Tamarind

Our first visit for a few years and we weren't disappointed, although I think the "wow" factor might have gone. Tables seemed a bit close together, but not alarmingly so, and unless I'm mistaken the service is less formal than before. This is not a criticism in itself, though there hasn't been any matching relaxation of the pricing structure.

A main course choice each and a few accompaniments provided more than enough. All were very good but interestingly only an okra side dish produced a rave reaction. The sommelier's advice proved very sound although it cleverly took me higher up the price scale than I probably intended.

Overall a happy experience, but a small markdown on the value for money scale.
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Kentishwanderer
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, December 05, 2011

After dining in quite a few good Indian restaurants in London, including the one star Amaya, I was expecting the best from Tamarind. However it proved to be an extremely overpriced and totally bland experience. The bill came about £75 per person, for just a starter, main dish and half a bottle of wine. The only starter that deserves some credit is the lamb chops, which were tasty and tender.

However the lamb shank main was full of fat, making even similar dishes on Brick Lane a much better choice.

The curries (chicken and lamb) had nothing special, same taste as any curry you would find in the most basic Indian restaurant.

The staff and atmosphere were over pretentious, reminding me of one of those restaurants that used to be a must 10 years ago, but falling into oblivion right now, however keeping the same attitude.

This can be proved by the fact that we could book an 8 person table just the night before, something that would never be possible in a popular restaurant.

I believe London is full of amazing Indian/Bangladeshi/Pakistani restaurants, as Trishna, Cinnamom Kitchen, Amaya, Tayyabs, Lahore, Cafe Spice Namaste, just to mention a few, however Tamarind is definitely not one of them.
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Andrea
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Once again it was the Best Indian food with effortless service.

It seems that I will never be able to eat in any other Indian Restaurant again but Tamarind. I would like to thank the team at Tamarind for looking after me and my guests so well.

Great Restaurant. Great Service with smile. Best Indian Food. What more can I expect.
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Nikki Bhatia
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, June 07, 2011

I choose Tamarind for my husband's birthday after trying out a few of the other Indian restaurants in the area in previous years. Having heard a heard a mixture of reviews we went to Tamarind with as high expectations about the food but reservations about the service. The whole experience at Tamarind proved to be wonderful!! From the booking staff on reception to the waiters everyone was absolutely lovely and very warm and attentive.

The food was amazing too..Tamarind was extremely accommodating to my restricted diet as a vegan and i enjoyed a wonderful spinach and potato dish, with a fresh salad. The dessert..a range of sorbets was my favourite dish of the night..really beautiful and fresh flavours after a spicy meal.

My husband enjoyed his non vegan dishes equally and is still talking about the amazing Gajar Halwa and chocolate dessert.

Tamarind may not have the show and pomp or even the precision that is expected from a Michelin starred restaurant, but I felt this worked to Tamarind's advantage, the food was exceptional but presented in an extremely straightforward way, the staff were wonderful and there was no pretense in their service through the night, just a very warm and welcoming atmosphere.

I will definitely be going back!
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deena - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Sunday, May 01, 2011

We visited this restaurant with our little one today and all we can say is "awesome food and amazing decor and very professional staff"

The staff made sure that we were ok on a regular basis and took every care to explain the ingredients for all the food they served.

The ambience was so calm and relaxing. The food was so tasty and cooked to perfection and the meal size was just perfect.

Being my birthday on the day of visit, I was also given a surprise celebration desert, but the highlight was the personal wish by the head chef Mr Alfred Prasad.

Being an Indian myself, I would personally recommend this restaurant to all my English and Indian friends too.
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Priya Raghu
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, April 21, 2011

I finally visited Tamarind after many years of wanting to visit. I can honestly say that it wasn't worth the wait. For starters we had shami lamb kebabs and potato cakes: both were bland. The main consisted of a chicken tikka curry, dahl and vegetable curry. Neither curry was anything special as the flavours ranged from sweet to creamy: there was no depth of flavour at all. The food also turned cold very quickly after it was served which made me suspicious as to whether it had just been heated up. The dessert was a simple rice pudding but nothing to write home about. The service was not personalised, I didn't like the fact that I was served by 6 or 7 different waiters. Overall I think the Tamarind is trying to be a high end Indian restaurent but fails to hit the mark in all aspects. There are many expensive Indian restaurents in London that make dining a memorable, enjoyable experience: this restaurant is definitely not one of them.
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Dakshah Wanza
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My last visit was on Saturday 26th Feb. Its was very busy when we arrive but we were seated immediatly as expected.

Tamarind has never failed to impress me. The quality of food & service is 2nd to none. I have been to Tamarind for few times now and find this restaurant to be extremly consistent in every aspect. bit on the expensive side but one expect to pay bit more for the good quality food and the service.

Well done to the Team at Tamarind.
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Nikki Bhatia
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, February 28, 2011

Went to Tamarind last night for the first time.Very disappointing. Starters were quite bland (lamb cakes and the potato cakes), main courses were ok though the lamb was quite chewy. Expected better for the price. Was very overpriced for what we had. Will not be back!
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Suzanne
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Sunday, December 05, 2010

I went here last night with three curry-loving friends, we expected great things, we wanted to be shown another world of how curries should be cooked by the true masters of indian cuisine....sadly it was a little underwhelming.

To start we had the scallops, which were very nice but didn't have that crispy well-done brown tinge on the outside (another 20 seconds on each side would have done the trick), my lamb cakes were very disappointing - three brown macaroon shaped things on a white plate, they were dry and not particularly flavoursome but the coriander mint sauce they came with was nice. The duck salad was literally some slices of duck on some salad leaves, the best starter were the potato cakes, very good indeed - but for 8 quid or so you kinda expect them to be. The mains were good, however the butter chicken didn't have any cream drizzled on it as it appears on the website and the pot it came in was a lot smaller than expected. My Sag Gosht (lamb with spinach) was nice but at nearly 20 quid a little overpriced. All in all it was a good experience but overpriced - not quite the paradigm shifting experience I was hoping for.
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Rogan Ross
5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Thursday, December 02, 2010

We went here a few weeks ago for the second time in about 20 years and we left feeling that once again in London we had been let down by both ood quality in an indian restaurant and here also the atmosphere.

We had the feeling we were ,as it were processed , there was little sense of

occasion and the food was actually rather dull.

I really cant see us returning even in another 20 years- this was a little after another let down at Cinammon near Westminster.
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alan fowle
6 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Friday, August 13, 2010