Silka Borough Market

A discrete venue that I’ve never noticed until now. Table for two, to start we had the Awadhi Welsh Lamb Chops, coated with yoghurt, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, these were excellent. Also the Panipuri, this was quite unusual for me, apparently a popular street food, containing mashed potato, onion, chickpeas, coriander chutney and you stuff it all yourself into mini crispy puri balls and then add the sour and spicy mint flavoured water. Yum yum! For mains we had Chennai with Lamb, it’s a lush South Indian delicacy simmered with fragrant curry leaves, coconut milk, red chilies and mustard seeds. And also we had the Jalfrezi with Chicken, browned onion, tomato, ginger and whole green chilli, julienne peppers. These were both really good main dishes, along with a Peshwari Naan and rice, we had an excellent dinner and will definitely be back again soon.

Stumble upon this place by accident while on my way to boroughs market. Entrance is small but open up to a cozy place. I ordered the duck masala and the tandoori selection. The duck masala was flavorful and creamy, and the tandoori was delicious especially the shrimp. Truly one of the best Indian restaurant I've tried. The waiters are very friendly and attentive, and they made sure I was taken care of since I was dining by myself. I wish I could have tried more of their food! Wonderful experience and I can't wait to come back.

good was good, but i believed the nan are slightly undercooked as we felt like we were eating the dough at some parts of the nan. overall was good. service is 5/5 toilet cleanliness 5/5 wifi for guest - extra points! love that as a tourist

I reserved a table online for 5 pm today, planning to dine before a concert. However, upon arrival, we were informed the restaurant doesn't open until 5:30 pm. Their website shouldn't have allowed bookings before opening time without notice. They didn't apologize or inform us beforehand, so we had to find another restaurant on a busy Saturday.

Exceptional dining experience at this restaurant! The food was delicious, the service impeccable, and the waiter Juber was not only friendly but also shared some fantastic recommendations. A memorable evening, highly recommend!

Absolutely wonderful food and service. We went on a Saturday afternoon on a bank holiday weekend - atmosphere was peaceful with plenty of space and food hot when served. I also got a special little cake for my birthday from Zuber. It made all the difference. It’s often the little things that count. This topped it off - thank you so much everyone.

👍👍Excellent food and service. The place was packed and the maitre de had us sit and wait a few minutes and kept us informed as to how our seat was coming along. Like I said. Great food and service. Yummy

The outdoor dining had a great atmosphere and the food was super tasty. We ordered from the vegetarian options and everything was cooked beautifully. The curry portion was pretty big but the accompanying rice was tiny. Would recommend ordering multiple side dishes

Summary: Enjoyed the food here. Waitstaff was eventually very friendly--I think they were a bit stressed out with service just starting. Few standout details: Papadum was a bit different from what I am used to in the SFBA, where the flatbread is more grainy and the ground lentils are visible. All in all I liked the puffy and light texture. The combination naan basket was more than enough for two of us to sample each variation. Lastly, my favourite discovery of Onion Bhaji! Crisp and lovely, served with a tamarind chutney and aioli type white sauce. Note: If you're ordering the Bhaji, one plate is enough to share for two.

Fantastic restaurant. The duck Marsala was amazing Juber did an amazing job taking care of us.

So cute! Best espresso martini I've ever had. Server was so lovely. Thank you so much!

Delicious food, but I wish the portions had been bigger and that naan and rice had been included in the meal as they are in Indian restaurants in the U.S. It was a bit pricey. Juber was very nice.

Great experience- very helpful staff including my waiter Sabbir. Had great paneer. Environment was lively but noisy on a Wednesday evening at 20:00.

Hands down the best indian food I've had. It's a textbook hole in the wall because of it's location, literally an underground restaurant. The chicken tikka masala and the murug makhani are out of this world. The staff were very nice and helpful, Zahir was great. Check it out before everyone finds out about it and it gets too crowded to get a table!

One of the best Indian restaurants in London. The starters were great The main course was delicious It would've been better if they had dessert.

Simply wonderful food and experience. We stumbled upon this place wandering the Borough Market. It is difficult to find but seek it out. We had samosas to start and had tikka masala and Kashmiri Rogan Josh. Both were exceptional and the naan was freshly cooked. Even better we talked with the owner who was friendly and welcoming. We will be back!

what an amazing hidden gem of a restaurant. Went yesterday for lunch and although there was only us and 1 other table we were not rushed or hurried so they could close early, indeed they let us stay as long as we wanted. The restaurant was immaculately clean, and fresh despite it being underground, and the serving staff were polite and extremely well trained. And the food - it was glorious- covered a wide range of dishes and the owner was on hand to explain the dishes, answer questions and make recommendations - and we were very glad he did as it was all delicious. All freshly cooked and generous portions. I cannot recommend this restaurant enough and will definitely be back. If you didn't know it was there you would miss it, but open the door, go down the stairs and enjoy

Service was great, the waiters made me feel welcomed! The tikka masala was perfectly cooked! Naan was hot and crispy. I highly recommend!

i'm from la, ( and we really do have amazing indian cuisine) and i'm very particular with my food...i have been in london for 2 weeks and have had shit food the whole time except for tonight at silka! it was all i wanted and more!!! im very pleased and can't wait to come back for my extra extra spicy chana masala! great food, great service, great atmosphere equals happiness

What a lovely evening had, great food and flavours, wonderful and helpful staff, good portions, highly recommend

I've been passing this place a lot and noticing their £7.95 2-course lunch menu. Because of the price and the fact that it is in a basement, I assumed this might be a slightly ropey curry house. However, the basement is quite pleasant! Linen tablecloths and napkins, also ambient music that may actually have been drum & bass - unusual... The food is very decent, standard starters like samosa, onion bhaji, deep fried prawns. The mains were quite tasty, especially the fish curry, and come with a choice of rice or naan. But the real point is: for £7.95, this is great value, and it came with very good service. Quick enough to eat within a lunch hour but as we were (sadly) the only ones in there, no rush either. Also - coke in glass bottles!

Amazing authentic Indian food. Great service! Would look forward to coming back again. We where referred here from another Indian restaurant that was booked for the evening. We clearly came out on top. Thank you Ellum for making us feel so welcome.

Great place but bumped into one extremely rude waiter. The restaurant is situated underground like a level in basement and they call themselves fine dine. Facepalm. Their rates are pretty average. When we went in the places looked like a take away bar with one staff. He came and asked us if we want a table and we said yes. Then he went ahead and told us that please look at the menu and let me know if you are ok with the price. This place is ££ and not that expensive. Also, don't know if he was looking at my color or clothes to have commented like that. I was like I am ok with this. Rest of the staff was nice. The food was great too.

Urgh. Let's start with first impressions - this place has no atmosphere. It looks like it used to be a canteen or something and is all pastel colours and cheap chairs, with the bonus of being underground. Let's continue with the service. After being asked by 2 different people what we wanted to drink within 30 seconds of getting through the door, we spent the rest of the evening struggling to flag anyone down, whether for the order or the bill. Although the menu tells us that the waiters will be happy to explain any of the dishes, I had a question about one that I wasn't familiar with and the waiter wasn't able to describe it or even answer direct questions like whether it had vegetables in it and what they were. Didn't enjoy the squid starter at all - the squid portions were really small and the bell pepper was overpowering. My passanda was fine but the lamb was a bit tough, and my boyfriend's lamb chops were seriously dry looking and accompanied by kebab shop salad. The naan was disappointing, being pretty flat and crispy rather than bounteously fluffy. And the rice was undercooked in parts. While not incredibly expensive, it does come to slightly more than an average Indian restaurant bill - which is completely not warranted. All this is particularly unimpressive because the website gives the impression of it being quite a sophisticated joint - this is certainly not the case.

Delicious Indian food in an elegant space. Had duck Masala - vibrant, fresh, spicy notes. White tablecloths, good service. Not sure I've had better Indian food but have never had it outsode the US.

Silka is a bit out of the way, but only a bit, being on the Southbank side of London Bridge and just across from London Bridge station. My meal started with papadam, served with 4 condiments, including excellent lime pickle, though the tamarind sauce was a bit sweet. My main course was Lamb Biriani, which was very well flavored, including fresh scallions and cilantro. the lamb was very tender, which is rare in Biriani, showing an attentive kitchen. Speaking of which, Silka has an open kitchen and candle lit décor. It has a short but adequate wine list and full bar. The service was attentive (though I was there fairly early.) Definitely worth a visit if you're in Southbank or the City.

Hubby and I have passed this place so many times and just looked the other way because from the outside, it looks like a shady looking spot and just another curry house. I had heard about the good reviews so decided to try it out. I was very impressed with the meal I had. We started with papadoms, and then I ordered the ayurvedic meal with vegetables, and hubby ordered a chicken tikka dish with naan. Food was filling but not too heavy and tasted really great. I would be very happy to come back again!

Dinner here wasn't outstanding but it was pleasant. The basement location is nice and calm, well insulated from the noise of the street. Service was prompt and the food arrived reasonably quickly. The food was decent but not overly memorable. The toilets are a bit odd in this restaurant. You walk into what feels like a house of mirrors and then you push the walls, which open into stalls. I wouldn't go out of my way to visit this restaurant but would eat here again if I was in the neighbourhood.

I love the food. The chef accommodate my request to make a spicy dish Vegetable Jalfrevi not spicy. It was super delicious. Everyone told me to try some Indian food in London. I was really happy I did and was really satisfied. I got chance to talk to the chef on the way out. He was a very nice gentleman. I recommend this place. Very close to the Tube too.

This place is fantastic! I'd been craving Indian food so went to a few places while in London. Silka stood out above the others to the point that I went twice in a week. The curries are delicious - I like spice so went with the Murgh Chennai and it delivered in a big way. Creamy, spicy, and full of flavor. Can't wait to come back!

For pictures and more: http://hungryinlondon.com/2010/10/silka-london-bridge/ Another theatre, another pre-theatre dinner. This time I went to the Menier Chocolate Factory to see The Number (a very weird play about clones, making me think how awful it would be to have clonal copies of myself around. I wonder if I would like myself?). But this is not a theatre blog and I shall return in medias res and describe my meal at Silka next to Borough Market. Silka is an Indian restaurant serving relatively light Indian food and it is on Taste London for a 2for1 offer. It is a basement restaurant which is hard to miss with an inconspicuous white door facing Southwark Street. On its website it claims to be the calm and soothing antidote to hectic London life which proved to be more than true, not because of the overall atmosphere which is even though not unpleasant certainly not quite what they promise, but because of the power failure half way through our meal. The little emergency light was quite soothing, especially for us as we had already received our food. I am not sure the other people waiting for their food were equally thrilled, as of course also all kitchen work ceased. We left about 25 minutes after the power failure with no signs of the electricity being restored and I have no idea how the evening ended for the poor diners. They might very well still be there waiting for their chicken tikka But now to the food: Silka is not the best Indian in town, but it's not bad especially when used with a Taste London offer. Of the 4 dishes we had, one was actually really good while the other three were nothing to write home about. A complete failure was the vegetable side dish Begun (4) the 'baby' aubergines were not baby at all, they were greasy and tasteless. A little bit of salt would already have gone a long way The spicy crab cakes (4.75) as a starter were really spicy and actually quite nice. The crab was mixed with potatoes and coconut resulting in an interesting combination of flavour and texture. The second starter (lemon sole wrapped in banana leaf, 5.25) could have been successful if the fish had not been completely overcooked. I wonder how you can mistreat a poor fish to this extent, it surely did not deserve that! It certainly was not 'gently steamed' as stated in the menu The remains of the steamed-to-death fish were coated in a coriander/mint pesto which I really liked. Shame about the fish really. The Keralan Fish Curry (8.95) was boring. There was nothing obviously wrong with it, the fish for example was comparably tender but it just lacked some proper seasoning and flavour. The Haryali Chicken Tikka (8) however was a success. What you think is broccoli is actually grilled chicken coated in a paste of green peppers, chili and pistachio. The chicken was soft and succulent and very flavoursome. And it is certainly the greenest food (apart from green vegetables) that I have ever eaten. The service was attentive and friendly. However, when the power failure happened they could have been a bit more pro-active and e.g. offer some free drink or similar to the customers who had to wait forever for their food. Silka is definitely not an outstanding restaurant, but it's decent and with Taste London offer well worth a visit if you are in this area for a quick bite to eat if you feel like Indian food.

We were on our way to the New Year's Eve gig by Bellowhead at the Royal Festival Hall and needed to get something filling and tasty on board before the long evening ahead. We made our booking in advance to ensure we could use B's Taste card and we were waiting by the door at 6pm for the staff to open up. Fortunately they were pretty prompt and we were ushered downstairs to the modern basement room which has a view into the kitchen; all very pleasant on the eye but a little chilly and we got a table next to a mobile radiator. I have eaten here as a "stop gap" a few times using the Taste card and have always had a decent meal and this was no exception. Even though there were 3 in our party the staff seemed quite happy to let us share a couple of starters and a couple of mains to take advantage of the 2 for the price of 1 deal. The menu has all the curry house classics with a good selection of seafood and vegetarian dishes. Interestingly at this time of year there are a number of healthy platters should you feel the need to be cutting down on your pork life. I liked the paprika chat (small puris with potato and lentils covered in a minty, chilli sauce) a lot, an ideal sharing dish which went very well with the Cobra beer. The mixed starter was ok, nothing to write home about but no complaints either. The mains of spring chicken from the grill and a chicken shashlick were both fine, plenty of flavour and well cooked. The side of begun was ok but was a bit broken down and mushy but I'm informed that many folk like it that way. Our pilau rice was good as was the nan bread. We had mentioned that we were on a bit of a tight schedule and our order was taken quickly and the food arrived without much delay. We were back up the stairs and on our way to the Royal Festival Hall well fed and watered just before 7.30, smiles all round with our wallets still well intact. If you are in the Borough Market/London Bridge area in need of some tasty Indian food and are in possession of a Taste card this would be my number one choice.

Descend down a staircase from the entrance by Borough Market into an amazing subterranean space. Silka restaurant is conceived as a calm and soothing change to London?s hectic life. Depth is created through the back-lit wall cladding made from different exotic timbers such as indian rosewood, ebony and makore.The frosted frames surrounding the show kitchen and bar emit a soft glow and are the main light source for the space. The design is inspired by the horizontal and layered landscape with clouds hovering above, decorated in a modern, minimalist style the basement restaurant is in keeping with the sophisticated mix of clientele it attracts. The cuisine emphasizes healthy Indian food with a touch of the west harbouring a mix of modern specialities and traditional Indian dishes. A lot of the cooking is based on Ayurvedic health principles, which is probably a big draw if you're into that sort of thing, but for most customers the appeal will simply be that the food's gorgeous.

When my husband suggested Indian, I could have kicked him. But knowing how much our British friends love it, I begrudgingly decided to take one for the team. I have only had it once and hated it. I don't like curry and found it greasy. Oh dear Lord did Silka make me do a 360 on Indian food. Everything was absolutely delicious, fresh and so very flavorful. I absolutely loved the cauliflower appetizer and am a new fan. I'm sure I'll be disappointed by my next attempt at Indian since we're headed back to the US and our British friends declared this the best they have ever had. Thank you!!

Five stars for the food. Reopened 2 weeks ago under new management. We were seated without a wait when other restaurants on the area were packed on Saturday night. We happened to chance upon this hidden restaurant which a flight of stairs below the street after a visit to the southwark cathedral and borough market. Clean but bare when it comes to ambience. I had the Luknowi biryani and fish moily which were both exquisite and authentic.

One of the WORST Indian food I ever had. And to top it, the staff was unfriendly. I really don't care about service that much, but the food was horrible.. The starters were all over cooked and dry. The main course didn't even have salt (forget about spices) added to any dish. The whole team here is Bangladeshi, so may be it is that food but definitely not Indian from any angle. It's a disgrace to Indian food.

The staff were absolutely lovely, and the restaurant was incredibly clean and modern, but I was really rather unimpressed with the food here. Apart from the lime pickle and aloo paratha, the whole meal was incredibly bland: my paneer dish tasted under-seasoned, oily, mainly made up of vegetables with very little paneer, and the only real flavour was very subtle coriander (which, given it was in a tomato gravy, was impressive for the wrong reasons...); the dhal was almost tasteless, and the chutneys for the poppadums tasted synthetic and full of sugar. Also, while I don't particularly go for spicy dishes, these dishes were mild beyond the point of actually having any spice in them at all, even pepper. I was unimpressed and won't be returning, despite how good the service was.

Marked down as 3 stars only because of the confusion with using the taste card. the info states 2-4-1 on all food, but the restaurant manager only wanted to do this with the main meal. with 3 of us this did not make much of a reduction on the bill. Having got that out of the way the food was very good and there was an excellent light meal menu although this did not get a look in. The service was excellent, the restaurant was clean and the kitchen is in view. we will visit again if in the area.

We are here on a stop before visiting the Shard. When we arrived, they had to turn the lights on. The service was ok. We ordered two cocktails and two appetizers. The portions were good and the food was very good and well seasoned. The cocktails were well presented and tasted good. Overall a positive experience and we would visit again if we had more time.

We really enjoyed this gem. Downstairs hidden in a quiet spot after the bustle of a day spent with people all around, it was nice to sit and enjoy some peace and eat a wonderful meal. The owner waited on us. Very accommodating and friendly. The lunch menu was "choose two dishes" for around £9. We got lentil soup, apricot lamb, and another lamb dish with naan and rice. Well prepared to order and tasty. We were not rushed though the food was prepared in a timely fashion. Highly recommend!