La Porte des Indes

Visiting london for the weekend, we liked the look of the menu with a French slant on sub-continent cooking. When we entered the rstaurant on a Sunday evening I can only echo a previous reviewer's comment that it is like a tardis. We plumped for the mix of starters between two, and it was bit spartan for the price. As for the main courses, my wife's chicken dish was excellent, nicely spiced and tasty. My lamb shank was overpowered by almond, was served somewhat lukewarm and was a bit of a disappointment. The wine list, like the food, came at a premium. Service was however good though it was not busy. Overall, worth a try just for the variety of the menu but to my mind over-priced.
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Chris Upfield - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Contrast to the previous review, i think that Le Porte is great, so much so that my boyfriend and I call it 'our restaurant'

The food is not meant to be authentic as it has the twist of french, which i find refreshing,

Curries are light, and the Pakoras are better than my mum's so thats really saying something,

I cant fault the service, am always taken care of, however on a busy night it can be slow, so i reccommend mid week dining,

Overall, a good experience. In comparison to other a la carte indian cuisine, Le Porte does trump them!
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Neela
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Saturday, December 19, 2009

I have been to la porte twice and on both occasions I found them needing prodding to get things moving. slow service bland food! the best part was getting to meet the "big boss" trying to sell her party package to me which was very funny. cant see ever going to eat there again if you look close you will see everything is very poor compared to the likes of other west end eateries! also very much in need of a decor update asap.
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richard dean - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Saturday, December 19, 2009

I think many of the readers agree. The interior of this restaurant is a tacky imitation of some maharaja. I feel like I’m stepping back in to the early 80's when London had few funky restaurants.

The service is poor (even though they charge 12.5%). It took ages to seat us, a long time to serve and even longer to bring us water.

The food tasted ok, but it should be as everything was so expensive. (I was at Hakkasan a few days before and the price was quite similar.)

Don't bother going here; there are a plethora of other good and smart Indian restaurants to go to.
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Simon Shaer - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Monday, November 23, 2009

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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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
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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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
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
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
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 3
Thursday, July 30, 2009