Veeraswamy

Fantastic experience! This was without a doubt the best Indian restaurant I've ever been to, and one of the best restaurants overall. The food was beautifully presented and an absolute taste explosion. The whole place was nicely decorated and felt smart and sophisticated. The staff were extremely friendly, if we had one (very small) complaint it was that the service was a bit slow, but as we were happy to linger over the evening this wasn't too annoying. Veeraswamy is expensive, it's probably best suited to a special night out, but to be honest it was worth every penny. The bill came to £120 for two starters, mains, a bottle of wine and coffee, which was actually more modest than first expected. Try this restaurant at least once.
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LA
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, July 03, 2009

Absolutely superb place.

If you want a cheap curry, don't come here. The food is unlike any other Indian restaurant I have ever eaten at - being part Indian, I am used to authentic, well-cooked food both here and in India. Veeraswamy does not disappoint.

Yes, it's pricey. Of course it is - it's slap bang in the middle of Regent's St, you get in an elevator to reach the restaurant, and once you're there, the staff can't do enough for you. The wine is always wonderful, and the food...... well...... unbeatable.

Everything is prepared to perfection, the flavours are beautiful - not just spicy for the hell of it, or swimming in oil as you'd usually get elsewhere. The portions are appropriately sized, you won't be left hungry, but you won't have half a ton of food left over. Personally I'd go for the thali - sample a load of great dishes in one sitting!

If you're lucky enough to get a window seat, you'll find yourself endlessly gazing out onto the hustle and bustle of Regents Street from your third storey view. Regardless of whether you're a Londoner or a tourist, it's a fantastic accompaniment to the whole experience.

And that is what you pay for, the whole experience. It is a Central London eaterie run by Michelin starred people - so no, it's not going to be like your Indian grandmother's home cooked biryani, neither is it going to be like the Bombay Bicycle club. It is high quality, well-thought out, and worth its weight in gold. If you've got something to celebrate, I very much reccomend it.
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McClairey
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, March 27, 2009

We had our Concierge call ahead to make sure that Veeraswamy was wheelchair accessible and told "Yes" by the Hostess. We arrived and found a 9 inch step to get onto bottom floor (restaurant is upstairs). However, there was an elevator, which took us upstairs to a nice atmosphere. Nice views of Regents Street. It wasn't until after we finished our meal did we learn that the bathrooms were up two flights of stairs. So I had to cut short our meal and rush out of there to use the bathroom at the hotel. I would order take out from this restaurant, if you are not able to go two flights of stairs to use the toilet. The food was decent with the exception of the not offering a mild option. We took in a lot of water, probably why we needed to cut short our meal time.
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Anna
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 0
Sunday, March 22, 2009

I have never been an Indian food fan, but tonight had a really nice meal there. The Lamb Shank was well-done, and my friends veg. meal was equally impressive. The service is good, and the atmosphere is superb.
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King - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Thursday, March 12, 2009

Best Indian Restaurant ??? Really,,, i would not vsist this place again!!

The decor is impressive, but once the food arrives, its went downhill. Firstly, when our starters arrived, they were not properly cooked. When we told the waiter or head waiter, he had the audacity to tell us this particular dish was not meant to be hot. I promptly told him that being an Indian, I did actually know about Indian food. The starters were sent away and came back (this time slightly hot), seemed it's been just put in a microwave, it was a real let down.

I was hoping the main course would be better, but again was very disappointed. I have to say that this is the worst Indian meal I've ever had.

and this was the worst Id ever experienced anywhere around the world in this price range. I actually question, whether or not there was an Indain chef cooking this food!!

Like I said, the decor is impressive, but the food is awful. I would only recommend this place to you if you have no idea of what Indian food should taste like. The people sitting next to us had the same starters as us and they asked me why we sent our starters back. When I told them it was cold, they were a bit shocked, as they thought that, maybe this was the way it should be!!

When I left, I did tell one of the managers there about my experience and he informed me that they were about to bring in a new head chef and that things should improve shortly. From speaking to some of my friends who know the owners of this place, I discovered that I'm not the first person to have hated the food here and that's why they are seriously thinking of bringing a new head chef.

The fact that you will see hardly any Asians/Indians eating in this place should tell you something about the current food being served up and labelled as 'Indain food'

The best part about this place was the vintage photo's of British Raj. That really does sum up this place and the market the food is aim at.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Thursday, March 12, 2009

went for lunch and was very dissapointed with the quality of the food. the starters were below average for flavour and quality of the meat, and the mains were very poor - the lamb dish came in a sauce that had no body and the chicken dish came in a sauce that i can best describe as spiced up thick cream of tomato soup... on the positive side the naan were nice and the service attentive. i will not be visiting this restaurant again as i expect far better food for these prices.
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Bal
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Thursday, January 01, 2009

I think that it's fair to say that we went to this restaurant with great expectations.

My friend (who is Sikh) and I were genuinely quite shocked at the poor quality for a very high price (£150 for two). She didn't even finish her main course (lamb dish) which was tasteless and very uninspiring. We both enjoyed the fish starter but couldn't see how they could justify charging £17 per person.

The atmosphere was good, largely because of the wonderful decor, but all but one of the staff serving customers were of non-Indian origin - in essence, this did not feel like a top-class Indian restaurant.

There are many other better ones in London. We won't be going back to this one.
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Rob
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Monday, October 20, 2008

Very interesting menu - much nicer than your regular High Street menu. Food great. Service fantastic. Quite expensive, but worth it. Could not fault it.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

What a wonderful restaurant. I have been leaving in London for years and never knew about this place until a friend took me there. Mezzanine on Regent street, amazing location, The restaurant itself is beautiful, didn't know anything about indian food but as soon as we arrived we felt so welcome that I knew I will be looked after in the best way. The staff was very knowledgable and attentive, the food was really , really good. We left the maitre D' picking up the all selection for us and we received frankly in perfect timing and portions a feast of real traditional Indian dishes (as explain by staff) that I could compare to dish that i had in the most reputable places in London.... no wonder that place was packed on a monday night. It really came as a brillant surprise and if you ask me I did not get a service like this in a very long time. I can not wait to go back.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, August 14, 2008

Very helpful staff, fantastic food.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, August 10, 2008