Tamarind

Another restaurant doing the credit crunch special.

Food

We had the Sunday tasting menu, and there was way too much food for two, since I made the mistake of having a big breakfast earlier. It didn’t help that we ordered some Whole wheat crisps and chickpeas with mint chutney, sweetened yoghurt and tamarind chutney , or poppadums, to start either, but mainly because we wanted to compare it with Café Spice Namaste…and the winner is….Cafe Spice. The poppadoms themselves were quite light and tasty, but the condiments were not even on par with Café Spice. And, for the first time at an Indian restaurant, we got an amuse! Don’t get too excited though, it was just pumpkin Soup with Saffron, which was actually quite boring. Before too long, our meal arrived, and consisted of:

• Crispy fried vegetable patties with ginger and coriander stem, served with tomato chutney - this was quite ordinary, the pattie is like a vege burger pattie, but with a bit more spice.
• Sesame coated tilapia fillets with ginger, garlic, rice flour and curry leaves, served with mint chutney - again, not very exciting. I think I was expecting a lot more – well, they do have a Michelin star afterall.
• Boneless lamb simmered in gravy of onion, tomato and freshly ground peppercorns - my absolute favourite. I can see where they got that Michelin star from now. The lamb was melt in the mouth, te sauce was quick and concentrated in flavour, with a subtle chilli hit.
• Tandoor grilled chicken supreme with mustard oil, ginger, garlic and pickling spices; served on salad leaves - a little bit lacklustre if you ask me. Still, I was so full I could hardly eat this.
• Yellow lentils with cumin, tomato, garlic and fresh fenugreek leaves - nto as good as the Café Spice daal.
• Seasonal vegetables in a gravy of onion, cashew and spices, finished with saffron - nothing exciting here. The seasoning is actually quite mild.
• Baby potatoes stir fried with cumin, chilli and fresh coriander - I was expecting more, these were very ordinary.
• Steamed basmati rice
• Tandoori roti - not as nice as naan, but this was executed very well.
• Pistachio Kulfi served drizzled with mango coulis - nice and refreshing, not as sweet as other’s I’ve had…but I still prefer ice-cream.

So…not as good as I expected, since Café Spice Namaste and Lahore are both pretty much on par.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

A bit too formal and stuffy for me. The décor must’ve been very nice once, but now looks like it is in need for some refurbishment. The tables were too close together for my liking…in fact, I was listening to everything the vegetarian couple next to us were saying, and it was very interesting. There is a semi-open kitchen down one end of the dining room, but we weren’t seated anywhere near it to benefit from the view.

Rating - 1.5

Service

As expected, the waiters were very polite and attentive. I did feel they were hovering around somewhat, but this could be due to the fact that most of the restaurant was empty for a long time that we were there.

Rating - 3.5

C-factor

Not too bad considering we got lots of food. Their normal menu certainly isn’t cheap though.

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

20 Queen Street
London
W1J 5PR
Phone +44 (0) 20 7629 3561
Website