Fluffy times in Little India

On the 10th March, 2023 - on a cold night in that there London, the Oakham Curry Club (OCC) descended upon Taste of India, located a stone's throw from London Euston, on Drummond Street - all the accessibility a curry aficionado could ever wish for!

This unassuming street in north London is the city's original "Little India" – and nowhere else captures the original South Asian experience quite like it.

You could easily miss Drummond Street. Just west of Euston Station in central London, it's an unassuming stretch of townhouses, basement flats, restaurants and shops, easily walked in a couple of minutes.

But look closer, and almost every restaurant and store is South Asian. Menus feature South Indian masala dosa (spiced pancakes), Mumbai-style street food and Lahori lamb kebabs; shop windows display South Asian sweets and savoury snacks; and there's enough spices, pulses, pickles, pastes and flours to cater an Indian wedding.

Our evening at Taste of India was kicked off by a warm welcome from the owner and staff, Customer Care at its finest. We later realised the owner managed a previously visited CHotY (Gopals of Soho, Curry House of the Year - 2016) - you can see they pride themselves on ensuring their guests feel warm in the belly as well as their hearts - read on for a full review.

Service at Taste of India didn’t leave a sour taste in the mouth, with poppadoms and alllll the sauces aplenty coming very soon after we arrived. Drinks orders were taken and delivered to the table promptly for every order.

The restaurant had a warm vibe about the place, with all tables seeming to be enjoying themselves - coupled with the manager and waiting staff working the room, you can see how a chorus of ‘more drinks please’ continued to add to the bubbly atmosphere.

Our starters arrived, with a slight delay, due to the size of the group - however, when they did arrive my mixed starter and the Tandoori Chicken was worth waiting for, sizzling and succulent. That was the highlight however of the starters, with some members disappointed with the quality of theirs - with the Chilli Paneer and Samosa Chaat possibly needing more care and attention to bring them up to the level the Mixed Starter and Tandoori Chicken was at.

While waiting for the mains to come out, we were even treated to a tour of the lower level of the restaurant, easily accommodating much larger groups (considered by some for work events and possibly a global venue to host our growing club, now at 11 branches).

The specials ordered for the table seemed to be a highlight of the evening, with the Chicken Naga and the King Prawn Special going down very well - as well as the Lamb Achari being accommodated, even though not appearing on the menu - and the Lamb Jalfrezi having a good kick to tickle the tastebuds.

Unsure whether the size of the group affected the quality of some of the other dishes, however some were left wanting a more flavoursome sauce - albeit the naan bread based on one review was ‘fluffy perfection’, every cloud and all…

Customer Care: 8.42

Service: 7.89

Value: 6.22

Quality: 6.22

Atmosphere: 7

Total: 7.15/10

Taste of India is recommended by the OCC (+7/10)

On balance, a very enjoyable evening was had at Taste of India reflected in the scores; with a few tweaks, you can really see this restaurant reaching the heights worthy of the top table.