Fatt Pundit
Asian fusion restaurant · Soho ·
Indo-Chinese tapas, fruit coolers & wine in a snug, chic space
Indo-Chinese tapas, fruit coolers & wine in a snug, chic space
"Covent Garden is one of those central locations that you often find yourself in without forward-planning. And when you do, Fatt Pundit is a decent back-up restaurant. It’s an Indo-Chinese spot with lamb chops we’d like the recipe for. The rest of the menu, however, is hit and miss. One day you’ll find that the sticky sesame vegetables are spicy and crisp, and another they’ll be overcooked and sickly sweet. Nothing is straight-up awful, but there are plenty more spots in the area where you can get a better meal. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch During the day it’s easy to walk in but it can feel dark and claustrophobic so dinner is the move. In the evening you’ll have to shout a little to have a conversation and it can all be a bit chaotic. But if you're in a big group, then the downstairs room is an ideal spot to spend an evening, especially when you’ve left it too late to go to any of your first choices in the area. Food Rundown photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Crackling Spinach This spinach dish is one of our favourite things on the menu. The crispy spinach is covered in a sweet yoghurt, date, and plum sauce and it’s a great mix of airy and flavourful. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Sticky Sesame Vegetables At best, the sticky sauce is spicy and smoky. At worst, it’s too sweet and the vegetables are tough to bite into. An inconsistent dish that’s not worth the risk. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Bombay Chilli Prawns The sauce on these deep-fried prawns feels like it’s just been squeezed out of a sweet chilli bottle. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Monkfish Malabar Curry The malabar sauce is buttery and smooth, with a hint of sweetness from the coconut and a hefty piece of monkfish that flakes apart nicely. Get it with the bing bread, or the egg szechuan fried rice. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Lamb Chops Meaty, nicely charred, and covered in a masala rub, these are a must-order and our favourite thing here." - Rianne Shlebak
"A Hakka kitchen that marries Indian and Chinese influences, offering a cozy atmosphere and a menu of snacks like rabbit wonton and goat momo but anchored by a standout shredded chilly venison: slightly chewier than beef yet rich and tender, studded with fiery red peppers and smoky notes, and served with soft, subtly sweet mantou that make the first bites instantly warming." - ByBon Appétit Staff & Contributors
"Bengali style Indo-Chinese food is reasonably spicy and warmingly cheerful, and Fatt Pundit proudly lives up to these expectations. Desi-Chinese food was borne out of the intermingling of Hakka cuisine with traditional Indian elements, producing excitements like chilli paneer lettuce cups, and salt and pepper okra. The pillowy billy momos are particularly memorable, and the ‘lollypop’ chicken with Szechuan chutney is addictive; get some malabar monkfish curry, sesame-spotted vegetables, and burnt ginger rice to have a well-balanced feast that wouldn’t be out of place in Tangra. Fatt Pundit serves halal beef, chicken, and lamb, and is available on Uber Eats and Deliveroo." - Maazin Buhari
"A fat pundit may be any rotund scholar, from Buddha to Birbal — but here combining the common Chinese surname Fatt with the Indian word pundit offers a clue to what the restaurant is about: yes, it’s Indian-Chinese. More specifically, it’s Kolkata-Chinese — different from Mumbai-Chinese in that the food is less masala-fied and chilli-fied than the latter. The narrow room makes the place look smaller than it is (there’s more seating in the basement), with a massive steamer in the bar heating up momos continuously. They’re pretty as jewels and beautifully pleated; and the rest of the menu also impresses with no ready-made ‘Chinese’ sauces clinging to everything like in some inferior Indian-Chinese restaurants. There’s soft chilli paneer on lettuce leaves, hakka noodles crunchy with white cabbage, wok-fried crab meat with sweetcorn, and two chicken classics: manchurian and lollipop, all of it aglow with the gentlest of chilli heats, and a garden full of spring onions." - Sejal Sukhadwala
"Opening in Soho at 77 Berwick Street on 11 March, this Indo‑Chinese (Desi‑Chinese) restaurant from the team behind Bombay Chow, Station 31 and Imperial Lounge aims to devote an entire menu to Indian‑Chinese food. The 60‑cover venue pairs interiors inspired by Tangra in Kolkata with a menu that includes Tibetan momos with novel meat and veggie fillings, shredded chilli venison, Hakka paneer lettuce cups and dishes dressed in a classic Indo‑Chinese Manchurian sauce. While the restaurant markets itself as offering a “new kind of food,” that claim arguably overstates the tradition’s long diasporic history; nevertheless, bringing a focused, central‑London showcase to this knotty intersection of authenticity and Chinese diaspora cuisines could help raise the profile of the style." - James Hansen
