Imli

Staff are above average as was the venue. The food was definitely bellow par! There are a dozen Indian restaurants within a five-minute walk with a lot better food! I love food and will never recommend this place to anyone.
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Greg
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Imli is a concept restaurant and as a concept it does work. Indian tapas? You can't imagine it, can you? But there it is!

I went to this place last night after hearing rave review about it and I'd say it is worth going to for the experience but not for the food.

The staff were very attentive from the word go and thoroughly deserving of the service charge I left (in cash). The lychee cocktail is east meets west and gets married in style. The same can't really be said for the food.

We went for the £16.50 tasting menu, for which you will need to go on an empty stomach as the stream of dishes is seemingly endless. All the food was hot and beautifully presented. But that's where it ends. It's mostly style and lacks substance.

I eat out a lot and have had some truly delicious Indian food, but the food at Imli's is missing that special ingredient. I can't identify what it was, but after a while the dishes all taste more or less the same. The level of spice is appropriately hot without overdoing it, but it still manages to blank out any other flavours. Try as I might, I couldn't find any subtlety in the cuisine. The one item that did stand out above everything else was the mango sorbet desert, for which alone I might be tempted to go back.

Imli is worth going to for the experience, but the food is unremarkable taste wise and left me feeling very full but not satisfied.
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omaira - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, November 07, 2007

As a non-londoner I used the london-eating website to find a place to go for a birthday meal with friends, and I wanted somewhere in this location. Based on the first review at the time which was very good, I chose Imli & proceeded to book a table via the web for the 50% off Tasting Menu offer. The booking process was free & very simple - no money was charged to my credit card and confirmation came through within about 12 hours. I called the restaurant to change the time of my booking to half an hour earlier which was no problem at all - the guy on the phone was very polite & helpful.

When we arrived, the staff were very nice & the restaurant was busy (always a good sign!) I showed them my booking form but they knew who I was & what I had booked so there were no problems at all.

The food came promptly and there was plenty of it - so I am confused as to why previous reviews said there was not enough food. It was delicious & a new concept on me. Several dishes to try and definitely hit the spot for a Friday night! Staff were friendly & attentive and the atmosphere was great. I work in the catering industry and I found this place to be clean, the food was well presented & tasty, and the service was faultless.

Our bill came to about £200 for 9 of us, and we had 3 x bottles of sparkling wine at £19 each, 8 beers the tasting menu at £12.50, and a dessert at £3 or £4 so I didn't think that was too bad.

I would definitely go there again. Lovely!
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Verity White
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, September 01, 2007

Imli is a great Restaurant. I love the concept - Indian Tapas. I live and work in a 5* Hotel in Geneve' I have expecienced on of the best Indian meal at Imli.

Staff was very helpfull. I wish they come and open Imli in Geneve. Excelent food, service and value for money.
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JEAN
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 10
Monday, July 30, 2007

Imli is the most happening place in Soho with amazing atmosphere and brilliant food which is carefully spiced to suit the western taste buds. I have been there couple of times and every time its a TREAT. At present they have this delicious Chennai menu offer for £16.50 which is really worth trying.Overeall 8 out of 10 and a must go for everyone.And they also do some funky juice mixers along with best Mojito.
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ASHU - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Sunday, July 29, 2007

I've never written one of these review things before but today felt compelled! I just ordered the most delicious 'lunch to go' from Imli in Wardour Street. I ordered the grilled fish which comes with vegetables and a tasty sauce on the side. I felt I hadnt been eating very healthily for a few days so thought I'd indulge in something a little different. Cant recommend it highly enough. Tastiest lunch I've had in ages.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Thursday, July 26, 2007

Went last week for an amazing meal with my boyfriend before the theatre. For a Tuesday it was really busy but we got served really quickly by our waitresss. I thought that the tapas concept was excellent allowing you to pick and choose the best bits from the varied menu. Highlights were the masla chicken with mash and the Chicken wraps.

They do a really good Mojito as well. Well worth a visit as it is not expensive for a quick bite.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Went to Imli at the weekend based on reviews from another restaurant site and friends raving about it.

Have to say that the meal started off well, we both ordered juice cocktails (well actually I had a lassi) which were tasty and obviously freshly made. The starters came and were well presented and tasty, especially the Sev Puri. However we did feel that the portions were particularly stingy.

Then the mains came and what a shock. I think the two curries we ordered were the blandest most boring curries that I have ever tasted. What a disappointment. Plus the rice tasted like bog standard American long grain rice, certainly not basmati.

Finally the dessert came, which was a couple of scoops of cheap supermarket Mango sorbet.

We went on a Sunday afternoon and the place was basically empty, yet despite this the service was still poor. It took a lifetime to get and pay the bill. if it hadn't been chucking it down outside then i would have been tempted to just walk out.

Definitely will not be recommending this place to anyone, for half the price I can get a much better meal down in Tooting. Or better yet, get my Indian Girlfirend to cook instead!
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JG
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 2
Monday, July 16, 2007

Imli comes across as wanting to be something of a calmer alternative to Masala Zone. It actually does this very well with the ambience and decor, but the food and service let it down.

When we first arrived we were pleased to see the very reasonable prices on the menu. We also opted for the Imli dinner (or some such name) which was £10.95 for 3 savoury dishes plus dessert. Here is where our first problem arose, the staff couldn't agree on which dishes were part of the 'weekly changing menu' that week which left us slightly confused. The service throughout it must be said was slow sometimes, rushed at others and not all that friendly, but not terrible.

The savoury food was bland and HOT, we had potato cakes, grilled fish and a chicken durghar curry. The sorbet however was superb! Something about the dishes was just not quite right, and not as flaovourful as Masala Zones offerings.
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Peter, Fitzrovia - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Thursday, June 14, 2007

They brought the wine out in tumblers! The fusion food thing just doesnt work here (though it can if done well) i found the taste of the food nothing great and would advise anyone thinking about this place to choose somewhere else. This place just looks very Soho'ish but really its not that great at all... i wonder how many gullible tourists must have gone in here and thought 'oh my god, what have we done!'
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Ally - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Thursday, May 17, 2007