The India Club

A lovely little place well hidden from view is this gem of a restaurant Place claims to be the oldest curry house and was a meeting point for the Indian diaspora. I nearly missed the entrance but found it wnd climbed the 39 steps to the restaurant Did book a table just in case if it is busy We went for lunch and ordered some starters like Samosa, papadam and masala dosa and had mains like biryani The furniture in the place is quite old and is cool to sit in. Service was very good and fast The chef I enquired is from Kerala and hence the food and way it is cooked is vey traditional Kerala style The sambar and coconut chutney with the dosa was nice I also noticed that the paratha was done Kerala style and if I had known I would have ordered this Enjoyed the food, price is reasonable. There is also take away boxes they do for lunch for circa 8 to 7 pounds and for me that is brilliant if I worked locally All in all a very lovely place to visit and food tastes sublime

At the top of a dreary, unloved staircase lies an Indian restaurant from a bygone era. We were greeted by luminous yellow wallpaper and an uninterested staff member. Our disappointment began right from the outset with the server informing us that the bhel was unavailable. Instead we opted for the vegetable parkoa and onion bhaji which although fresh came alongside a small puddle of watery chutney. For mains we had the egg curry which was fantastic and had a rich, heartwarming tomato gravy. In stark contrast, the paneer butter masala was extremely sweet and had an off putting yellow colour that matched the wallpaper. The paratha were fluffy and a good accomplishment to the curries. I struggled to give this establishment a 3 star rating and did so only out of respect for its historical past.

Authentic Indian! although the service was slow it was worth the wait. Restaurant on second floor with seperate toilets and bar lounge on first floor. 2nd visit 060721. At 2212hr given the bill without asking 1. If I would like another drink. 2. If I would like a dessert. 3. If I would like tea or coffee.

I will miss India Club when it closes its doors. I’ve been coming here with my dad for a while now and so grateful for this home away from home. My last lunch there was for my dads birthday last week. We spotted a dear old friend of my dad the late Chandran Tharoor in the bar photos while having drinks and then headed up for our last lunch. It will always be my childhood favourite and I can’t thank the staff enough for making it a place I will always remember. The food always reminds me of my parents and just a home comfort.

I am so sorry that it took me until you were closing down to make a visit. Well worth the wait though, honest good indian food in an amazing dining room. Thank you for squeezing us into a busy lunch service on a Friday, it’s an experience I’ll never forget.

Great ambience, good variety of Indian food. The starters are excellent (if you were looking for spice, it ends with the chilli bhajias (v) and the Dosas (both veg and non veg) are excellent. The place still retains its look from over 60 years back and the minimalism is comforting. Service is efficient and polite. The taste is good but you can get better. Go for the ambience + good experience. And don’t miss visiting the first floor which has the Bar and is the actual Club area.

This is definitely worth a visit! And it's a marmite experience for sure! The front door is an old hotel, a very hidden doorway opposite the ME hotel. 1st floor is a bar, don't be expecting anything fancy but it's dripping in atmosphere and I'd gladly go back for the drink there, especially as there are views out over the Strand. The restaurant is up on the next floor. Food was tasty, a few menu items had run out. Waiter forgot our water a few times, but it was packed so that is understandable. But it's the intense NOISE in there that you'll either love or....not love!! It's great that everyone there wants to chat with friends and create a buzzing atmosphere, but for a chap who appreciates his hearing, it was impossible to hear what your friends are saying unless you lean in and get occasionally spat on accidentally. Was definitely glad I experienced it.

We had the set menu at £22. Very affordable. The main items on the menu that were interesting were the papadums, masala dosa, onion bhajis and roti prathas. All freshly cooked. I am afraid we weren't impressed with any of the curries served on the set menu. I read the reviews on here and my take on the curries were uninspiring and lacking vibrancy. I simply could not find a single dish that was rich in flavour and spices and I am not talking spicy as in heat. Perhaps it is for more western tastes during the 60s but I am pretty sure there are other Indian restaurants around that can easily surpass the dishes we got today. They seemed well cooked but struggle to make our taste buds come alive.

There is nothing to be said about ambience. In fact, if you want an "authentic" hole in the wall Indian experience, look no further. Order a Kingfisher or Cobra beer and prepare to have your taste buds excited. We had the South Indian style chicken curry (amazing, probably the best Indian dish I have ever ordered in a restaurant outside India) and masala dosa with chicken. Husband and daughter got the butter chicken (why!) and they liked it but it was on the sweet side. But we already decided that next time we go, we are all getting the South Indian curry. Tip: the same curry is used in the egg and King Prawn curry. Can't wait to go back. We are already talking about going tomorrow and ordering the curry with a side of dosa. The service is pretty good but the surroundings are ... sparse and very India looking!

Great and not too expensive Indian food ! It was a great place, not fancy but the food is amazing. I ordered the Bhuna lamb with some sides of plain rice and paratha. It was deliciously spicy and full of flavors. I totally recommend it for nice Indian food

Absolutely fantastic. Perhaps the best Indian food I've ever had anywhere in the world. Recommend ahead of time reservations! Took a while to finally get served but certainly worth the wait. Enjoy your beer before eating.

I ordered the thali and it was just ok. I expected much better Indian food in London. Service was sub par; did not get utensils for a while and no one checked on us even though there was only one more table in the restaurant.

It's been 8 months since I visited, but I still dream about the food. I was staying at the hostel above the restaurant, and I ate there almost every day of my week-long stay. The service can be eccentric, but it's completely made up for by the food. And anyway, it's somewhat endearing. I still use their food as my mental standard for what good South Asian food should be. Perhaps I'm simply naive to the world of curry, but this was superb.

Open since 1946, the place has not changed. Simple, hole in the wall, if you walked passed it you missed it. The best prawn curry, butter chicken and naan I have ever had! We had a long day of walking around London, this place was a welcome choice to have for our second meal in this awesome city. The curry had the right amount of heat, followed that withe tastiest basmati rice I could eat here every day! Wash it down with a delicious Kingfisher beer and some samosas, you'll be glad you came. This is a cash only establishment, the service is great. This is a must eat place!!

Opened in 1950, and given new flooring some time circa 1970, I'd estimate, this is not on my "must revisit" list. Perhaps I was unlucky - in a party of four consisting entirely of people who were either from the Indian subcontinent or had spent significant chunks of time there ( working, not holidays in Goa..), and covering the spectrum of vegetarian and carnivore, the only thing we had that was up-to-spec were the poppadoms and the beer. Presumably neither were made on the spot. My "kebabs" were notable for being not unlike I would imagine fried cow-flops to be. Vegetarian dishes were pronounced "wierd" or "oversalted". The rice was OK, but I don't come to restaurants for the rice. Cheap, but not cheery. You'll note, on your way in and out, the loose throng of disappointed looking punters from the Strand Continental Hotel , located in the same building. If you have a hankering for Indian food, and can stretch to north of £6-7 per head, try...well, pretty much any other "Indian" restaurant in the UK.

There are many overused phrases and cliches in the English language. One that I use too much myself is " the mother of all-whatevers" Well, this really is the mother of all Indian restaurants. Literally. This is the first Indian restaurant that ever opened in the UK - probably in the early 50s, and the decor has not changed much since. The early patrons were the exiles from the Indian embassy across the street. Now it has a loyal clientele from the people who work in the offices nearby, students and the backpackers who stay in the Strand Continental Hotel. The food is excellent, it is tremendous value - probably the cheapest curry in central London, and before long they will put one of those blue plaques outside the door to recognise that this humble restaurant is London's, the UK's and thus the world's one and only original Indian restaurant.

Went back and ordered form the regular menu - much tastier and v reasonably priced (chicken korma, rice and masala tea for a tenner). I'm now a confirmed fan. I was a bit drunk last time, and I mistakenly decided the menu was "extensive". It isn't, but there's enough there, and I look forward to going back time and time again and eating my way through it.

The colonial vibe, cheap beer and friendly staff are all fantastic here, and if you're happy to put up with duff food for the sake of a fun night out then go for it, but I won't be returning. The food was just too mediocre - the lamb madras was the only dish of about seven that I sampled which stood out. I would recommend skipping the food altogether and getting an ice-cold kingfisher in the delightful bar on the first floor.

We went here before catching a show at the Adelphi theater. It is a great little place tucked up on the 2nd floor of an old hotel. Apparently it has been there since 1946. The service was nice and the wait staff take their time so you can enjoy yourself. Don't come if you're going to be rushed for time, it will ruin the experience. The food was great and if you aren't familiar with the menu, the staff will make recommendations. It is all delicious. I recommend ordering a few things and sharing with someone else.

Went here for dinner. This restaurant defines the "no frills" genre of dining. That said, the prices are great, the staff are friendly, and you can bring your own booze. And the food is quite good. At first the portions seemed small but they were rich, tasty and filling. I had the chicken curry and my lady friend enjoyed the prawn curry. We also got naan and rice and an order of curried eggplant. Each dish was just spicy enough and not too greasy or anything. Really high quality stuff. Total bill was just under £22.00. A nice dining experience for those on a budget, those who like good Indian food, or those who like to drink high quality hooch of their own choosing. I would return here.

Nothing special about this place. It's hard to find and not as nice as the Sitar restaurant, which is also Indian, right next to it. Cash only. If you try paying with card, they will tell you, "CASH ONLY!" with an implied "rawr" somewhere in there. Taste-wise, the food was about the same as the other Indian restaurants around town. As everyone has mentioned, this place is old, and it shows. The hotel that this restaurant is hidden above looks broken and a little sketchy. Given that the food tastes the same, maybe it's an impressive feat, since this old place might still be using 18th century tools to cook.

Not to be confused with the East India Club (the very smart, traditional gentleman's club in St James) this Indian restaurant is quite a find. Hidden away, up three flights of stairs in between the floors of a cheap hotel on the Strand, the India Club was a particular favourite of mine during my time at King's College (a few buildings along) A cheap restaurant with excellent food and the facility to bring your own alcohol makes it a firm favourite with students but also a loyal and longstanding clientele who see the restaurant as something of an institution (it has been going for over 50 years and is one of London's earliest Indian restaurants) The decor is faded and a bit sad, but the restaurant has managed to retain its charm. Bring cash and a bottle.

Well, what can I say? The faded grandeur of this tired hotel and restaurant made me think this would be a real Yelp treasure when I arrived for a quick lunch. Instead, I left disappointed. Why? Prices are reasonable, but there are better values in Central London (i.e. set-price menu) for lunch. My chicken curry was a small portion and, surprisingly, had more than a few pieces of bone. Plain naan bread was just acceptable. Chance of returning: slim.

Cheap yes. A relic from another age in terms of decor, yes. Good food overall, not quite. The meat dishes here tend towards the rubbery or plain tough. Vegetarian food on the other hand is rather good. Perhaps the reason for this is that the India Club and caters to many people from the nearby India High Commission (on the Aldwych). In India whilst it is certainly the case that there are many meat eaters - and many fabulous meat based cuisines - official food culture tends towards the Brahminical and therefore vegetarian type. If you're after a cheap meal with authentic Indian flavours, go for it. The ambience is from another age - and somewhat moth-eaten with it (but fascinating all the same!). The service is generally tepid at best or downright rude at worst. Step-free access isn't possible as the restaurant is on the second floor up some narrow and steep stairs from the street with the recently refurbished toilets on the first floor. 2 out of a possible 5 stars purely because there are now many places in London that serve excellent Indian regional food at similar prices with far better service and facilities. It pains me as an habitue of nearly 15 years standing to state so, but there we are. Times change.

It's hard enough to find someplace to eat on the Strand, never mind a place that won't cost you a fortune. In many ways, the India Club is quite atypical. Hidden away on the second floor, there is nothing flashy about the entrance. The simple formica tables and decor probably haven't changed since they moved to their current location in the '50s. The food is pretty decent, though in canteen-style your choices are rather limited according to what they have available for the day. If you're looking for a super-spicy vindaloo (or super-spicy anything for that matter), this probably isn't the place for you. But if you like fried things, a good lamb curry or a dosa, you'll be able to get a good cheap meal. FYI: BYOB

Great spot for Indian. On the second floor of the Strand Continental Hotel, this medium-sized room is a cheap, no-frills place to eat. It's sort of old and dingy, but feels a lot more authentic to me than the overwrought explosions of bad decoration that plague some restaurants. There's nothing fancy on the one-page menu, but there's sufficient meat and veg choice for just about anyone. Chicken bhuna, egg curry, dosas, nice and spicy yellow dahl. More like home cooking: the ingredients all seem hand-chopped, not extracted from machine-prepared packets. All the mains are in the £5.95 to £6.95 range. They don't serve alcohol, but you can BYOB. I've got a soft spot for this hidden gem.

The staff told us that this was one of the oldest Indian restaurants in London. Hm... This place is not badly priced for the theater district.. and perhaps a quaint hidden place to go before or after a show. However, I still think this is no match for Brick Lane where the food has more punch and the portions a little bigger. After spending £12 I was still hungry and felt like I only had half a meal. Decor looks like.. a school cafeteria which may or may not be good depending on your personal preference. I just thought i'd note that. **TIP**: hard to find - the 2nd floor is the BAR. the restaurant is on the THIRD FLOOR. we got lost. Also maybe it was APPLE MAPS' FAULT, but IT SHOWED THE RESTAURANT IN THE WRONG LOCATION!! We walked around for 20 minutes until we found it. sigh.

I found this restaurant only from the reviews on yelp. i probably never would of picked it from the outside of the restaurant, but the food is fantastic! the restaurant is the OLDEST indian restaurant in London! You have to follow the signs to get up to the place, but the hike is defiantly worth it! the prices are very reasonable and the waiters are very friendly! when we went it was only our family, but it was a sunday at 7, so it could of been an odd time. it was my first time eating indian, but it was fantastic! i would recommend this to everyone!

I love this place, and have been there many many times. The food is as authentically Indian as it gets (they change their chefs every year or two, bringing them over from different regions of India, so as to vary their regonal cuisine; at the time of writing, the head chef is from Rajasthan), the value is superb, and they have Cobra and Mongoose beers available at the table now (used to be BYO). OK, so the place is a tad shabby, but with great food like this being served by kind, calm, knowledgeable waiters, who cares if it could do with a lick of paint? It all adds to the atmosphere, and makes it feel like a little slice of India in London; I've been in India several times, so I know what I'm talking about... We like it so much, we had my wife's birthday bash there, an incredible veggie thali for 35 people...

Really mediocre food - bland and all tasted the same. The naan was stale and tasted like it came from a package bought at Lidl. Bring your own alcohol but don't expect them to be overly helpful when you need a glass or a bottle opener. It took at least an hour for our group to be served, and yes, we were a large group, but we were offered only one choice - the set menu - so how hard can that be to prepare? Worst Indian food I've had in London. And terrible service. The waiters were rude to us on numerous occasions - one of them even shoved a friend's arm off the table because it was in the way. Tip was included because we were a big group or I never would have left one. Definitely not worth it for the fifteen quid I paid - not even worth 5.

I was introduced to this place by a friend when I worked on Arundel St nearby, and it soon became a firm favorite for post-drinks refuelling. Very good value (£12 set menu especially!) and with great tasting food - for it's price range and location it can't be beat :-)

This is a 2nd floor hole in the wall. Not much on decor and the service was slow. A perfect place to really relax with friends and very tasty food in the big city. I guess if you want bells and whistles, this wouldn't be for you. Down to Earth and easy.

I've been going here for years, and it's certainly one of the quirkiest restaurants in central London. The food continues to be rather good (especially for the joke prices) but unfortunately, they have a problem with their ventilation such that when I left recently, I smelled as if I'd been in a fire and needed a bath, hairwash and all my clothes cleaning. A real shame, as one day, someone will take this wonderful antique over, prettify it and ruin it.

Most unusual place. Even the stairway up to the second floor (no lift) looks between neglected and spooky. Up there it's true that you feel put back in time. Just the courage to keep the place as it is, is miraculous. Also the waiters seems to belong to a different decade, or as somebody wrote, it's like an Indian canteen. What we ordered and got was really very good, prawn bhuna (good portion, many prawns) and egg curry (very aromantic!). Also the rest was good, especially considering the low price. They didn't have the kebabs (maybe good luck?). The service was alright. Considering all and it really being something special we enjoyed it. It is just old-fashioned in a natural way. Also that very central location makes to good to know.

A great place to visit! No frills at all but so genuine, and so tasty, that it's well worth it. As it is BYO, it works out as a cheap night too. I recommend going for the set menu.

Don't let the interior put you off, it's barely decorated, but the food is good, and at £6.50 a curry it's fantastic value. It's popular and so the atmosphere is great and the staff have character. Ideal if you wanna have a low maintenance, lively chatter with your friends. Will hopefully go again.

Ok here my first review on Qype... Being a north indian, I have been trying to find some authentic indian restaurants that havent gone commercial and sold their indian taste to suit the western taste ...... India Club had sme good reviews so i thght of trying it .... I loved the simplicity, the cheap tables and fr sme funny reason i felt as if i was in a laid back south indian canteen where u stop fr a quick tea/snacks or at max a dosa/idli/sambhar.... and that is exactly wat it is .... its you average south indian restaurant that does a mix of regular south indian and north indian dishes... so the dosa would be good bt the butter chicken (or mughlai chicken) wnt be as you'd rem it frm a punjabi rest.... the daal would taste good bt wont look like a regular daal fry Still I recommend it highly and give it a 4 star as it is indeed a genuine Indian restaurant n i simply loved the experience.... I request other people who review indian restaurants to keep in mind that there's nothing called an Indian Restaurant... it should be either North indian, South indian, Bengali, Gujrati ... So if you love any of the "Indian" cuisines you'd know what i mean .....

It is not like the food is not good, actually, it is, but it is nothing special. I have been to other Indian restaurants which have something different about their menu and atmosphere.

I came here for dinner as I had heard hat this was a excellent, yet low key Indian and inexpensive Indian Restaurant. I had dinner there on a Bank Holiday Monday, when I arrived, there were only 4 other customers so I was a little surprised. The menu is not extensive but had a some good options. The service was lack luster as I always had to ask for something, the one and only waiter never came by to ask how it was or if I wanted something else. The first appetizer I asked for was not available, not a good start but I found one they did have. When I went to the Mains, again I asked for something that was not available but found another suitable selection. The appetizer and the main course that I had were just OK. The plain Naan bread tasted to me and appeared to be something that was bought in a store. The rice was the best part of the meal. I cannot say that the price (inexpensive) was fair as the quality of he food was lacking. With so many Great Indian Restaurants in London, you will do well giving this one a miss.

Went there with 2 friends. We're in our 20s and found the rude waiter quite funny. Upon our arrival he just chivvied us with his hand to elicit our request for a table for 3! I wouldn't take my mum here, therefore, but if you can laugh that off then it's ok. One waiter was quite sweet. The food was below average by English Indian restaurant standards, really. Dry naan, not very creamy curry, or slightly odd. This may well be more authentic mind you. It's cheap. You get what you pay for. We enjoyed the old fashioned living room style decor. Service was pretty bad, asked for water and didn't get served. Eventually poached a jug of water from another table when they got up and left. Will not visit again. But it's a quirky bit of fun for friends or maybe an adventurous date if you want to test someone's sense of humour.

Probably the worst Indian meal I have ever eaten. Food truly awful. Service appalling. Decor tatty. I cannot believe it is possible to cook so badly and then have the cheek to charge for it. Never again.