La Porte des Indes

I have just got home from La Porte des Indes where I had a meal with 10 colleagues. We went for the £27.50 set menu and I was very disappointed with the number of dishes and amount of food. It was tasty but not much of it. The bill came to £57/person and being in a group it was embarrassing to question the bill but drinks must be very expensive as I had a beer and a G&T and the person next to me was on water.
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Andrew
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Saturday, May 03, 2008

My wife and i went here for my birthday in December 07. I must say after reading some of the mixed reviews we were a little apprehensive but having been to the sister Blue Elephant trusted in the brand. I can happily say we were not disappointed. On approach i thought..hhmm...small restaurant well, i was rather suprised. On entry its almost like entering a tardis. We were greeted by warm friendly staff who took our coats and led us through a maze of palm trees, waterfalls and ambient (SOME would say tacky) FUN decor. We sat on a balcony above a huge waterfall overlooking the entire restaurant. At this point i would like to say i'm a food lover. I have travelled far and wide and have eaten in many restaurants from your local take-away to michelin star so i never expect to much. Our table was filled with warm breads all of which seemed to be hand made with lots of great flavours, For the main course my wife had a chicken curry ( don't recall the actual name ) with all the trimmings, which was creamy and very traditional. I opted for the tandoori 'Taster' selection. Mine arrive on a platter, eleven different small curry dishes ranging from marinated Cod to your more traditional flavours like grilled Prawn and Lamb Tandoori. I must say that everything was great. Hot food, hot plates, great timing and again a warm friendly service. We have been here twice now and to the Blue Elephant many many more times over the years and have never had a poor or inadequate experience. I would like to point out that we never reached deserts as we were so full from everything else. The bill only came to £90 with wine and water. Try it for yourself, we did and thought it was great!
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Wesley S
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, March 29, 2008

I visited La Porte des Indes on Wednesday evening. I had read the reviews and was very sceptical but thought as it was part of the Blue Elephant chain it couldn't be too bad.

I was wrong!!! The food was cold and not very well cooked. The service was slow, the waiters seemed to need to ask permission every time we asked them to get something. It was very bizarre. If you would like a good Asian dinner then there are a number of other fantastic restaurants for you to visit!!!

The decor is fine but not as nice as the Blue Elephant thai restaurant in Fulham. If you want a good Indian don't go here, I wont be visitng this place again.
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Deeply Disappointed
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Friday, March 07, 2008

I was a little apprehensive after reading some of the reviews, but decided to go anyway as it was near work. It was better than I was expecting.

It is like a Tardis – as I entered I was wondering where the tables were, shown downstairs to a spectacular dining area. Quirky is the best way to describe it.

The menu looked good, not your usual high street chicken tikka massala etc. The food was okay, personally it could have been a bit spicier, but the flavours were good but not exceptional.

The staff were efficient and friendly.

Overall it was an okay experience and due to its convenience will probably go back.
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RalphT - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Went there last week on Friday evening. Here's my feedback:-

Ambience - Awesome! you dont know what's in there unless you step inside. I'd recommend taking a tour of the restaurant just to see the beautiful decor - marble stairs, fountain, beautiful decor. By far the best desi place in terms of ambience.

Service - Very good service, attentive waitors and stylish serving dishes

Food - BAD! My local Indian restaurants makes far better food. It no way matches up to the creative, innovative, subtle flavors served by other desi restaurants in this price range. It seems as if the dishes were prepared in bulk in the morning and they just microwaved it and served it with all the pomp and style

Overall, if you have a date to impress who does not know know what desi food tastes like, this is the place to go!
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cheetri
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 5
Thursday, February 14, 2008

I have just been to La Porte des Indes and was bitterly disappointed by the food. We ate there about two years ago and it was quite good. Indeed at that time this site rated it at about a 7. However, things have changed. The service is still quite good and the decor, being the reason we invited our friend there, is still impressive. However, the food is lacking any substance. I had a thali which comprised of five small dishes (4 meat, 1 veg) which would give me a chance to taste various dishes. However, there was very little meat in any of the dishes. In fact the pieces were menial. Essentially, I was served three portions of sauce and two vegetarian portions. Also, these were no match for most other Indian restaurants that I have eaten in . It didn’t get any better for my two friends who ordered the same thali as each other and received a double portion which again contained very little meat. I would have thought for the price (circa £25 per head for a main course) they would just put meat in these dishes and avoid reviews like this! As I have mentioned above the service and decor are good, just don’t go there for the food!
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Michael - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Saturday, January 12, 2008

please do not waste money and your time by going here - minuture proportions - buit good atmosphere - straving when we left - after spending £200!!
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Smita Patel
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 28, 2007

66cl bottle of Cobra (5% ABV): £7.90

66cl bottle of King Cobra (8% ABV): £15

House wine: £18

Starters: £6+++

Mains (excluding rice etc.): £13+++

Rice £4+++

Side dishes: £6+++

Also 12.5% Service Charge

Expect to pay £45-£50 per head as an absolute minimum

Food: mediocre

Decor / ambiance: tacky (but some idiots seem to be impressed by it)

Service: poor / indifferent which is staggering given the number of personnel milling around somewhat aimlessly
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Barry Man
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Saturday, November 10, 2007

Having read the previous reviews I was a little nervous about trying this place. A group of friends and I decided to give it a go as the "50% of food" seemed a reasonable offer. Having made th booking online, I was grateful for the usual courtesy email, confirming the booking. On the day I also got a phone call from the venue, confirming the booking. As our party grew in size I was able to speak to them to increase the number if guests for the booking, which they did without hesitation, and confirmed they would still be included in the 50% off deal. We arrived early than our expected time, but our table was already waiting for us. We stopped at the bar for a few drinks, and were met with friendly service. Moving on to the table, we found the set menu to be exquisite - excellant options for veg and non-veg alike. one of my party had a fish allergy, and staff took note of this. we were waited on very efficiently, allowed time to look through the menu and snack on poppadoms before the food arrived, which didn't take long. The thali style of the set menu meant that portions were small, but variety plentiful. I had excellant dhoklas and dahi puri in my starters, follwed by paneer makhani, saffron rice and aubergine curry to name a few. The food was without fault, and although portion sizes looked small, I struggled to finish. Desert was a gorgeous chocolate mousse, and presentation throughout was marvellous. Would thoroughly recommend to anyone wanting to try 5 star food at a reasonable price (with the 50% offer).
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Datta Ryan
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Well, what can i say, we dropped by here on Saturday night - quite late so it was very quiet, we were given the smallest table possible (me being 6ft 3 caused me some discomfort - despite all the other larger tables being free) we ordered a couple of cocktails some water and a coke which we recieved after 20 minutes, after sitting there for 45 minutes waiting to order i decided enough was enough and decided to leave (the staff had no presence, you couldnt catch the eye of any waiter as they all seemed to huddle and chat in one area) i agree the place itself looked wonderful inside but thats where it ends, the menu was different and expensive in my opinion. The bill for the 4 drinks came to £27.00 of which £3.00 was service charge - it goes without saying i knocked that off and left! Dont bother guys, if the service is so dire when the place is empty peak periods must be awful!
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Cookie
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Monday, October 29, 2007