Salaam Namaste

Location - 68 Millman Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1N 3EF

Cost - Affordable range of starters between £4.95 - £6.25 and mains between £8.95 - £14.95. The desserts also vary between £4.50 - £6.50.

Star Appetizer - Lamb Kebab

Star Main Course - Chicken Tikka Masala

My Rating – 4/5

Sometimes walking off the beaten path can mean that you end up alone, in the woods, with a scary man living in a log cabin. However, today I was fortunate enough to experience a much less ominous side to wandering into the unknown. Having hopped off the tube at Russell square, and having ignored the many squares filled with restaurant chains I suddenly found myself walking down an extremely quite little street looking for this hole in the wall known as "Salaam Namaste". There was literally no foot traffic outside the restaurant whatsoever, but then it was also on a Sunday during lunch time, so I imagine there were plenty of brits cooking up a blazing Sunday roast at home.

Although I was feeling slightly uneasy about the lack of people I was quickly reassured by a smile and a lovely greeting from the waiter. I guess the precarious thing about blogging is that you will never know when positive service is real and when service has been faked for the sake of a review, but I like to think I can tell when someone is being a genuinely nice person.

Salaam Namaste is renowned amongst within the foodie world as one of the best Indians in London, and they have won numerous awards, such as the Asian Curry Award, for their dedication to quality. The interior itself isn’t much to talk about, but my god was the food absolutely amazing. The menu has been crafted to showcase some of India's most exquisite cuisines, as well as some more unique inventions straight from the Salaam Namaste kitchen. Menu here - www.salaam-namaste.co.uk/menu It is the perfect place to go for a fun little date, or if you want to impress your business partners.

Lamb Kebab -

The lamb was cooked to perfection, with a sprinkle of flavourful spices and an absolutely amazing sauce. This was definitely my favourite starter, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking of going to this lovely little place.

3 piece scallops -

These little pieces of heaven were a treat for both the eyes and the taste buds. Admittedly they were all the same scallops, but their differencing sauces make them a fun little addition to the starting pallet.

Venison Kofta -

Before I lost my Salaam virginity I had heard an awful lot about these babies, but unfortunately I was a little bit disappointed if I am completely honest. Sure, they were very delicious, but they were also dry on the inside and if it weren’t for the excellently prepared sauce I would not have bothered with the meat. Maybe I just happened to get a bad batch, who knows.

Quail -

Perfectly cooked, perfectly presented, but a little bit picky for my liking. When I need to spend ages and ages trying to draw out as much meat as possible I tend to get a bit frustrated, but the sauce was at least the most amazing thing in the world.

Tandoori Chicken -

Is it completely boring to say that their best dish was chicken based? No no no my friends, there was nothing boring about this tandoori chicken. If there was a word for perfectly cooked chicken it would still not be good enough for this dish. I have never had any other chicken that was so tender, so juicy and so stand-alone awesome that I completely gave up all hope of ever finding a better Indian dish.

All in all I would say that Salaam Namaste was an absolute delight. The only negative side to this place is that there really isn’t much atmosphere or exciting surroundings to speak of. Then again you might argue that a good restaurant should always be about the food, and a decent service, to which I would not disagree - but what are your thoughts? Would you prefer going somewhere half decent with a nice atmosphere, or would you rather eat like a king in a more random part of town?

#new #restaurantreview