Shiuli — Restaurant in London

A couple of months ago, I visited this restaurant, designed by Michelin-starred chef Alfred Prasad, to celebrate my birthday with my wife and daughter. We arrived at 6pm on a Friday without a reservation but were informed that we could dine until 8pm. A female staff member escorted us to our table and made us comfortable. At that time, we were the only customers in the restaurant. We ordered some drinks, momos, chicken biryani, some rotis, butter chicken, paneer, aubergine bharta etc. The malai chicken starter had some pink pieces in it. We brought this to the attention of the Asian waiter with black hair, who was wearing black trousers and a shirt, when he asked for our feedback. Around 7:10pm, we finished our food and were waiting for the staff to clean the table, looking forward to receiving the dessert menu. At approximately 7:20pm a friendly white female staff member cleaned our table while engaging in a pleasant conversation about our weekend plans. However, she was abruptly interrupted by the Asian waiter, who stated that she was needed in the kitchen, cutting off our conversation. By 7:35pm, the Asian waiter handed us the bill, leaving us surprised as we had been expecting the dessert menu. When we inquired about this, the waiter informed us that there was a VVIP booking at 8pm, and we needed to vacate the table. I expressed my disappointment, feeling as if we were being asked to leave. Another staff member came over to apologise for the waiter’s behaviour and arranged for some dessert to be brought to our table with a candle, but by then, the damage had already been done. They decided to deduct the service charge due to the extremely poor service we experienced. We left the restaurant around 7:40pm to allow them time to prepare the table for their more important VVIP guests. We were extremely disappointed with the level of service. Upon leaving, a female staff member asked for my wife’s email address to send a formal apology, but to this date, we have not...

We celebrated my birthday at Shiuli tonight, with some dear 'foodie' friends who insisted we experience Alfred Prasad's artistry. I can, without a moments hesitation, state that this was the best Indian meal I have ever had. The flavours were absolutely incredible, the portion sizes perfect, the prices really very reasonable given both the quality of ingredients and the expertise with which they had been combined. Thank you for the most perfect evening meal. I will come back here at the very next opportunity, and hope to bring my parents on a special occasion - but expect it may get increasingly hard to reserve a table... Thank you all for such a pleasurable and memorable evening of the most delicious food and excellent service.

Update

18 months or so have passed since our first visit, and Shiuli has only gone on to finesse and perfect their menu and service. Lucky to get a table, we used our wedding anniversary as the excuse - but I recommend booking well in advance... Alfred and his team will undoubtedly show you how it should be done. If you have seen season 2 of The Bear, and you want a little taste of that level of fine dining; Shiuli will bring that experience. My wife and I chuckled at how within only a few minutes of my mentioning the show, we overheard not one, but two other tables muttering how much like The Bear it was, in terms of the level of service and overall quality of dining experience which we were all receiving.

This is no longer just our favourite Indian restaurant, but our favourite restaurant, period. Thank you so much for making our wedding anniversary such a...

With it’s exquisite food, ever so warm welcome and impeccable service, Shiuli consistently delivers a perfect dining experience each and every time and has established itself as indisputably the best Indian restaurant for many miles around. So when a cooking masterclass with Chef Alfred became a further Shiuli offering, it was not to be missed. And indeed it was a truly memorable and enjoyable introduction to Indian cuisine. In a small and very friendly group of 8, Alfred introduced us to a range of spices that were the fabric to weave the flavour of the dishes we would later cook. All ingredients were meticulously prepared in advance, allowing the participants to simply concentrate on the clear recipe instructions that Sunita had initially provided us with. Alfred was of course also on hand to guide us through each cooking step. Collectively we prepared half a dozen mouth wateringly tasty dishes including Shiuli’s acclaimed Chettinad Mushrooms, Saag Paneer and Tadka Daal. We would subsequently sit down to share and enjoy these together, supplemented by a generous range of further wonderful dishes and fine wine, in amongst the lovely camaraderie that had established itself between the group. Upon leaving we were handed a goody bag containing all the recipe sheets and the freshly roasted and blended spice mixes required to recreate the dishes at home. Importantly though, we also all left with the belief and inspiration needed for being able to do so! An exceptional experience and a big thank you to Alfred, Sunita and their...