Agra — Restaurant in London

First time to this restaurant and went here because of some glowing reviews. First impressions, the place was dated and it had a traditional vibe, and it needed a bit of work…it looked like a large room with tables rather than a restaurant.

I noticed some photos hanging on the restaurant wall and it has some past history serving food to famous faces to the likes Mohammad Ali back in the 50’s….which was plus for any restaurant with a good history.

When it came to the food, it was satisfactory; I ordered lamb dhansak with pilau rice and nan bread.

The lamb dhansak was ok, but towards the spicy side, which made it difficult for me to finish the whole dish, there wasn’t much meat which was a shame (only had 3-4 lamb cubes)

The rice was fine but towards the dry end.

The nan bread was a slight disappointment as it was soggy with no butter….I was hoping for it to be a little crispy to add to the taste.

The owner was a great host and it was great to chat with him. It was clear that the business isn’t doing as well as it used to and now regular customers tend to visit the restaurant, but even then less and less of those are coming.

It’s a real shame as the restaurant has real potential, they just need to spruce up the place to bring it to modern times, but I understand that there is a cost involved with this; if the business does not make much money, then it will be difficult to invest in the business.

All in all, I’ll give it 3 stars ‘satisfactory’, if they improve the recipe a little and spruce up the restaurant to show the history of the restaurant, then it would be a great restaurant to go to on a...

I'm a big fan of Indian food and over the years the popularity of the cuisine has boomed so there is a plethora of Indian outlets from high end, cafe type places or modern casual dining fusion type establishments. However, what I like and to a certain degree is miss the traditional quality and reliable local indian restaurant and Agra delivers on that front.

It may be a nostalgia thing but a lot of indian independent indian restaurants can be a very mixed affair. That is, dry grills, lacklusture curries based on the standardised limp curry sauce or gravy BUT thankfully, I've spotted a place that reminds me of the "good old days" of going down your local indian where you know you're going to get a good moreish feed for a decent price. Indian restaurants are plentiful in old london town but hard to find a good reliable one but Agra is one to keep in mind.

The place is "old school" when it comes.to decor, nothing to write home about, I'll be clear on that. However, this place is all about the food. Intense and discernable flavours, I had the chicken tikka dishes. Its a standard menu with all the familiar favourites so you know what you're playing with. Couldn't fault the service so all in all a very relaxed and...

First things first, the food is great. Perhaps a little spicy for those that cannot handle it, however they can probably do a medium or mild version of any dish. Fantastic location - right around Radisson Blu Grafton. Also, Mohammed Ali ate there and there is a picture him as well as many other famous people.

Food ordered for 4 people. Full tandoori chicken Sheekh kabab Chicken tikka biryani Butter chicken 3 Naan

The Naan was nice and puffy. It had a hint of sweetness and had an airy bread-like texture.

The tandoori chicken was a brilliant red with fantastic char at the ends of the pieces. Very tender and flavourful. Remarkable spice blend, juicy and salted just right.

The chicken tikka biryani was excellent. Great chicken, a bit of oil but not too much as to be oily, well spiced and salted. Beautiful colour as well

Sheekh kabab, what more do I have to say. My personal favourite. Spicy, flavourful, firm but tender, juicy, about the length and width of a regular hotdog (much better though), goes great with naan and mango lassi.

If I could rate it more highly I would. 10/10, I will eat...