Star of India

It's worth noting that the award for "Best restaurant in Waltham Forest" was not completely above board. When we went there, the Star of India had clearly bought up multiple copies of the local paper (which was running the competition) and at the end of our meal, presented each member of our party with the entry form to fill in. We could of course have refused to do so (but that would have seemed rude) or filled in the name of a different restaurant (but then I'm sure it would never have been posted off). When it looked like we might not fill it in, they bribed us with extra After Eights! So, take the award with a pinch of salt.

Having said that, the food was pretty good - perhaps not up to what you'd get in the best Brick Lane restaurants, but certainly among the best in Leytonstone. Our only concern was that one or two items were a little greasy - particularly the vegetable pasanda - and when we had a takeaway a while later that was even worse.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 8
Monday, July 17, 2006

We had been to The **** soon after it received best restuarant 2005. We were not impressed, we thought that everything looked and tasted the same. After months of deliberation we decided to give it another shot. First of all, waitstaff was confused and we were asked for orders multiple times. For dinner we ordered Fish Bhuna, chic korai and sag paneer. Everything was swimming in oil, korai did not look tandoori cooked and the paneer looked as if it had been scraped off a spinach pizza. Sadly, we are disappointed by the voters of the best restsurant or maybe this is just more evidence of their Walthamstow Guardian published success. We definitely won't be visiting the **** again...especially since we have found the best Indian takeaway in town and we won't stray again.
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Sheshe
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Friday, June 30, 2006

I've been going to the Star for years now, at least once a month, and it's recently been awarded the best restaurant in Waltham Forest. Great recognition for the place - it's food is top notch (I used to spend all week fantasising about their prawn dhansak)The downside is, they've extended the size to cope with all the trade the new award has attracted, but they haven't extended the staff numbers. This means a really, really, really long wait sometimes. Sad to say, I may have to start investigating other options for my Saturday night fix.
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Chris G
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, January 03, 2006

This restaurant has just been awarded an award as the best local eatery and rightly so. Family-run, good service and delicious food - with an unusual selection of dishes, including tandoori trout (recommended). The owner always greets guests like long-lost friends. Outstanding value.
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Minty
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, December 20, 2005