Masala Zone Earls Court — Restaurant in London

I spent a long time choosing a restaurant to come to with friends for a special reunion dinner, and I was expecting it to be good but I was really blown away. Firstly, the decor is magical. It strikes a balance between cosy, warm and ornate, yet sleek and modern. The traditional puppets hanging from the ceiling add a very cool touch! It feels like an expensive place to eat, not very casual - but people were dressed both up and down. The serving staff seemed very on top of things even though they were obviously stretched - there was a constant queue waiting for tables and it was a fairly large restaurant, busy on a Friday night. Our waitress was lovely and quite attentive. The food itself was magnificent. Even though the portion sizes were fairly small, I forgave them as it was all so tasty!! The flavours were divine. The menu seemed like a mix of the traditional/ classic, with modern twists - not a usual Indian menu (so maybe not the best if you're looking for somewhere 'authentic'?). We shared starters, and this was great as there were so many cool sounding options it was tough to decide on one each. We also ordered Thalis, which was again a good idea as you could try different things. Would definitely recommend the veggie thali. The korma was my favourite element! One thing was that there didn't seem to be enough rice to go with the curries, but we ordered some naan to mop it up. Although it's not the cheapest place to eat, the bill didn't break the bank and we left feeling very full...

I ordered Chicken 65 and Rogan Josh. Chicken 65 was nice and tasted fresh with curry leaves and a nice chutney.

The Rogan Josh was a disappointment. It tasted a little strange, not fresh and with an weird flavor. There was SO much lamb (which tells me they’re trying to get rid of old food?)

And there was almost no sauce/gravy. The sauce had a strange flavor like chilli powder was added at the end to make it spicy and give a red colour, and the only other flavor just lamb and meat, like lamb stew. No real balance of flavor or use of whole spices, although I saw a cardamom pod but I couldn’t actually taste it. Seems it was for show

Also I think tomato paste was used and not fresh tomatoes because it had a bitter flavor. No taste of ginger or garlic or real depth. Some lamb pieces were tiny and other pieces were huge. I couldn’t even chew most of it because it was dry and tough

It was a shame because Rogan Josh is usually such a beautiful dish with so much flavor. I’d rather have less lamb but better quality, and with a nice sauce

The rice tasted like microwaved rice.

The papad, bread and mint chutney very nice.

Perhaps I just ordered the wrong dish with Rogan Josh. I expected way better.

Staff friendly and host was nice and welcoming. They acknowledged my complaint about the dry overcooked lamb, and they offered me a small discount. I wasn’t really bothered about a few pounds saved. I’d rather have eaten better curry

I’d probably...

Phenomenal!!

I have a passion for authentic Indian cuisine and am often disappointed with what I find in Britain. Not the case today. Everything was delicious, well presented, and some of the best food I've had outside of India.

The staff were very attentive, but also let me dine in peace on my own. I was offered a choice of tables and the opposite seating was cleared when I sat down - which is always a nice touch.

I was a total pig and had the savoury jalebi chaat and Pani Puri (pops, I think Masala Zone referred to them as), followed by a veggie thali. I stuffed the starters in my face so quickly I didn't photograph them!

The decor is lovely, the ambience was calming yet vibrant, and the selection of food and drink was brilliant. I just wish I had a second stomach to shove more of the food into!

Oh, and the restaurant is wheelchair accessible, including a toilet (others downstairs). For anyone who needs to know.

A very pleasurable experience. Will recommend to anyone coming this way who wants a real Indian treat.

A little pricey for some budgets, but for the quality and being in the borough of Kensington, well worth every penny. Two of the street food/starters would be enough to satiate anyone though, so no need to order more than one course, unless you want to be a big...