as salmon and cashew-onion sauce.

Meals are spiced on a scale of one to three stars, and a three-star palak paneer kofta was hot but not sweat-inducing. That filling meal included spinach, cheese dumplings, tomato sauce, rice and a surprise: broccoli. A second meal, dosa, was accompanied by dipping options including chutney and lentils. Dosa is a long, narrow serving of dipping dough that rendered our naan redundant.

Turmeric is a light, airy lunch spot that, like some other downtown restaurants, transforms at night to serve a more festive clientele. A rooftop bar offers cocktails and live music in the evening, but not late; Turmeric closes at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 10 p.m. other days.

Turmeric opened in the fall and, as such, is still developing a clientele. With the weather warming, the outdoor dining could soon join the food as a powerful draw.