Empire Empire

The best Indian restaurant in UK … that’s all I can say. Lobster biryani is a must east… each and every starter was mouth-wateringly delicious… I still can’t get over that malai broccoli.. if veggies taste like that.. I will eat my veggies every day. it’s a genuine authentic Indian taste..

We had dinner for two on a Saturday night. The restaurant has a separate handy allergens card which clearly marks gluten free options. The restaurant was busy so it seems advisable to make a booking, but it wasn’t too loud and the food did not take long to arrive. We had the prawn pakoras, two curries (one with paneer, one with eggplant and potatoes), the raita and chutneys. The pakoras were great and the raita was interesting (in a good way). The curries weren’t too heavy and paired really well with the chutneys.

I’ve been so excited to eat here and honestly it lived up to every expectation the venison was incredible as was everything else. The presentation of the lobster biryani was stunning as was the taste. The staff were all amazing kind and helpful. Great vibe and somewhere i will definitely be going again.

I am going through the list of London restaurants on the Michelin's Guide that has a Bib Gourmand status and that's how I found out about this restaurant as it's founded by the same team behind Gunpowder (which also has the same status). Having tried Gunpowder before and liked the food, I had high expectations for this place. However, I made a terrible mistake of bringing a friend who is lactose intolerant to this modern Indian restaurant that has a lot of dairy options on their menu. But their service throughout our meal was absolutely exceptional, showing us a whole table of what allergy each of their menu item ticks so we could see what my friend could actually order. Together with the manager and staff member serving us, we managed to sort my friend out with a vegan kale chaat as a starter, an okra curry as main and a vegan roti on the side. For myself, I went for the beeh kebab as a starter, butter chicken as main and their signature lobster biryani on the side. I must say everything from start to finish was great. The beef kebab got a really nice kick to it and the meat was absolutely soft and tender and fell right off the skewer. The chaat was amazing as well, such a refreshing sauce and crunchy fried kale which we both enjoyed a lot. My friend also really liked the okra in dried curry paste and the vegan roti. The lobster biryani was definitely interesting for me as I have never had seafood in biryani but somehow it worked! I love the taste of lobster in the rice, tasted almost like a lobster bisque soup with lobster meat. The butter chicken was rich but slightly too creamy for me but together with the biryani it went down really well. Throughout our meal, the staff checked on us attentively, especially my friend to make sure he was having a good experience despite his intolerance. The manager even offered some basmati rice for my friend since one roti wouldn't have been enough and my friend was very happy with their suggestion. Bonus points for such amazing service honestly we were very pleased! I do have to say it's definitely more on the pricey side so if you are looking for affordable Indian eats this isn't the place for that. But for the food quality and service we got, I was more than happy to pay for the meal. Overall, we had a great time here and I would love to come back to try other things on their menu.

Such a great neighborhood find. Never been to gunpowder but have heard good things about this place, and considering Notting Hill lacks good Indian restaurants I was excited for this. It’s a small restaurant with big flavors. The starters and dessert were my personal favourite - the chicken skewer, lamb chop and amritsari shrimp were all superb. The saffron milk cake made me want to bathe in it. The butter chicken was nice, albeit a bit sweet for my personal taste… the shrimp curry was flavorful, maybe a little less oil / ghee would’ve been nice. All in all great flavors, both innovative takes and classic takes. Price point is really decent for Notting Hill, too.

We had the best night celebrating my mum’s birthday at empire Empire. From the moment we walked in we were welcomed with open arms (even though we were half an hour early for our reservation). Service was absolutely excellent, so so friendly and kind (even bringing our dessert with a candle for my mum at the end). The drinks were amazing (especially the Gimlet) and the food was to die for. We had the chaat (10/10, perfectly crispy and so flavoursome) and skewers (loved the soy and broccoli ones especially) for starters, the butter chicken, paneer and guinea fowl with korma as a main. Some of the best curries we’ve ever had. We also got the breads and potatoes as a side which were amazing to mop up all the sauces! Could not recommend this place more!

Came here last night with my family and had a great service by the staff. We ordered Lamb Biryani, Butter chicken and Venison Keema. Definitely one of the best butter chicken I had in London and highly recommend it. And do try the chef’s special Venison Keema, it’s flavourful and spicy. Definitely will visit again 🙌

Such a great meal and prices are great for the area. Service was excellent - Arvind K helped us out a lot and made sure we had the best order. Thanks so much - we will come back