Introducing Tanya, one of our TableCrowd members. See how Tanya got on at her latest “3 course Indian tasting menu @ Mint Leaf“ dinner, in her latest blog:

Cuisine: Indian **1/2; Price: approximately £32 per person

Having grown up on curry, I am naturally picky when it comes to Indian.

Somebody who has lived in, or dined, in the subcontinent usually tends to find Indian food in central London to be quite bland. This is because fine dining Indian restaurants try and appeal to a more globalized, rather than Indian palette, which is used to more spices. However, I was not alone in judging that the food lacked these important spices, as my fellow diners of non-Indian origin, Graham and Robert, too felt they could do with some more.

While booking the dinner, Tablecrowd arranged for us to have the three course set menu with bellini (or mocktail) for £25, which was the most economical option. Joining me at Mint Leaf Haymarket for dinner was Robert, Graham, Vladimir and Greg.

We started with a bellini. It certainly did not disappoint, considering neither I, nor my other fellow diners exactly knew what a bellini was. For starters we had the option of going vegetarian (with stuffed bell peppers, paneer tikka, potato beetroot tikki, vegetable samosa) or for the tandoori tasting platter (with lamb sheekh kebab, chicken tikka, achari guinea fowl, duck tikka).

Being a conservative meat-eater, I was wary of eating guinea fowl or even duck, which is not a part of the Indian diet anyway. So, I went for the vegetarian option, but instantly regretted it when I everyone’s  tandoori platter arrived. Everyone agreed the tandoori platter was exquisite, whereas the vegetarian option was fairly average.

For the main course, all the diners ordered Chicken Makhani, except for Greg, who got Mehti Mass, or lamb curry. All of us got food envy, as the lamb curry looked (and also tasted) a lot better. The food was served with rice, dhal makhani, naan bread and cucumber and roast cumin raita to share. All of us felt we should have ordered different main courses, so we could try a range of different things. Indian food, like Chinese food, is always better when shared.

Then came time for dessert, which consisted of a serving of gulab jamun with kulfi, which did not disappoint. I quite enjoyed the combination of hot with cold.

In the end, all the diners felt we could have done with more of the starters, than the main course, which was not particularly good.

We also felt a bit short-changed, being rather over-charged for still and sparkling water, which we didn’t order and believed came with the meal.

The restaurant had rather loud music playing in the background, which made conversation a bit difficult. The fact that we were seated right below the loudspeaker did not help either.

Would I go to this restaurant again? Probably not. If I do, however, I will make sure not to order the vegetarian starter.

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If you want to meet Tanya at a future dinner? Why not connect with her on TableCrowd here.

Alternatively, if you fancy joining one of our TableCrowd dinners join:

Anna – Dinner & Drinks at Cape Town Fish Market.