India Club

We went there last night with friends and had one of the best Indian meals I've ever had in the UK, and as good as many we had in India. Egg curry, Masala Dhosas, Lamb Keema, Brinjal Bhaiji, Sambar, veg curry, dry beans and coconut, lemon rice, chapatis and naans - enough wonderful food to feed 4 of us very well indeed for £51. We brought our own Cobra from the offy next door, but the India Club, once dry, does do beers at the table these days.

I do think, based on comments below about the decor, that this place appeals to people who've been to India much more than people who haven't. But for food of this quality at prices like these, I don't really care that it's a little bit careworn. They also don't do the usual UK curry house thing of doing huge mains, rather they adopt a more Indian thali approach, where you get little servings of lots of different things, which I far prefer.

Oh and the mango lassi was to die for!
Comment on this reader review

nik devlin - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, August 08, 2010

Everyone seems to have given this restaurant either 10 or 0 stars, with very little in between. It's the restaurant equivalent of marmite! ;-)

I neither loved nor hated it, however. The food was nice but not exceptional -certainly doesn't compare with the meals *I* had in India. The waiter was less welcoming than the ones in a local curry house, but he stopped us from over-ordering (always an occupational hazard in Indian restaurants) and didn't mind that my boyfriend had brought his own bottle of Cobra beer when they actually had it on the menu. (Guess the 'BYO' thing doesn't apply to beer...) It's not tremendous value for money, but considering its location and the quick service, you could do a lot worse for a pre-theatre meal.
Comment on this reader review

Scranhunter - View all reviews by this user
7 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Sunday, May 09, 2010

I have known the India Club for 20 or more years since I was at College at King's just down the road. It was staple for students and after seminar bites and it still does what it has always done - well and unpretentiously.

Aspersions have been cast at it's authenticity. Well, I took my friend Manish from Mangalore there a couple of months ago. On walking though the door he said 'This place smell like my uncle's restaurant in India'. It took him right back home and he confirmed that the food was typical of this style of restaurant. He knows.

It's cheap. it's basic. It's formica and plastic jugs of water and beer in bottles from the bar in the hotel downstairs. The staff are polite but not servile and service is normally pretty brisk.

The dishes are thoroughly cooked through. That is, five minutes after eating a spicy dish your palate is clear. There are very few places in London that can do this (Chutney Mary used to be one but I haven't been there for ages). If you feel that this is an appalling restaurant experience then you may be be a delicate flower for whom value for money is probably not a top priority.

If you want something genuinely different and at a good price in the West End, come here.
View/Add comments (1)

Steven Rhodes
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Thursday, January 07, 2010

Fantastic, the food was delicious, the service friendly and fast and the atmosphere cosy and welcoming. In what seems like a hidden room up an old hotel staircase some delicious food can be enjoyed with views over the west end.

My only complaint would be the chicken madras curry, due to it's thin consistency and somewhat duller flavour than I expected. However the masala dosa, lemon pickle, lamb bhuna, chilli bhajis and fresh breads where wonderful. I'd definately recommend a visit if you're looking for something tasty, down to earth but with a dash of eccentricity, and it's byo and also cheap, so 2 more plus points.
Comment on this reader review

Mel
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, January 03, 2010

I ate at this restaurant last night and it was quite simply the worst restaurant experience of my life.

My friend insisted that this place represented some sort of authentic 'indian london experience'. If you have a friend who tells you this, pay them no heed and run a mile.

I've eaten in some of the best indians in london, but I've also had my fair share of bog standard neighbourhood curries, some better, some worse. This place takes bad to a whole new level.

The decor is depressing, think delapidated working men's club, the service underwhelming, think waiters who make you feel like they're doing you a favour by bothering to take your order, and the food is just beyond bad. Onion bhajis which had no onion and tasted of nothing, a 'vegetable curry' which was random vegetables which had been left on the stove for a while to stew and tasted of less than nothing. The dahl was tasteless, the nan stale and the pickle felt like it could cut through metal. And as vegetarians, that pretty much exhausted our eating options, something which never seems to be a problem in Indian restaurants.

I don't want to go on, but I left the place both hungry and traumatised. I can only recommend with all my heart that you avoid this restaurant with every fibre of your being.
View/Add comments (1)

Elie
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Friday, November 20, 2009

Have been there many times. always found the food excellent. My favourite Indian restaurant in London.
Comment on this reader review

Les
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

OK, I am an open minded person, and to put my review into context, I have been to India, lived in Southall, have mixed race Indian chidren... and I know good Indian food. Believe me when I say if you think the India Cub has good food, you are a very disillusioned and misguided Londoner.

On the recommendation of the Rough Guide I visited the restaurant on Tuesday of last week. I expected the decor as it was from the description. Coming from an area where I see cafes and restaurants with poor decor and excellent food, I was not bothered by the simplicity of the decor. However, on being greeted by the most miserable waiter, we were shown to a table. We ordered the Chilli Bhajis, onion Bhajis, two pilau rice, lamb madras, chicken madras and kebabs. I can honestly say the food was absolutely disgraceful. Anyone who thinks what we were served qualifies as Indian food is a fool. The kebabs were akin to two beefburgers overcooked. Lamb madras? Really? It was like over cooked dried lumps of beef served in bisto with madras powder added. There was no evidence of tomatoes, garlic, onions, in fact anything that resembled a fresh ingredient. And to make matters worse, the rice I was served had a dried lump in the middle. We were not served poppadoms, pickles or any other such delicacy on arrival. The so called bhajis were in fact onions or chillis dipped in batter and deep fried. No gram flour, no Garam Masala, nothing. Awful. I tried to make pleasant conversation with the waiter and was barked at. Overall, the experience was dire.

If anyone wants to taste good Indian or Pakistani food, get in touch. I can recommend one hundred places better than the India Club. and most of them will cost you half that of the India Club.
Comment on this reader review

Chrissie - View all reviews by this user
1 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 0
Sunday, August 09, 2009

This is one of the most interesting restaurants in London. The decor and ambience is from another, more relaxed, age; the indian food is excellent and at very reasonable prices - around £12.00 - £15.00; the service is good and friendly and you are never rushed. I was very interested by the clientele when I visted on the 9th of July; at one table was a group of actors, at another was Sir Howard Davies, late of the CBI, at another were vistors to London from abroad, at another a couple celebrating an anniversary and meeting friends - all of London, you might say. The India Club is not a trendy or funky place to eat, but a characterful eating house and lots of fun. This is London from another time. It's well worth a visit.
Comment on this reader review

Clive Duncan
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Saturday, July 11, 2009

I can only say to Sim Dog and the other reviewer from 19 June 2009 that they really should not consider a trip to India because this is as close as you'll ever get. We have now been going to the glorious India Club for years - usually after going to the Southbank, as it is just across Waterloo Bridge and very convenient. We love the food - and the fact that the menu always remains the same - it is always very exceptional in flavour and never falters. The crisp, fresh popadoms are brought to your table, with chutneys, upon being seated. The waiters, as said below, are really friendly and enjoy a discussion and a laugh - but only at their own time! We love the 70s decor, and the windows that open - and the ricketty, worn staircase that takes you up to the 2nd floor. We went there last week and will probably be going again next week - we have introduced family and friends - all to much acclaim and we know they too have done the same. It's a very special place to eat!
Comment on this reader review

Sue Brymer
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, July 09, 2009

Well I agree with Ms Fenner. I have been going to the India Club over a period of some 25 years and loved it when first I went and love it now. If you want 'posh' tablecloths and all that nonsense it is not for you perhaps; but I have witnessed many 'well-heeled' customers having a wonderful time. Excellent food at very reasonable prices in a very different atmosphere - and you can take your own wine and not be charged corkage. What more do you want in central London for goodness sake?
Comment on this reader review

J Giffen
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, July 08, 2009