La Porte des Indes

I do agree that the dishes were not so disimilar. Although, there was a plethora of appetisers which were fun enough.. but tasted pretty bland. The chicken had just the right tender texture.

The place was grand and palace-like, although lacks in the continuity of the style in areas such as the passages leading to the bathrooms.
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4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Invited by friends to this peculiarly overt and ornately decorated mahal - missing only were the peacocks ashimmering and atwittering. We had the Sunday Brunch. From the look of the colourful and brightly filled pans dotted around various points in the tropical transformation inside Victorian building behind Marble Arch, the food stood in puddles of variable tepidity. The dark leathery dermis of many dhal curries needed a sideways heave to reach into the lighter coloured delights that might have lurked below. Every concoction, barely warm, ladled into even less warmer plates looked sad and tired, and failed to registered on the Richter scale of taste, flavour and aroma. It is sad to see that not even one dish amongst the many hued with various shades of green, turmeric and oil tasted no different to the one that preceded it. Well this must be an achievement of sorts. I wondered how it was possible that I could be so unappreciative when my fellow diners, apart from my wife, appeared, though somewhat mildly, satisfied with being assaulted by a melange of soft, semi soft and hard barely edible food. On the rare occasions when I risk eating out I make a point of seeking the service staff''s advice as to which dish, given the chance would they eat from the day's menu. It would have been uncharitable to have done so, especially our friends have made this venue their regular haunt! Even the dessert corner was a barren desert with not an oasis in sight. Perhaps I am a philistine when it comes to recognising and appreciating genuine generic international dull and dreary indianesque cuisine. The final bill worked out at £36 per head! I nearly fell off the chair. I have never been so much abused. Perhaps I ought to go out more often.
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Tariq K Mirza
3 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Monday, October 19, 2009

Excellent food, service, ambience, decor. The place is like a Tardis. Pricey but what you would expect from a restaurant like this. Very impressed.
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10 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, September 21, 2009

A real pleasure in every respect - atmosphere, service and food.. Perhaps milder food than expected.
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Peter Baillie
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Saturday, September 19, 2009

We went to this restaurant as a party of three, one of my guest was actually a celebrity chef herself.

To summarise: The service at the bar was ok. The service in the restaurant was below average. The manager was very arrogant, the staff a little flimsy. The decor of the place reminds me of a run down Disney theme restaurant rather than a top class Indian restaurant. They clearly have not done anything since the 1990s. The food was below average with some sauces clearly watered down to safe money on spices. The worst were the prices though. Drinks are ridiculously overpriced - they charge more than restaurants with Michelin stars. £8 for a Cobra is just beyond good and evil. The wine list is ok, but nothing special for an expert. Food portions are on the small side and side dishes were small. The black cod was good, the chicken was awful. I had the worst Daal there in my life. The Peschawari Naan was a disgrace - it tasted like an out of date mince pie.

Overall, I cannot recommend this place. The decor is tacky and outdated. The service below average, but worst of all, the prices are just unrealistic bordering rude.
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Peter - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

i took my parents here for my birthday dinner and we had a lovely evening. i agree with the other reviewers that the food was a bit overpriced for what you get, but the decor and presentation does make it a refreshing difference from your average indian restaurant.

The cuisine is different from the average indian restaurant, but if you read up the restaurant, or check the menus - you will see that they are not intended to be 'typical indian'.

The food, though expensive, was fine and we finished it all. The good thing about it was that it was not greasy or covered in a layer of oil, like I usually get in Indian restaurants.

Service was friendly and attentive the evening that we were there.
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Dame Edna - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 3
Thursday, July 30, 2009

Went to this resturant on Sat 06June. Ambience and decor is amazing. Food is very disappointing. Normally I dont go to Indian resturants. This was the one I was going to after 2 years but It was not worth the money. Too pricy for the food you get. Food was cold. Hyderabadi Biryani was horrible. Rice was over cooked. Lamb in that was hard like rubber. Grilled prawns were bland no flavour at all. We ordered 6 different things but not even one of them was up to the taste. Only the tamarind margarita was nice.
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Gaurav
4 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Monday, June 08, 2009

i went to La Porte des Indes last night with my husband as a special treat. We come from the North West and are used to the Indian restaurants of Rusholme in Manchester. I have to say I know where I would go again and it wouldnt be La Porte des Indes. We tried the selection of starters then the Thalis as we wanted to try lots of different foods. There was a good selection on the Thalis but as previous reviewers have commented, the sauces were excessive, bland, watered down and in my opinion seriously under seasoned, ie salted. I was hoping for food packed with flavour (not necessarily heat) and these seriously disappointed.

What a let down!
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4 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Saturday, May 09, 2009

What a shame that the management do not pay heed to the comments posted here.

Apart from the person stating no one understands fine dining I must agree with every comment.

- The waiter seemed out of his depth when asked to suggest dishes

- The food was interesting but certainly the flavours seemed "watered down"

- I could go on, but, the main issue is the price. £120 odd quid for two people for the taster menu with water and lassi. They are not interested in long term business
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6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 2
Thursday, April 23, 2009

Even though the food was ok, this place is a rip off. They tried charging us for dishes and drinks that we did not order. When I asked for the "optional" service charge (12.5%) to be removed from the bill the staff became outright hostile. For a place with these kind of prices the least you could expect is honesty.
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6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 4
Monday, April 13, 2009