Fatt Pundit — Restaurant in London

Sadly, I cannot concur with the high star rating here, having had a very mixed experience overall edging on the negative.

First of all the positives: the interior feels authentic from the moment you enter - you get the sense you're transported to Asia in a space that emanates a low-lit rustic charm. Everything from the painted wall signs in Hanzi and Devanagari script leading you to the toilets, to the charming south Asian trinkets used as decor, whoever the designer was should be commended for their understanding of dining immersion that the vast majority of restaurants seem to miss.

The second thing I want to commend is the availability of a dedicated vegan menu - this is always a good sign that the head chef has thought of enough suitable dishes to warrant such a thing. It reduces unnecessary faff when known about and should (ideally) make life easier for diner and restaurateur.

Now for the glaring issues: without dressing it up, the dishes provided were very average. Our waiter making a recommendation for my dining partner and I to have the Hakka noodles when we felt like rice was ill-fated when we sided with his insistence - the noodles arrived at room temperature and quickly became cold for most of our meal. The other dishes like the mock chilly (sic) chicken, sticky sesame vegetables and veg momo had little interest to them to reflect and uphold either the reviews or the price - a somewhat rubbery texture becoming a chore to eat despite good flavouring. The vegan sizzling brownie was slightly more interesting but again unremarkable for £11 for the item after the initial spectacle of the sizzle fades.

The bigger issue however was the service and the blasé attitude of the waiters. Firstly, despite having only a vegan menu at our table and clearly enunciating I wanted a vegan saffron masala tea, I got served the regular one with dairy which was awful - thankfully I don't have an allergy but otherwise we were not asked if we had any allergies at the time of ordering which is a considerable red flag. I suspect the reason is consistent with the way the wait staff communicated with us and their general presence (or lack of): they just seemed to be entirely uninterested in us as customers. From being approached upon arrival by a strong-staring unsmiling man (who ignored my booking request to be near a window) to the other waiter who seemed to avoid eye contact alongside seeming rather miserable, I just can't say there's a good human vibe here. It made me think they're either under a lot of pressure and have more pressing worries, or despite wearing suits and ties they're not paid well enough to evoke any sense of positive attitude. Either way, it made the atmosphere frigid and uncomfortable. The only ray of sunshine amongst them came from the female chef who came to take the dishes away from our table with her blue hair net still on (an odd occurrence in itself!) ...and amazingly she was very cheery - the contrast between her and the male waiters was stark to say the least. It goes to show that alongside the food the people who represent it are absolutely critical to good service. Unfortunately, Fatt Pundit missed the mark.

We spent £35 per person after sharing five dishes and a drink each whilst not even feeling full by the end of it all. So whether you're vegan or not, I'm disappointed to say this place is hyped up and you can do better for Indo-Chinese...

Review from May 2025:

Located just off Henrietta Street, Fatt Pundit in Covent Garden occupies a compact, narrow space spread across the ground and lower ground levels.

The ground floor includes a central skylight that offers a bit of natural light, flanked by seating areas. Toward the front is a small bar, followed by high seating and then a very cramped dining area with banquette-style seating. The space between tables is minimal, making it difficult to move around or access certain seats without squeezing through tight gaps. Downstairs, there’s more seating next to a smaller secondary bar, which is slightly quieter.

Kid Goat Momo: These came as a trio and were full of flavour, with a pleasant level of spice. A well-executed dish.

Crispy Okra: Excellent. Light and crunchy, almost like a well-done tempura, and generously seasoned with dry green and red chilies. Not greasy and packed a nice heat.

Rabbit Wontons: Served in a black bean sauce, these were tasty, with six wontons per portion. However, the dish felt like it was missing something—no rice or noodles to complement it, which would’ve balanced it out better.

Chicken Szechuan Noodles: Average overall. The spice level was mild, the chicken was fine, but the dish lacked substance—vegetables were sparse, and the flavours didn’t quite come together.

The service was attentive and friendly, which added to the experience. However, the ambience felt dark and overly cramped. Seating is tightly packed, especially on the ground floor, and the noise level is high, with little privacy due to how close the tables are to each other.

Review from May 2024: Excellent place for Indian with twist of something different. Tucked away in covent garden. Interior is rustic, nice glass ceiling I bt be middle which allows Light in .

Cocktails- great- had the white tiger was excellent. Unfortunately there was three attempts at a classic vodka martini which was sub par.

The vegetable momo was average- was expecting them to be more tasty, was more on the blend side even with the side dips.

Food excellent: the crispy Spanish and the battered okra- both amazing and different.

The monkfish Malabar curry, lamb chops with black bean dust , kolkata chicken curry all excellent. The burnt ginger rice was average- could taste much other than was usual rice. The Bing bread was a let down- it was neither buttery, crispy but was instead dense and under done.

Deserts of lady Kenny and gelato sizzling brownie was both...

1000/10!! How do I give enough praise for this place? I cannot express how much I love it here: the food, the service, the drinks - absolutely no critiques.

This is the BEST meal we’ve eaten in London, hands down, as well as the best service.

First, Mac at Rutul were excellent servers. Very kind and attentive throughout the meal. Mac explained everything very well and was thorough, both of them checked on us throughout the meal. Mac also took time to answer my questions and really made the experience wonderful!!

The food… where do I start? Absolutely unbeatable. The beef chili momo in the spicy chili sauce is my favorite. It’s my favorite dish potentially EVER, and if they bottled that sauce I would sell my soul to buy it. Please bottle it or sell a cookbook!

It’s a sharing style, so we had several options to choose from. We had the chicken lollipops, the duck, the Szechuan beef noodles, and the chili prawns. They were all 10/10. If you don’t like spice, ask your server what to recommend - these were the perfect light spice without overpowering anything. The prawns and duck had a sticky sweet thing going on that we loved, where as the chicken, noodles and momo had a nice and small kick of spice.

The drinks were also fantastic! Some of the best I’ve had, PERIOD!

Great locations available, but we went to the one in Covent Garden, which is always popping: you may not NEED a reservation, but I’d recommend getting one if you’re coming on a weekend night, just in case!

Overall, 10/10, highly recommend for some well spiced food in London!!

Editing to add: DO NOT GET TAKEOUT!!! I love the in person experience, but they always get my takeout order wrong. I end up wasting money and being disappointed that they can’t check things before...