143 Strand,2nd Floor, London WC2R 1JA
Poppadoms, Onion Bhajias, Chilli Bhajias, Masala Dosa
Bhuna Lamb, Chicken Curry,
Dhal, Dry Vegetable, Pilau Rice, Chapatti
Bhuna Lamb, Chicken Curry,
Dhal, Dry Vegetable, Pilau Rice, Chapatti
KateThe first thing I can say in favour of the India Club on the Strand is that its taken me a week to write this review which means I might be slightly less harsh than if I'd written it whilst the memory was still fresh in my mind. I've also had a fairly heavy weekend which has only helped to dim memories/pickle my brain.
The notes I did take down make for an interesting read. The first thing I can say is that our waiter was more than happy to recommend that we take up the set menu, and seeing as we were struggling with the menu (egg curry anyone?) we decided to go for it. This may have been where it all went a bit wrong. We started with some interesting bhajis - traditional kebab shop style chilli peppers in a weird batter, and a solitary half onion ring done in the same style. The accompaniments included chutneys made of both coconut and pineapple - it occurred to me that they could put them together and make a pina colada chutney. Sound appealing? No, I thought not. Going onto the mains, we had a veritable feast of very thin daal, a chicken curry with pieces of sliced chicken in a bisto gravy style curry sauce, an oily lamb bhuna which seemed to have been cooked in fish oil. The best dish for me was the vegetable curry, although it was incorrectly named and should have been called either Bombay potatoes, on account of the main (only) ingredient was just that, or just well seasoned roast potatoes. Running through our list of rules - we got our recommendation and our starter and side dish, we were sadly lacking some lamb chops. The set menu didn't advertise chapattis, but the waiter did kindly bring one for me without extra charge. However, such was my reluctance to mop up the above described sauces that I only managed one. The waiter seemed to take this personally so I did something I've never done before - wrapped the chapatti up in a napkin and took it home, if only to save his mock feelings. The place was completely packed but we sat there in awe/slight disgust. I decided to ask a couple what brought them there. They enthused about the formica tables and the plain décor - something I should have mentioned earlier. They seemed surprised when I didn't confirm that I would be returning for a second visit. We concluded that as a BYOB, it attracted the local LSE student/academic crowd looking for a cheap bite in a largely touristy/legal area but if the idea is to find another curry house which isn't the obvious - we agreed that this was not it. I tried to find something positive to say about this place and it comes down to the free chapatti. I'm starting to re-think my choices as so far they don't seem to proving to be hidden gems, maybe the purpose of this challenge actually is the self-realisation (on the curry front) that I've already got it pretty good. Review: 2/10 |
HAnifMy mate Kate loves chapattis so much that she took the one she did not eat home wrapped up in a napkin shoved in her handbag. I am pretty sure if she asked the waiter if they could doggy bag it for her they would have obliged but then she would have risked them doggy bagging more than half the food that was not eaten and she would have been mortified
Before going into the review let me first apologies to our guest reviewer JL – Taking someone to this establishment is an embarrassment – So sorry JL. I do not know what Kate was thinking. Anyway on to the review – so for starters we had Onion Bhajias, Chilli Bhajias and Masala Dosa. So the onion bhajias consisted of a piece of onion about the size of quarter or a ring, covered in batter to the size of a thumb (my thumb size – just to be clear) if no one told you it was an onion bhajias you will think it is just a lumps of batter – it was not even nice batter airy, dry and felt like it was cooked the week before and was just micro-waved before it came out to us. The Chilli bhajies same batter used tasted the same just a little hotter. The Masala Dosa – was filled with... wait "filled" is an exaggeration lets go with a hint or trace of florescent mash potato. This tasted exactly like the potato dish we served later. So not a good start with the starters. At this point I can see the restaurant has filled to capacity – and I was thinking the main dishes may actually be good and maybe the wrong starters were chosen. Boy –was I wrong. The chicken curry tasted like it was made from gravy granuals with non flavoured sliced chicken. The chicken looked like the cooked sliced chicken you find in a supermarket fridge, at least that chicken has flavour I maybe wrong but I though a bhuna consisted of a well spiced thick but dry sauce, this was anything but that. What the dish did consist of pieces of lamb (I am assuming its lamb – would not put it pass them if it was horse) floating in half a bowl of oil. There was enough oil in there to cook a fry up. I am not even mildly overstating this fact. Flavour wise – well it tasted like old fish; I like to say they fried fish in the oil before adding lamb to it, now why would anyone do that! So I think this is a case of using cheap and wrong oil for the job. The dish which was described as vegetables was basically potato covered in cumin and mustard seeds. Guessing by the amount of strong smelling seeds added to this dish they are trying to musk something – last week’s cooked potatoes anyone? (this is an assumption). Anyway I ordered vegetables not just potatoes – what happened? The Dhal - was yellow goop - nothing else I can really say. So that leaves the rice, naan and chapattis – normally I would say rice is rice and naan is naan – but not here rice was dry, definitely micro-waved– this is a no-no for when we have rice at home and for someone in the food industry to do it is upsetting. The Naan was like a biscuits. Enough said! So I ask myself – why was the India club restaurant busy, packed to the brim on a Wednesday – maybe cause its BYO, maybe cause it was cheap, maybe cause it was all students, maybe cause of the unique decor or maybe someone somewhere of some importance said it is good – Another case of the snowball effect me thinks. review 1/10 |
Guest - JLHonoured as I was to be invited to sample the delectable wonders of the India Club, I am unconvinced that I will be returning, even though I work around the corner. The appeal is (initially) clear; it’s the kind of place that people might be smug for knowing about and frequenting, given its relative anonymity (and its cheapness) despite being located on the Strand at Aldwych. Sadly, it isn’t very any good, and therefore there’s not much to be smug about.
The good: it’s BYOB and you can kind of see a bit of Somerset House out of the back window. (I am flagrantly ignoring the rules of the Paperback Raitas and will comment on the décor – in accordance with Rule 4 I will take the slap, but otherwise there won’t be much to be positive about.) I like a Formica table because it gives the impression that the food is the main event and your focus is on that and your comrades. Unfortunately, most of the chat degenerated into sniggering about the tragi-comedy that was this meal. My comments on the food more or less match those of the others, who were quicker off the mark with the reviews. My original notes were: “weird bhajias; cold, oily, fishy, Bhuna; gravy curry; pile of rice; supermarket chicken - with gristle”. I thought I knew what a bhajia was but it seems not. The chicken cuts would have been much more suited to a Chinese dish, and I’m not sure what cuisine the associated sauce could be described as belonging to. I had a fairly heavy cold at the time of consumption, but I got an overwhelming sense that I was eating/drinking peppery gravy. We ate about a quarter of the rice between us, such was the quantity; except that it isn’t only about the quantity, as I’ve just shared the biggest pile of potatoes this side of Galway in a Portuguese restaurant, but we pretty much finished those, because they were nice. I really wanted to like this place and had expected a delicious, aromatic feast. What I got was a quite nice pickle (pineapple?) with the poppadoms, and an interesting moment with the chilli bhajias where the first one was really mild, with this subsequently revealing itself as Russian roulette style trickery. Hanif, I accept your apology on behalf of the both of you. Please invite me back when you’re sure about the restaurant. I want to write something enthusiastic. |