Malabar Junction

I live in the US but have visited London and the Malabar Junction more than 50 times - as you can tell it is one of my favorite restaurants to visit while in London. I usually go for the Keralan food - as that is what they specialize in. I've read some of the other reviews, the food ordered by those reviewers is not what Malabar Junction is all about.

Try their Prawn fry - it comes with very little sauce and has sauteed onions - with the thin chappatis or parottas. Their fish curry - get the one with coconut milk and green raw mangoes - is very good. Also their cabbage thoran and appams are great.

For starters I usually try their onion bhaji's (bit oily but let them sit on a napkin) - dosais or iddilis. I have also tried their malabar chicken biriyani and that is great as well.

All in all if you are looking for Kerala food, this is the restaurant. For North Indian cooking go elsewhere.
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Manchery
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, June 27, 2008

Unwelcoming start when we arrived. Starter and main course were average, and we would have been very disappointed if we had paid full price. My friend was annoyed to have ordered the tantalising sounding 'cosmic cookie crunch' only to be provided with nothing but a scoop of Haagen Daaz!

Service was astonishingly slow given that the restaurant was not busy. We won't be returning.
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Roxanne
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Friday, June 27, 2008

Went to this restaurant for an anniversary lunch with my husband, after reading the mostly positive reviews it got. We were quite disappointed.

The ambience of the restaurant was really nice- there was adequate space (a pleasant surprise compared to other cramped restaurants I've dined at in central London), and the conservatory-type room is great to soak up some sunshine during lunch.

There were 2 waiters serving around 9 occupied tables- so we had to gesture wildly to get their attention, throughout the meal. Other customers seemed to have the same problem- in fact, the couple sitting on an adjoining table managed to get their table laid only when they were well into their drinks and starters, that too after repeated reminders to the waiters.

Being Indians, and having sampled food from Kerala extensively, it might be that we came to the restaurant with high expectations. Our drinks passed muster- my husband was pleased that his mango lassi seemed to be made with real mango pulp, not something from a can. The rasam soup he had, though, was tepid and bland, as was my spicy lamb fry. Despite a request to the waiter to make it "really" spicy- it was insipid, and had more fried onion than lamb in it. This is NOT the way the dish is supposed to taste, by far.

Our main course consisted of aviyal, coconut rice, palak paneer and malabar paratha. The Malabar paratha was rubbery- and tasted like it had been cooked yesterday and simply micrwaved before bein served. The aviyal had the right vegetables in it, but the sauce reminded me more of "balti" cuisine than anything from South India. The palak paneer was another "balti" creation- very bland and disappointing. It got us wondering if their cook that day was a temp who had previously worked in a Bangladeshi restaurant.

We had gulab jamun and filter coffee for dessert. The gulab jamun was very nice- generous helping and not too sweet. The filter coffee should really be renamed as simply- coffee: it has none of the froth or taste that filter coffee should have. All in all, a disappointing meal- I would not be returning here for sure.
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Pyra - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 3
Friday, May 23, 2008

I've been working my way through "The Good Curry Guide" as I've been working away a lot in London and surrounding area, and this restaurant is exceptional! Just been back for my second visit in consecutive nights.

A previous review mentioned the lack of an oil slick on top of the curry, and that's what really struck me, as did the reasonably priced Cobra....which is always a good sign..

I can't comment on the starters as I didn't have one. They looked either too filling (huge pancake things that the next table seemed to really like), or too expensive (a lot of fish starters are £9). However, the main course was excellent (a lamb something last night, and a chicken jhalfrezi tonight), and the side dishes of Tarka Dhal and cabbage something-or-other, and well cooked chappattis just went so well together (last night my colleague had a green curry which was very good and an okra side dish which was ok).

I left not feeling over bloated, but my taste-buds blown away. £34 for the popps, main and two side dishes and two big cobras inc the service charge....and the service is pitched just right. Not bad for London.

They could do with turning up the volume of the music a little, as the atmosphere is a little flat.....but these are minor quibbles. Supppeerrrbbb!!!
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dave - manchester
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Had the most delightful dining experience at the Malabar Junction. Having spent time in the South of India, where we fell in love with the food, it was great to be re-aquainted with it at the Malabar Junction. The food permeated with warm spices, coconut and fresh chilli and curry leaves. However, all the dishes we ordered tasted distinct, rather than tasting of the same underlying masala gravy. And there was no oil slick on top of the meals! Made a great change from the the usual generic 'Indian' food swimming with vegetable oil you get at an average Indian restaurant. A lot of reviews suggest that it is overpriced, however for the freshness of the food and the variety available we thought it was cheap for the centre of London. Since we like our dishes quite hot, they were very happy to adapt them for us, but did so sensitively so that the heat was balanced well with the underlying flavours. We ordered two starters, two main courses, two side orders and a basket of roti, puri and chapatti. This was washed down with two beers for a pretty reasonable thirty four pounds. Service was great: not hovering over the table, but there when you needed it. The only issue was with the conservatory-like building. We went on a busy Friday night, and whilst it looks clean, fresh and sophisticated, the echo of voices, tables and chairs in the conservatory make sound more like a work dining hall. A small price to pay for such delicious food. Would highly recommend the dosa! The best I have ever eaten.
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Jady and Ange
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 9
Friday, March 14, 2008

The food was great, fresh tasting. The service too was excellent and staff were polite and courteous. I cannot fault the restaurant as a whole. However the only disppointment that I have with this place is that the the food prices are far too high for the portions that we receive ie I had the Prawn and Squid curry which costs £10.95, for that prioce you either expect to receive a large bowl of this curry or you expect it to come with rice or bread but in fact I received a small bowl of curry which was not over filled with prawns and squid although it tastes lovely. This is the only regret that I have with this restaurant the food is very overpriced and for that reason I shall not be visitng this place as I rather go to a Keralan restaurant in outer London. In fact this restaurant beats all the restaurants hands down in terms of the prices that it charges.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, February 06, 2008

OK, The Malabar Junction is where I will now eat when in Central London.

My wife and I were there on Saturday night (02.02.08) and whilst it wasn't overly busy there were enough diners to create a friendly atmosphere - esp. as most of these diners were South Asian...always a good sign of an 'ethnic' restaurant.

Being used to mainly north Indian / Bangladeshi food this place was a revalation...fresh, tasty well cooked food that was amazingly different from the usual 'Curry House Formula' so popular with most other places.

The Rasa Dava was sublime - heavy, yet light in a thin broth of garlic, ginger (or galangal?) and fresh chillies...it made my b*lls tingle it was that good!

The main was a chicken jalfrezy which I asked for spicy, with lots of green chillies...again this was fresh tasting, my (extremely minor) comment would be more green chilli in it, but then I do like spicy food.

My wife had vegetable samosas to start which she said were some of the best she has had with a chicken biryini to follow, again she said this was fresh, almost 'green' tasting (green in a good way not green in a decomposing way!) with quite a level of chilli that surprised her, but full of flavour and taste.

We had a table for two in the middle of the restaurant which was OK, but when our starters arrived there was not enough space on the table, we asked to move and the staff were apologetic, courteous and swift in moving us to another, larger table...honestly the staff here are fantastic.

After spending a couple of days in London doing the touristy things and eating at many sub par 'restaurants' this place is a true gem, good, attentive staff, nice menu, I cannot comment on the wines as my wife and I had a couple of beers instead.

The decor is OK, I can imagine the place feeling a bit 'cold' if there are no other diners in the dining room but it is quite cozy that lends itself to low volume banter.

At the finish we were asked to complete a review card, we did this gladly...my comment was " This is how I try and cook at home" from this humble diner quite an accolade.

All in all, we will be back : )
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Marcus
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, February 04, 2008

The best south Indian food this side of Kerala! Fantastic dosa, uttapam, vada ......

If you're expecting a bog standard 'english curry', not the place for you - but for great prices, authentic southern Indian cuisine, in a beautiful and peacful surround, then perfect!
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sarah
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, January 31, 2008

It was excellent in every way, most especially the food.

The fish curry was magnificent, tasty, properly cooked and exactly spiced. Side dishes were also excellent amd starters were more than ample.

Service was sufficiently attentive, wothout being obsequious.

Not at all expensive I think, for central London, and for such a high standard of cuisine it was superb!

The decor is fun, undistracting, and a relief from alternatives. The tables are laid out spaciously for a saturday evening to provide a relaxing ambience.

Highly recommended!
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Tony Jarrett
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, November 05, 2007

We just returned from Malabar Junction and had an excellent experience there (apart from smokers): simple, elegant decor (orchids at each table), attentive service, very good food, reasonable prices.

I can't believe we were at the same restaurant as described in some of the reviews below! My only dissatisfaction was the small number of vegetarian options--but by combining three small dishes I got more than enough food.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Friday, March 30, 2007