Hara The Circle Bar & Restaurant

For more than a year I have been raving about how good this Indian restaurant was -- original, tasty dishes with just the right amount of spice. What a difference a year makes!

The top ten signs your favourite restaurant is likely to go out of business (with apologies to David Letterman):

1. Increase in staff turnover: for over a year it was the same group of waiters who would welcome you like a long-lost friend; now they seem to come and go on a weekly basis and have little interest in their diners.

2. Decline in service levels: it used to be that you couldn't put a plate to the side of the table without someone smoothly sliding up and asking how you had enjoyed your meal; now I spend five or ten minutes wondering why no one has come to check on me (even discretely) when I'm the only table in the restaurant.

3. Decline in food standards: the food used to be spiced to perfection; now even the dal in missing something vital that they've tried to cover up with lashings of ginger.

4. Lack of menu refreshes: during the first 12 months that I ate at Hara (probably more than thrice a month) the menu was refreshed completely once and often had minor tweaks with new offers; on my last visit the first page of the menu was so well-worn that I couldn't even read the names of the appetisers. It's the same stuff, less well done, and it's getting tired.

5. Charging more for less: Hara used to offer exquisite lentil cakes as amuse bouches, and best thing was that they were free... it felt so sumptuous and like we were being treated as kings! On the last occasion we were 'offered' a couple of non-descript chutneys and bread. It was only when the bill came that I realised that I'd actually been charged 3 quid for the privilege of consuming some lesser version of what had once been free. Since I hadn't asked for this dish and had reasonably presumed it was an amuse bouche, I was really quite offended to be charged for it!

6. The customer is wrong: one of the dishes that I ordered arrived bearing little resemblance to the way it has been presented in *every* other Indian restaurant I've ever visited... including the way that Hara itself used to present the dish. When I queried whether this was what I had actually ordered, the waiter tried to tell me that I had made the error and that this was what they had always served and that I must have had it another way at some other restaurant. At the old Hara they would have said: "I'm so sorry that's not what you were expecting, how can we make it right?" At the new Hara they just told me I was wrong and walked away.

7. Ok, I think I've run out of reasons to be depressed.

My best guess is that Hara is under new ownership or that they weren't making enough money to remain in business. The problem with cutting back on all fronts is that all the things that used to make Hara my first stop for great Indian food have disappeared along with the old way of doing things. I brought many small groups to Hara to show off just how good Indian food in London could be, and now I am going to wait at least 6 months before eating there again to see if they've sorted themselves out.

I'm guessing that the cocktails are still good, and apparently those lentil cakes have ended up as bar food so perhaps it's still worth a drink and a snack downstairs, but for my money it's no longer worth the trip to this part of SE1.

I truly hope they get their act together again.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, July 25, 2007

I have been to this restaurant dozens of times, as I live down the road. It's always been excellent quality, with the nicest waiters, and accommodating bartender. The coriander martinis are splendid to the point of being dangerous. For vegetarians, the dahl makhani and baigun mirchi ka salan- an aubergine and cashew dish (I've had it so many times I can finally remember the name!) are my favourites. The laccha parantha (coiled wheat bread) is really tasty as well.

The ambiance is sleek without being cold, and lends itself equally to dressing up for a nicer evening, or to rolling in on a weeknight in jeans. I think it's a local's place that often remains quiet because it's off the beaten (Thames) path. Makes a better meal at a better price than most places along the Butler's Wharf stretch. If you want the river views, have a drink Thameside and then head to Hara. On the whole, highly recommended.
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Lisa
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Friday, April 06, 2007

So, I was supposed to book at Claridge's, but forgot... obviously, I couldn't get a last minute table for the time I wanted... I decided to find somewhere new that I knew nothing about. Yea, probably not the best idea when your partner's a Michelin starred chef who is a quite fussy about every aspect of dining... These guys did the impossible!

The presentation was fabulous, maybe not 'traditional Indian', a bit closer to a Modern French style, but it was grand! Not the largest portions, but that doesn't seem to be the point at Hara, it's more about the intricacies of a nice meal. Quite a modern atmosphere, but lacking the stereotypical coldness of many modern-looking places. Definitely recommended for a special occasion or for a fabulous cocktail after work.
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Joel Urbina
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, December 17, 2006

c for concept

i for inn

r for real

c for cool

l for luxury

e for elegance
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adrian cruz
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Had a fantastic evening here in July. Great food, fantastic friendly service, a tempting cocktail menu and reasonably priced too. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff. Will be back again soon.

I couldn't understand why the place wasn't packed to the rafters!
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T. Richards
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, September 13, 2006

The Circle Bar (as my friends and I refer to it) is an absolute joy! The food and cocktails are sensational and innovative, easiest the best ones to be found in my lifetime!

The lighting, decor, music, even the toilets are perfectly designed to create a welcoming and relaxing ambience. The Circle bar even uses classy cutlery/crockery/glasses and has seriously over-thought every last detail.

One friend dreams about the wraps and it's not even expensive either!

Ohh mustn't forget the friendly staff who welcome you, mix the drinks with style, and recommend dishes. There are seriously not enough adjectives to describe this place! GO NOW what are you waiting for??? Kate -super Circle fan.
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Kate ''super circle fan'' Parsley
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, June 30, 2006

This Indian really is a hidden gem -- any restaurant of its quality on a high street would be packed to the gills with people waiting for a chance to dine there. Instead, on most nights you can walk up with as many people as you like (we've done so with up to eight) and get a table instantly. It may be disconcerting to see just how empty this place usually is, but don't be fooled since it's only because they have an absolutely horrid location in Shad Thames.

The highest complement that I can make is that of all of the Indian restaurants I've tried in London, only Rasa Samudra comes close (and that's a completely different style of cooking). To my mind the spices are perfect -- enough zing to wake up your mouth with their delicate warmth, but never so much that the dish becomes unpallatable.

My biggest fear is that Hara will eventually go under from lack of trade and one of London's best and most interesting Indian restaurants will disappear, to be replaced by an Ask Pizza or something. Go, take your friends. Please!

P.S. If you go during a World Cup game they are doing 2-for-1 Cobras in the bar area. Given the style of the bar you're unlikely to get lager-louts and can just enjoy getting genteely drunk on beer or tasty cocktails.
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Jon
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Saturday, June 24, 2006

Popped in to Hara for a quick Sunday lunch on their (misnamed) £9.99 buffet deal, which is actually a 2 course fixed price menu.

The pre starter was an unexpected surprise, and was a number of small pleasant Falafel - type things.

For starters were Chicken Tikka and Mixed vegetable dishes (I forget the names) - and while both were good, the Mixed Veg was the better of the two, and as a sworn carnivore that's a credit to the vegetables!

Main course consisted of a fish curry and a chicken one (again, I forget the names) served with excellent Naans and some rice. Both curries were excellent, with sauces in which it was possible to taste and identify the contributing spices.

Like many other reviewers, I can't fathom why this place is almost permanently deserted - it certainly doesn't deserve to be, and I will definitely be going back. Having done other fine indian dining at the Moti Mahal, this was clearly the better.
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James
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 10
Monday, June 05, 2006

You just have to go! The food is just out of this world! We ate so much we had to be rolled out of the restaurant! There was a party going on in the downstairs bar, but we were told this when we booked, so didn't mind and actually it was nice to have the music and hear the buzz of conversation, as the restaurant upstairs was very quiet. Anyway, the food....I had the muscles to start. The sauce for the muscles was divine and they thoughtfully gave you some garlic naan to mop up the sauce. My partner said his lamb chops were excellent. It fell off the bone and the spicy rub they had used was spot-on. For mains we ordered king prawns with mango pulp. I asked for this spicy. I wasn't sure about the dish when I ordered it, but my fears were unfounded. It was again delicious and they were very generous with the huge prawns! We also ordered Hara Chicken (fabulous!) and Lamb Dhania Korma (again brilliant - I'm running out of adjectives!). The garlic Naan was light, crispy and perfectly flavored. We had 4 cocktails, bottle of water and 2 Pulao Rice. All came to 104 quid (including service)! It's a mile away from your local run of the mill Indian restaurant. Its stylish decor, professional waiting service and food would rival other upscale Indian Restaurants such as The Cinnamon Club. Its location isn't the easiest to find, but its well worth it.
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Seyna
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Sunday, May 28, 2006

We ended up at this restaurant on a Sunday night when other restaurants we were heading for nearby were closed. Althought the service was attentive, throughout the meal we had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong. For example, we were told that our main courses didn't need rice, but when they arrived we then had to ask for rice. At the end of the meal our waiter admitted that it was his first night - he could have done with some training before being left alone in the restaurant. This, plus the fact that Hara was nearly empty, made the experience a bit stiff and formal. However we can forgive these things because the food was excellent, innovative, not too greasy and very tasty. I am vegetarian, and was delighted by the variety of options on the menu that are very different to standard Indian veggie dishes. My friends loved their meat dishes too, as well as the cocktails offered alongside the dessert menu. We would definitely go back here again.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, March 25, 2006