Indian food in London right now is hot stuff. British curry houses in the centre of town are slowly disappearing (which in some cases is a sad thing), and being replaced with modern, contemporary Indian restaurants serving authentic traditional food. Us British are begging for new flavours at the moment and when it comes to value as well, Indian food leads the way – with Peruvian cuisine slowly following behind.I managed to squeeze in yet another mid-week meal and made my way down to Salt’n Pepper, just off Leicester Square. Salt’n Pepper is a Pakistani institution which is much loved by its locals. Established over 30 years ago, by Mahmood Akbar the chain has been going strong ever since. Princess Diana and Sir James Goldsmith are just a few of its celebrity visitors in the past.
We sat down and service erratically sloped, right from the start to finish. It wasn’t as if it was rude, just non existent. Diving straight into the food we started with the usual offering of poppadoms with a mango chutney, tamarind sauce and coriander chutney. All of which were very subtle in flavour and didn’t make a huge impression.
Starter of shami kebab was actually very good, maybe even the best example i have had in a moderately priced restaurant in London. It was crunchy on the outside and incredibly smooth on the inside. Full of flavour, fresh spice and a zesty squeeze of lemon made this dish very moorish indeed.
Our other starter of butterfly king prawns in breadcrumbs was also just as good, starters are definitely something they do really well and portion sizes were very generous. Huge butterflied prawns which were mouthwatering and succulent also carried a delicious crunch to them with barely a trace of oil. A simple dish, but a very effective one. Definitely worth ordering.
Mains were a mixed bag with us not holding back and ordering that British classic, chicken tikka massala. Very different to how us British would like this dish, there is just as much gravy but with a very distinct tomato and fenugreek taste to it. The only problem was i didn’t really get many other flavours off it and it was a little uninspiring to say the least. Pilau rice was light, fluffy and very well cooked on the other hand.
Plain and garlic naans were simple, a little bland and also a little dry. It’s surprising that no matter where you eat this humble bread it greatly varies, with Star of India in Fulham currently leading by example with theirs. Service at this point just got a little lazy. Dishes were practically being thrown down to us at the table by whom i presumed was the manager. Eye contact was minimal and and so was service.
When the chef’s at Sat’n pepper get hold of a grill, they really know how to use it. We slipped in a cheeky, chicken tikka malai. Very good value for money at £10.50 which will get you eight large pieces of meat. All well marinated, juicy and tender with a lovely grilled smokiness to it. This dish is all about the marinade, and they’ve got it spot on.
Getting very full we still managed to order some dessert, which took a while trying to get the menu back – as it was never offered to us and we felt like they wanted rid. I finally got round to ordering a favourite of mine 20 minutes later, gulab jamon. This dish is not the healthiest, but very tasty. Comprised of light cheese which has been mixed with flour and spices then deep fried for a short time, and then boiled in sugar syrup. Here their version was the worst example of this dish i have tasted in london. The outside of the balls were a little tough and the sugar syrup did not have the correct ratio to sugar and was bordering confectionery. It should of course be sweet, but also delicate at the same time – and this was not.
Once we left the restaurant i kept thinking, would i return back or not. And i still haven’t decided. When it comes to Indian food, London has so much more to offer – but in tourist haven Leicester Square for a meal which won’t cost the earth – you could do much worse. I’d happily order a beer and a plate of grilled chicken tikka or prawns, as those – offer excellent value for money.
6/10
