The Empress Indian restaurant began its journey in 1993 on Leman Street. The owners and their excellent team have been delighting the diners of London with exquisite food ever since, and have won many awards as the Indian restaurant of the year, having the best chef of the year, and for being a great family restaurant. The restaurant is open seven days a week, including on the bank holidays, and is well equipped to cater for special occasions – from anniversaries and birthday parties to corporate dinners. Although the space is relatively small, it is filled with love.
The menu at The Empress recreates traditional Indian dishes from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean, and draws on inspiration from all 22 regions. You can expect to find dishes made with exquisite spices, bursting with flavour and incredible textures. There are a great number of starters on the menu, including skewered king prawns in a garlic sauce and grilled in the tandoor oven, and steamed mussels in an exotic Bengali sauce. If you enjoy the classics, order the chicken chat or king prawn butterfly that has been shallow fried.
The chef's selection on the menu are specialities that the team have chosen to recreate from their hometowns, and will give you an authentic eastern experience. Choose from the jall morris salon with chicken or lamb cooked with pickled green chillies and naga peppers in a very spicy hot sauce, or the murgh from Rajshahi with pickled baby mangoes, tomatoes, coriander herbs and spices and served with fried red chillies. House specials include the seafood bhuna, chingri saag paneer and chicken tikka masala – a true classic that we all love.