Mint Leaf Lounge

I had lunch with an old friend for a good catch up and “friday curry with beers”. I worked at Angel Court many years ago, so it was a walk down memory lane for me.

For a Friday, it was very empty but we liked the decor and the welcome was lovely. The menu was very interesting, so we ordered with great anticpation. Duck and scallops to start, lamb pepper fry and pork vindaloo to follow.

The starters arrived and were fantastic. really well cooked and seasoned with perfectly balanced spices. The main courses kept up the good news, both really, really good.

Service was great. As we stuck with beer, I can't comment on the wine.

It was a very good meal and I am looking forward to going again. I would not hesitate to have a business lunch there.

What I don't love about this restaurant isn't even worth mentioning. We eat here a lot and the food is absolutely heavenly. It's so far removed from your bog-standard MSG and grease-laden curryhouse nosh that its virtually unrecognisable by comparison. But the food is innovative, using local and seasonal ingredients as well as sustainable fish, producing clean, fresh flavours with the traditional slap of slice that you need to remind you that you are, after all, eating Indian food. Starters are vibrant in both flavour and colour. Bright green chicken tikka with a deliciously creamy coated of herbs and paneer, mackerel and crab cakes spiced to perfection. Main courses come in lots of different guises, both modern with fish fillets on spiced potatoes with spinach and the more classic curries using rich coconut sauces and of course your more classic tomato and spice rich sauces. A great spot for lunch, whether business or not, with an elegant interior and a beautiful bar adjacent to a sleek lounge area. Great cocktails too!

Enjoyed a great night out at £55 per head [We benefited from the special offer pricing]

The weekly City Lunch Menu is amazingly light for Indian food, not hot & heavy at all. Really perfect venue for a discreet business meeting. Lounge area also good for post-lunch coffee.

I was very surprised looking at earlier reviews of Mint Leaf prior to writing this – if it was as bad as stated then they have obviously had a huge turn-around in operations as I found everything to be very satisfactory. I’m a big fan of the Haymarket branch and have been for many years so thought I’d give it a try. I went towards the later part of the afternoon so had missed the peak time but was still quite busy (perhaps the banker types are at least, having to look more productive). I thought the design was very cool and stylish reminding me of Zuma & Sumosan – perhaps with a bit of Hakkasan thrown in – the bar area is nice and I could imagine comfortably popping in for a drink after work or before dinner. On to the food and being in an Indian you can’t go wrong with a starter like chicken tikka, sensuously marinated in lime leaf and coriander it was a far cry from my average experiences. Baby lamb shank curry grabbed my attention for main and turned out to be an excellent choice – very soft and tender to a point where you could almost point your knife at it to command the succulent meat to separate from the bone. A simple dish but so well done. Accompaniments of rice and naan bread help to fill me up – hard to say anything inspiring about boiled rice but the naan was very light and fluffy. I’d asked the staff to recommend a glass of white and red wine to go with each course (by the glass) and am cursing myself for not noting down what they were – they complimented the food so well. I was looking at a bill of around the £35 mark from the a la carte menu although I’m sure I saw a set lunch menu available for an extra bargain. A very groovy lounge upstairs caught my attention while I was having a quick nosey-around. I’ll definitely be back and just hope the Haymarket branch of Mint Leaf doesn't realise I’m cheating on them with their sister.

Didn't even get to second base! I have never encountered such rudeness when trying to make a reservation. After providing my telephone number I was asked for my email address – somewhat excessive I thought, given that this was only in respect of a lunch booking for three people. When I enquired why it was needed, I was told that I had provided an incorrect telephone number and as such, an email was required to confirm the booking. I repeated the telephone number and it turned out that the receptionist had missed off a digit – no apology was forthcoming. I was then asked for my name; I provided my surname. I was then asked for my first name as "it was needed for the booking" – why?? I replied "Ms" which I then had to spell. As the call took place in such bad grace, I simply pulled it as if this is the impression they want to give to the outside, what on earth can it be like when you get there…??

Get real Mint Leaf – there is a recession coming. The paying public is doing you a favour by giving you business, not the other way around…

I booked this venue for one of our Senior Partners and his team for a business dinner and I must say from the moment we arrived I knew it was a bad choice.

The venue looks good, the seating area in the bar is a little smaller than I would have imagined, but it was cosy and created a good atmosphere, however this is where the issues start. We arrive and are told that as the bar is full we would have to be seated at our table in the restaurant immediately. Not ideal when we were having pre-dinner drinks whilst waiting on everyone to arrive. From here in on in it got worse. What’s wrong with the new mint leaf experience:-

Over bearing greeters: – (forcing us to the table and barring entry from the bar) Waiting time:- 25 minutes for our first drinks to arrive
Staff:- being the largest table in the restaurant it was hard to believe that we were almost ignored .
Food arrival:- Having ordered four sharing platters as starts for the group I was a little surprise when the veggie options arrives and the meat had not, after 10 minutes I asked where they were only to be told that the way the menu works is that food arrives when it's ready. Ask for everything to arrive together if that is what you expect.
Management:- Upon leaving I had suggested to the manager who was making all the right attemts at an apology that perhaps due to the poor service and the issue with the drinks taking 25 minutes to arrive he take those drinks off the bill. He assured me that this would be done.
However, having checked the bill the next day he had not only charged for said drinks but had also charged full service charge.

What's right with Mint Leaf

The Food: – great seasoning and presentation.
The Drinks: – tasted great (when they eventually arrived) but over priced.
The Venue: – Compact and bijou but nice.
In summary:- Nice venue with the usual city atmosphere early evening, great food and drinks.
Terrible service, overpriced.

best part of £100 for 2 people to eat very little indeed…not going back

A good curry, not to heavy and nice and delicate spices.

However, the nan breads are of the size more suited to a dolls tea party and cost £5, twice the price of their sister restaurant. Cobra, £5 for a small bottle, made for an expensive night. The shouting over the loud bar area also makes for a less than convivial evening.