The Banana Leaf

It was during a casual evening walk, I stumbled upon this restaurant so I had no hopes about the quality of the food and service.

I have eatern at this place for about 6 weeks in a row and have to admit its a quality south indian food.

I myself, come from South India and have found the food in this restaurant quite Indain and extrordinary.

The service is good and the food is great. As one of the comments inside the restaurant says " The plays does not look great from outside, but the food served is just Indian".

Could do with a bit of redecoration of the interior. But why bother when the food is great

Great food and great place, Highly recommend.
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Sasi
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Not too sure why some of the reviews are negative, but I had a fantastic meal at Banana Leaf !

My partner and I went on the recommendation of his mum, and several others. From the beginning of our meal the staff were very polite and attentive, but not overbearing.

The starter onion bhajis looked quite different to the usual, but they were non the less delicious. The prawn poori was succulent and well seasoned. For main, the Banana Leaf special biriani and chicken tikka were also wonderful.

Definitely one of the best Indian restaurants we have been too !
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Jen Louise
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, October 08, 2011

We visited the banana leaf after reading several very good reviews. Always on the look out for a good restaurant, as lets face it there are not too many around. I would not normally right a review, but following iether out of date or misleading reviews wanted to give an up to date review.

Nothing wrong with the service, perfectly friendly and competent. The food unfortunately was another matter.

Wine was not chilled, even when put in a bucket with ice remained warm. We started with Prawn puree ,masala dosai and chicken 65, described as tender young chicken and "special", sadly it wasnt it was simply dry, with no flavour past the tough surface. The prawn puree was an unexpected colour and just not pleasant, prawns over cooked and tough. The onion bhajis were unlike anything I have ever seen in an indian restaurant and inedible. The peshwari naan was pleasant, with a taste of cardoman on the bread.The 2 mains were fish curry and meat chettinadu. The latter having a gloopy appearance like cornflour had been used to thicken. Niether mains were particularly pleasant.

We went there hoping from our research that we had found a little gem that we could reccomend and revisit, so perhaps our disapointment may have been fueled by our high expectations but honestly and sadly it was one of the most disappointing indian meals I can recall eating.
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deb290
5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 4
Saturday, August 06, 2011

I have been eating Indian food in the London area for 25 years. I have also sampled many other authentic South Indian restaurants (esp in Wimbledon) but none of them get close to the food at this place. I have been eating at the Banana Leaf for 25 years as well! It is simply the best Indian food I have ever tasted.

You must try the vegetarian appetisers, The Masala Dosai is my favourite dish in London. The Goan Chicken Vindaloo is superb and not as 'hot' as in an ordinary (Bangladeshi) Curry House. But I would guess that every dish on the menu is as good. The food is very rich and the focus is on taste rather than heat.

I no longer live in Croydon but I travel to eat here.
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Hugh - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, July 13, 2010