Harden's survey result
Summary
“Beautiful and elegant Indian food of a rare quality” is the hallmark of this “refined” Mayfair basement, which shrugged off the ‘curry house’ label to pioneer “modern-style presentation of the best traditional tastes” at its launch in 1995. The first Indian restaurant in the world to bag a Michelin star in 2001, it suffered a dip in standards thereafter, but has revived in recent years, by doing “everything an Indian restaurant should to make you feel at home and appreciate the cuisine”. The “subterranean location” was much improved by a refurb a few years back, and it’s nowadays often praised as a “lovely setting”.
Summary
“The food speaks volumes” – “sensational grills, exquisite curries and traditional biryanis” – for most (if not all) who report on this pioneering Mayfair venture, which helped validate the whole concept of posh Indian restaurants in the UK. It’s “a pity about the basement location” though, and the 2018 refurb designed to give a “light and airy modern” interior has proved “OK, but not really an improvement… if anything noise levels are higher”.
Summary
“The food speaks volumes” – “sensational grills, exquisite curries and traditional biryanis” – for most (if not all) who report on this pioneering Mayfair venture, which helped validate the whole concept of posh Indian restaurants in the UK. It’s “a pity about the basement location” though, and the 2018 refurb designed to give a “light and airy modern” interior has proved “OK, but not really an improvement… if anything noise levels are higher”.
Summary
“A consistent pleasure”, this Mayfair pioneer of Indian fine dining (in 2001, the first Indian to bag a Michelin star) closed for six months in early 2018 for a complete revamp – and not before time, with reporters critical of the “passé fit-out”. The October relaunch promises a ‘private club atmosphere’ with ‘lighter’ dishes and sharing plates under new head chefs Karunesh Khanna (ex-Amaya) and Manav Tuli (ex-Chutney Mary).
For 31 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Tamarind?
Restaurant details
Tamarind Restaurant Diner Reviews
"A birthday lunch, a large family gathering so we shared lots of different dishes, all delicious with very few exceptions."
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £41.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 12.50% |
20 Queen St, London, W1J 5PR
| Number of Diners: | |
| Required Time: | |
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:15 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:15 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:15 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:15 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:15 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:15 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:15 pm |
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