Pure Indian cooking (PIC) — Restaurant in London

I’m giving this place two stars-only for the polite service and nice ambiance. Unfortunately, the food was a major letdown, especially considering how highly rated this restaurant is. Despite the name "Pure Indian," the menu felt more like a Western fine-dining spin on Indian food rather than anything truly authentic. Portions were tiny for the price, and while the dishes were beautifully presented, they lacked the heartiness you'd expect from Indian cuisine. I’d read that the chef trained under a Michelin-starred mentor, which showed in the plating, but not in the overall experience or taste. We started with the mushroom and baby corn vegetable, and bell pepper and paneer curry (which mentioned a sauce), along with tandoori roti. Both dishes were severely undercooked, the vegetables were practically raw. I flagged this with the staff, but their explanation was that "this is how the dish is meant to be." That may work in a salad, but not in a cooked vegetable or curry, especially not with mushrooms, which are unpleasant (and risky) to eat raw. The roti also wasn’t what we expected; it was more like a dry naan and quite tough. I didn’t send it back, since we had already returned the vegetables and I didn’t want to make a fuss. To their credit, the staff promptly offered to replace the dishes and suggested we try the dal makhani and palak paneer instead. These were better, more familiar and decently flavored, but still came in disappointingly small portions. The curries were served in bowls, perhaps 10 cm, that honestly looked more suited for desserts. Overall, while the service was friendly and the atmosphere pleasant, the food felt like it was trying too hard to be fancy. We left hungry and a bit confused by all the rave reviews. If you’re looking for comforting, well-cooked Indian food, this probably...

We visited for dinner on a Saturday. With their generic name I expected a basic place, but it was reasonably well appointed inside. My family of 2 adults and 2 young kids ordered the starter sharing board, breadcrumbed chicken, pistachio chicken, lamb sukke, dal makhani, some rice and an assortment of naans. For dessert we tried the gulab jamun brownie and a couple of ice creams. The food was mostly decent, in particular we enjoyed the dal makhani and most items on the starter sharing board. Desserts were a weak point with the brownie being quite basic and the ice cream selection not stored well (lots of icicles). It was a lot of food and we packed some to take home.

Service was friendly and initially quite efficient as we were one of the first people there, but for the second half of the meal we really struggled to get anyone’s attention, and it took ages both to place the dessert order and then wait for dessert to arrive. The issue in my view was the restaurant’s acceptance of way too many delivery orders. There was a non stop flow of Deliveroo and other drivers hanging around outside the restaurant. The kitchen was definitely preparing a larger number of orders for delivery than for the people in the restaurant. There were only 3 front of house staff, but invariably 1 would be occupied dealing with the delivery drivers, which again compromised the experience for those eating in.

Our bill came to £212, of which £60 was spent on drinks. Overall while the food in itself was not bad (I’d rate it as 4 stars), the combination of taking on too many deliveries and slightly high menu prices knocks them down to 3 stars overall. I doubt I would return to the restaurant, but may join the masses ordering...

Dear Pure Indiana Restaurant Management and Staff,

Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude for having the opportunity to visit your restaurant. Additionally, I found the design and decoration of your venue to be truly appealing and pleasant. However, there are some experiences I encountered during my visit that I would like to share with you as constructive feedback.

Unfortunately, during my time at your restaurant, I noticed that some members of your staff displayed rude behavior towards customers. As we live in a society that values respect and consideration for one another, I am certain that such behaviors negatively impact your restaurant's image and customer satisfaction.

Moreover, one of the issues experienced at the restaurant was the longer-than-expected food preparation time. As customers, we hope for quick and quality service, especially after a busy day. Improvements in this area would significantly contribute to the success of your restaurant.

Lastly, it was quite disconcerting that your staff members did not take responsibility or acknowledge their mistakes. Like any business, you may make errors; however, what is important is learning from those mistakes and striving to provide better service. Addressing this issue will increase your customers' trust in you.

I hope that you will take this feedback into consideration and make the necessary adjustments to deliver better service. When addressing these concerns, I am confident that your restaurant will achieve even greater success and meet the expectations of your...