What has happened to Indian dining in London these days? Just four or so years ago Indian food was all the rage in London. A mix of British curry houses, dosa heavy canteens and traditional street food style restaurants. Now however that mix is changing and those North Indian staples are being replaced by traditional and hip Indian restaurants. The question is, how traditional are they really? I guess unless you’ve never taken that leap to India then you’ll really never know. Bangalore Express is a traditional Indian restaurant located just off the busy Gracechurch Street in the City of London and is headed up by the oh-so talented Yogesh Datta. Decor wise as you enter it’s not entirely spectacular, but it does come with a nice greeting – the Bindass Bar. I enjoyed a cocktail to remember and one which may even make its way on to my top 10 list, containing two of my favourite ingredients. The Bangalore Summer – a delicious concoction of gin, coriander and chilli. It was absolutely sublime and very summery, fitting to its name.
After a few too many delicious cocktails we made our way down to the restaurant. Again a rather simple space, but the food does a lot of the talking. We started our journey in true Indian dining fashion with a huge offering of papadums, accompanied by a beetroot chutney, classic mango and coconut pickle. Starters quickly followed and were all absolutely delicious – with a big focus on small plates made for sharing. The Indo Chinese lollipop chicken were a real favourite on the table, full of spicy, sweet and sticky goodness. Just as good, but technically not a starter was the sharing platter (for 2-3 people) – a mixture of tender and succulent tandoori king prawns, lamb chops and duck tikka.
I’ll settle the record straight now – all of this food was between four of us and certainly wasn’t a solo expedition to a small heart attack. I may be the foodaholic but I’ve only got one small stomach. A side of Bombay fried fish later and okra chips turned out to be a wonderfully wise choice from our choosing. Full of crunchy golden goodness and a medley of accompaniments for dipping. The star dish so far in was the deluxe prawn sharing platter, packed with tandoori spiced prawns, garden herb marinated prawns and my favourite – tempura prawns drizzled with a spicy sweet sauce.
Two of my personal favourite dishes from the whole experience here were the curries. All incredibly rich and very creamy. We delved into a Sri Lankan chopped roti bread with spicy lamb and egg curry hotchpotch which was screaming flavour, while a chicken labada was a dream. Silky smooth, glossy and vibrant. The chicken was cooked incredibly well too and oh-so juicy. Saag gosht was also one of the best examples I’ve eaten in London. I’d happily return for another go at all of these dishes again. Accompanying sides were good too but our keema naan needed a little more precious when cooking, flavour wise it was perfect.
With barely any room left for just about anything, we still all delved into a gargantuan dosa which really should be this restaurants signature piece. Light, fluffy and accompanied by a good selection of flavour focused condiments – not to mention a really good sambar with a nice punchy kick. Bangalore Express really is a great little find, tucked away on the back streets of the City. It may not be dripping in glamour with its decor but it serves terrific food at affordable prices and cocktails to die. More than one reason alone to return for and that’s why I can’t wait to come back.
