The Red Fort

The downstairs bar is the sole saving grace of The Red Fort. I understand the concept of "upscale" Indian, but no matter how much the staff play the "we'll need the table back in two hours" card, TRF is mutton dressed as lamb, and even then, not very good lamb. Small portions, bad quality meat, and tasteless vegetarian fare make TRF not worthy of a repeat visit. Shame, as I so wanted to like it.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 0
Sunday, September 14, 2008

I thought it was a pretty good meal. Don't understand the reviews below, but my visit was enjoyable and I will be back. Food was really interesting and the decor was cool without being overly modern. Prices are what you expect in Soho restaurants of this calibre. Top marks!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 14, 2008

We went back to this restaurant after a gap of some years but I wish now I'd read some of the recent reviews in advance. The decor was still pleasant, and the service attentive (overly so for my taste), but the real problem is the quality of the food and wine given the price you're paying. For the £130 I spent for two (including a £30 bottle of wine) I expect a high quality meal. The wine (a young Spanish red) was very poor for the price - I imagine it would go for around £6 in a supermarket. The food tasted OK (goodsauces, spices etc) but was let down by the poor quality meat, which bore the hallmarks of having been frozen. And £4.50 for plain rice! This is a place that has the luxury of a prime location in the heart of Soho and therefore doesn't need to try too hard to get people through the door. I was very disappointed. Seeing the other reviews it appears I'm not the only one who left the restaurant feeling violated by the experience, and I feel duty-bound to inform others.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Thursday, March 06, 2008

The staff seemed a little too eager for us to spend more money with a pre-meal visit to the bar downstairs, but once seated things were fine and the service was good and friendly. For general ambience this restaurant doesn't match upmarket places like Tamarind or Benares but probably offers a more authentic "Indian" experience.

However, it certainly follows their lead in terms of pricing, and this is where I have concerns. We were very happy with all the food we tried but the prices were considerably more eye-watering than the spices on our plates. I think £150 for three people, including drinks from the bar and water, but no wine, is serious money for this kind of dining.

Ours was a time-constrained pre-theatre experience and I would like to return with more time to relax, but I'll need to look out for a special offer on sites like this before making a booking.
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Kentishwanderer - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Monday, December 31, 2007

I don't normally bother writing reviews, however this place annoyed me so much I feel compelled to exact at least a small amount of vengeance.

Firstly we turned up 15 minutes before our booking and our table wasn't ready, so we headed to the bar downstairs. Fair enough you may say, as did I. However, half an our later we were still waiting to be seated and received barely a murmur of apology. We then sat and waited. And waited. And waited. Service was appalling, shockingly slack. My dining companion resorted to clicking his fingers for attention, not behaviour I would normally condone, however being so frustrated (and hungry) at this point, I was fully complicit with the gesture.

Now to the menu. Well firstly, drinks. So ridiculously over priced they should be embarrassed. The house red costs £26 a bottle and trust me, it is rank - don't bother. A small sized cobra beer (30cl) is £4.50. For shame.

Ah yes, the food. Again so ludcously over priced it is farcical. I had a Sheekh kebab, which in fairness was ok but not for £8.50. And then for the creme de la creme - a lamb biriyani for £18.50!! Again it was ok but nowhere near worth that price tag.

Other gripes include a 15% service charge. This would be bad enough at the best of times but with the level of attention we received it was verging on criminal. The presence of an attendant in the toilets did nothing to raise my mood or affection for the place. If I am paying £18.50 for a biriyani I do not want someone handing me a paper towel and then effectively begging for change. If this practice must go on then surely it should be reserved for poncy bars only.

We ended up paying over £160 for 3 of us (no coffee or dessert), for what was truly a very poor dining experience.

Reading through this you may assume that I am a rather tight fisted, curmudgeonly fellow, however this I refute. I am more than happy to pay £50 - £60 a head, and do so with some regularity. What I object to is the feeling of being ripped off and laughed at in return.
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Oli
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Thursday, December 20, 2007

I visit the Red Fort frequently and recommend it to colleagues

The food is always consistently good. The starter tasting plate with Salmon, Prawn, Spinach pattie, Chicken and Mushrooms is always beautifully presented and delicious. I often wonder why one needs a main course after the starter feast. Mains are of a similarly high standard - for me the lamb shanks and Duck are stand out dishes. The recently introduced round ball shaped chilli's into the Dhal dish has added enormously to its flavour and to the memories of the dish (thankyou)

The service is sometimes wonderful but seemingly high turnover can result in some variability, both as to staff knowledge and explanation. Do not let them shunt you to the bar downstairs unless you enjoy loud confined spaces and a separate bill

Wine list contains quite a good selection with many complementary to the food
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phil - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, October 03, 2007

My business travels require me to eat all around the world, in North America, Asia, the UK, Europe, etc., and I've patronized the Red Fort a few times, most recently in August (twice). I don't eat much "Indian" in London, especially in non-central neighborhoods, so I don't really have a local standard of comparison. But the cooking compares favorably with similar high-end Indian restaurants in LA, New York, and European cities. The portions are small, and this seems to offend some reviewers; but if you want heaps of cheap food, you should go to a plain store-front Indian. The question is about quality. I've found some dishes at Red Fort to be exquisite; they are interesting variations on standards, or new inventions. Other dishes, however, can be quite ordinary. Reviewers are right to raise questions about service and price. I've found that the young guys who work at Red Fort aren't very well trained; they tend to hurtle from one thing to the next. However, the older men are good, old-school waiters who will adapt their pace to yours, and if possible, you should get one of them at your table; for some odd reason, the restaurant also employs some Nordic European girls, who are also attentive and professional. Wine and champagne selection is very good for this kind of place, though you have to pay through the nose for the best (80 pds for Veuve Cliquot is the maximum I'd go, and Red Fort is asking it). The restaurant irritates people by charging for little things, and charging excessively for basics (e.g., rice); considering the total cost of a full meal for two with wine/champagne, they could afford to throw in the standards. The place tends to be crowded on weekends and after theater, but it also has the virtue of staying open late. I like to eat around 11 pm or midnight and even in central London it's sometimes difficult to find a good place that will seat you at that hour and provide the full dining experience. All in all, Red Fort is a good place to keep in mind, though it's certainly not London's best by a long shot.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

My colleague and I set out to evaluate this restaurant as a possible dining spot for one of The SaVVy Club events

Theres nothing quite like excellent food, fabulous wine and interesting company - unless of course you are being rushed to order and hurried through your meal. This is certainly the case at Red Fort, and it rankles that much more when you consider how much you are paying for this service.

That said, the food (albeit very small portions) is excellent. The selection of wine is superb, and unlike other similar restaurants, there is an ample and varied selection of wine by the glass.

On the whole however, the service and atmosphere leave a lot to be desired, and you cannot help feel irritated by just how anxious the staff seem to get you fed and out of there. If you are at all discerning about quality of service, this may not be the right eating spot for you.
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Vanessa - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Despite some unfavourable reviews with regard to value for money, we decided to try the Red Fort for Friday lunch. The décor was very smart and up market and there were several European girls in severe black suits handing out menus and taking orders. We felt the restaurant lacked atmosphere. The food was an agreeable surprise, we chose the set menu at £12 per head and received papadoms, followed by starters of Tandoori chicken, salmon and a roasted mushroom kebab which were all very good. The main course consisted of a spinach dish, a dall and more chicken, all of the same quality as the starters. We discussed the food in terms of value for money and felt that it compared very favourably with the Sunday buffets that we get locally, usually for about £9.95. The sting was in the tail, when we received the bill we found that we had been charged £17.50 (service included) for 4 very small Kingfisher draft beers. Given that we had just come from Wolfe’s Cocktail bar and Grill in Great Queen Street (not a cheap establishment) where I had paid £1.90 for a small draft Stella Artois we thought that this was totally outrageous. We just might go back, it would be interesting to see their reaction if we asked for tap water with our meal.
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G & T - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Friday, August 03, 2007

Despite some unfavourable reviews with regard to value for money, we decided to try the Red Fort for Friday lunch. The décor was very smart and up market and there were several European girls in severe black suits handing out menus and taking orders. We felt the restaurant lacked atmosphere. The food was an agreeable surprise, we chose the set menu at £12 per head and received papadoms, followed by starters of Tandoori chicken, salmon and a roasted mushroom kebab which were all very good. The main course consisted of a spinach dish, a dall and more chicken, all of the same quality as the starters. We discussed the food in terms of value for money and felt that it compared very favourably with the Sunday buffets that we get locally, usually for about £9.95. The sting was in the tail, when we received the bill we found that we had been charged £17.50 (service included) for 4 very small Kingfisher draft beers. Given that we had just come from Wolfe’s Cocktail bar and Grill in Great Queen Street (not a cheap establishment) where I had paid £1.90 for a small draft Stella Artois we thought that this was totally outrageous.

We just might go back, it would be interesting to see their reaction if we asked for tap water with our meal.
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G & T - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, August 01, 2007