Lenza M.
Yelp
So, during my first two full nights in London I had take-away from two Indian restaurants that are literally right next door to each other and half-a-block from my place. I figure I should make them two of my first reviews, and might as well knock it out in a two-fer review. Here we go.
The two places are The Rajadoot, with the prime corner position, weighing in at 3.5 stars on 2 reviews, and Bombay Spice coming in with 4.5 stars on a hefty 4 reviews. In short -- they both serve fine food, but so far I don't see what all the "London has the best Indian food in the world!!!111one!" fuss is about.
With a one-full-star lead, and twice the review count, Bombay Spice easily won my business the first night. I was at first put off by the white table clothes, but upon further observation of the city I have determined that there must be a law here that requires all Indian restaurants have white table clothes. Once inside the feeling was relaxed, not pretentious, and the staff was very friendly and attentive.
At Bombay Spice I decided to go with the tried and true Butter Chicken. It was obvious that the dish was made with love of quality ingredients, and I especially liked the addition of sliced almonds, but the spicing was too bland for my pallet. It was disappointing because the rice was so fragrant and appealing that I would guess that this place is not afraid to spice things appropriately. This might have been just a poor order, but it was listed on the "chef's suggestions" portion on the menu, so they do not get a pass.
The next night I found myself hungry late night at 10:15PM on a Sunday, with just about everything in sight closed. After being rejected from a couple of other places I begrudgingly decided to go for Indian again. Obviously too embarrassed to go to the place I went the night before, I headed for Rajadoot and was happy to see the 3 bored staffers gaze upon me expectantly as I approached the door. It turns out they are open noon to midnight, 7 days a week, including holidays.
At first I was going to play it safe again and order the Chicken Tikka Masala. But, after being upsold on an appetizer, I discussed Chicken Tikka Korai (which I had never had) with the waiter. He sold me on it primarily by saying it was "medium spicy". Remembering the rather bland Butter Chicken from the previous night I decided to switch things up I told him to change my order because I liked things very spicy. He replied: "If you like spicy that's a good choice, I things very spicy, but for you, medium spicy." To my disappointment, it turned out that I couldn't even detect the spiciness in the dish. And the appetizer was a bland fried shrimp. But, the flavors in the Korai were actually good, so if I could get it actually spicy maybe this place could earn an extra star.
In the end, two more Indian restaurants that confirm my feelings on Indian food: meh -- 3 stars each.