Cafe Spice Namaste

A fantastic Indian meal in east London and so different to your local restaurant here we experienced such an amazing array of stunning Indian flavours and spices that enhanced each dish. On arrival you get a nice friendly greeting then you get to see the menu and believe me you want to order everything as it all sounds fantastic. We in the end decided to go for the Tasting Menu which includes 3 glasses of wine and was also told that it is actually unlimited food so when you say stop they will then serve you Dessert to finish . The one thing is that you don't know what you get until it arrives which to us was great . We managed to survive 10 courses before surrendering and having Dessert . So it all started with popadoms & dips followed by Samosa , potato cake , fish fingers , a sweet and crunchy rice , duck , chicken , prawns with spinach , salmon and cheese then to curry dishes of chicken and lamb that forced us into submission so we're then served dessert to finish to which on was a delightful spicy creme brûlée. Most of the dishes were brought to us by our very friendly waitress Martina .

I have Cyrus's recipe book, I have cooked his lamb dhansak recipe many times, it is amazing, one of my favourite curries. I was looking forward to comparing the lamb dhansak in his book to the restaurant and I was hugely disappointed. It tasted like a generic curry gravy, it was watery and the texture was not right, even worse than your bog standard takeaway. I then tasted the other curries my family ordered (Goan pawn, beef curry a' la dada and murghi ni curry nay papato) and they all had the same generic curry gravy taste, literally like curry powder stirred into a gravy, bland and boring. I complained to the waiter who was attentive and helpful. I then spoke to Cyrus himself, I explained that I have cooked his dhansak recipe many times and that the curry I was served was nothing like it. He didn't listen, he was very defensive and patronising, he repeatedly said was 'you're the expert, you're the expert'. He obviously doesn't care about his customers now he is a ‘celebrity cook’. I have cooked hundreds of curries over the years, I make my own masala blends, I make my own ghee, I research recipes for the authentic methods etc, I would like to think I know about curry and I can tell you this was one of the worst curries I have had at a restaurant. I will continue to cook at home and save money, Cafe Spice is a complete rip off.

I've seen Cyrus Todiwala cook up some magical dishes as various food events across London and so it was with great anticipation that we booked our meal at Cafe Spice Namaste. I must add this review is of a meal going some time back now, but the memory is fresh and unfortunately I still remember the disappointment with which my fellow diners and I left the restaurant with. Whilst the food was fresh, the flavours lacked the depth and variety I was expecting and this was a common theme across the table, despite some initially promising starters. The atmosphere did very little to compensate; on a cold winters night, the lofty, sparsely decorated brick interiors, together with the surprisingly basic furniture made it difficult to warm up or feel truly welcome. Service was good but the wait staff lacked further knowledge of the dishes when asked a few questions. All in all, it just didn't add up to the expectations Mr Todiwala had set in my mind, which was a shame indeed.

First time I have visited the restaurant and it was really very good. Pleasant, relaxed but attentive service put my lunch guests and me at ease. The menu was diverse and really descriptive; we were all spoilt for choice with the great sounding dishes on offer. Scallops and tandoori duck followed by pork, chicken and mutton main courses in various guises were superb. A special mention has to go out to the selection of chutneys on offer, they were delicious. Overall a great restaurant, I would not hesitate to take my clients here and I know all of my friends would love it!

Ordered a takeaway and were told 50 minutes to deliver. Called the restaurant to chase our order 1 hour 25 minutes after ordering, and was told the food was just leaving. It eventually arrived 30 minutes later. We live 5 minutes from the restaurant. Very disappointed! The food, thankfully, was good.