Empire Empire

Fancying something a little more special last weekend - and craving a walk in moderate London summer temperatures - I ventured out to Notting Hill and Empire Empire, an Indian restaurant that was awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide last year. There's a lot that sparks the interest on the menu at Empire Empire, such that a return visit might be in order if the food turned out to be good enough to warrant it.

As with many Bib Gourmands, the restaurant is fairly small, with music from a jukebox playing and little in the way of table dressings. And yet, Empire Empire benefits from this relaxed vibe, catering as it does to neighborhood residents who are either making an event of it with friends or just swinging by to grab something to eat quickly.

I chose a selection of dishes for my meal, including the chicken malai kalimirch tikka (a chicken skewer, marinated in hung yoghurt, cheese, peppercorns and garlic chutney), pictured above. This was the first thing I ate, and was succulent and creamy but - it must be noted - nowhere near as good as the chicken from Berenjak. If you want some of the best chicken skewers in London (the best chicken full stop), go there.

Next I had the saag gosht (lamb and spinach curry), bhindi-do-pyaza (okra with dried mango, onion and tomatoes), and jeera saffron pulau (aromatic rice with royal cumin and saffron). The rice was as you would expect, the okra was sadly somewhat disappointing, but the saag gosht was beautiful; a rich and creamy curry that I could have happily eaten plenty more of. The lamb was ever so tender, falling apart under the fork. If I hadn't had this particular dish, quite frankly the meal would have been a disappointment.

For I had the mango cheesecake for dessert, and the less said about that the better. This came out of the fridge en masse, and was messily scooped into a bowl tableside by the waitress. I would not have minded so much if the cheesecake had been delicious, but it was completely dead. No spark of flavours to be had in this cold shell. 

Overall my experience was middling - I greatly enjoyed the curry, but everything else was uninspiring and mediocre. As such, I can't recommend this as a must-try Indian.

Value for money? £50 for the food, a drink and service. A fair amount of money for a meal where I only resally enjoyed one course.

Would I return? No.