Decent Curry, but nothing amazing

Pros: The Curry Leaf East is a swanky Indian restaurant on City Road, it is close to Moorgate Tube Station as well as Old Street Tube. It is mainly frequented by City workers during the week. It has a bar area and a separate restaurant. The bar serves a wide selection of wine and beers as well as an extensive cocktail menu.

The restaurant is a typical Indian restaurant, its nicely designed and the staff are very friendly, efficient and helpful. The prices of food are reasonable for the area, main meals costing around £6-£8 and starters costing £3-£4. Drinks are widely varied and its strange but some of the cocktails do combine well with the meals. There is a fantastic variety on the menu, starters are meat, fish and vegetable based, mains include Biryani’s, oven baked dishes and traditional tandoori dishes. Overall it’s a decent Indian restaurant, not anything special but decent enough. Prices are fine, food quality is decent and service is very good.

Good Curry House

Pros: I have eaten here numerous times and am never disappointed.
The food is very good with a great variety of dishes and hence flavours, it really does serve all palettes. Even for those that dont particularly like the strrong flavours and spices.
The staff are always friendly and agreeable, and will go out of their way to accomodate.
The environment and decor is very fresh and light - the layout is nice with a seating area on the balcony on the first floor.

Cons: One time I had a chicken dish and the chicken was too fatty - this was an exception though and is hasnt stopped me going back for more and I have not had a bad experience since.
I do prefer traditional indian music to accompany my curry, for some reason it just suits better!

Lunch @ the Curry Leaf is popular

Pros: Had the marinaded lamb leg which was quite hot but small. Served with pilau rice and a slice of nan. Had a couple of beers which probably wasn't a wise choice as the Air con at work is broken and it does not a great afternoon make.

Maybe it's an old one or a copy but I did spot a Banksey outside the restaurant (see attached).

Cons: Slow service today and a main course plus drinks for 8 people averaged about £23 which is a bit pricey IMHO.

Tags banksey,  tandoori,  biyani, 

Good food, except for the really creamy bits

Pros: I've been to this restaurant a few times; the staff is very attentive, the food was served very quickly, and the food is really nice. The interior of the restaurant is very classy for an indian. I definitely can't complain about the ambience (although it is quite dark in there even on a sunny day... I guess that adds to the atmosphere).

The menu itself is quite extensive--you can get almost any dish you could possibly want. The portions are a good size, and you're always full. The naan is good, but a bit greasy, but I think that's just down to personal preference.

The staff is also very good about wishing you a pleasant day as you exit!

Cons: I had a creamy prawn curry, and it turned out to be too creamy for me. I'll go for a spicy dish next time!

Tags white wine,  creamy curry, 

Detail is in the presentation

Pros: This is an Indian restaurant that takes pride in the detail of their dishes. Gone are the days where a madras is marinated meat in a runny, oily sauce. The Curry Leaf have taken a fine dining approach and it works well.
The food is really fresh and properly prepared, using hot spicies.
I had the mussels masala to start, which were excellent and King Prawn Shaslik (prawns skewered with aromatic vegetables in ground spices) which was superb. The Gosht Palok ( lamb curry on bone with spinach) also looked good.

Cons: Execpt to pay about £35 per head with a couple of beers and without wine

Good prawns

Pros: I ate here last night - had the Queen prawns for a starter and the King Prawn Bhuna as a main. Both were really good and washed down well with some Cobra, served in the correct gold rimmed pint glasses.

Atmosphere isn't like your average Indian - it's more like a semi-swanky pub that serves Indian food. And great food at that.

Recommended if you're in the Moorgate/Finsbury Square area and want to get a curry in but want to avoid feeling a bit like you're stopping in somewhere after a bit of a beer-fest.

Cons: Toilets seem like they are miles away. They're not, but they are fairly well hidden through a few sets of doors.

what...no moving wall pictures, sticky carpet, or twingy twangy music?

Pros: The Curry Leaf defies convention when it comes Indian restaurants. Its certainly not your typical Indian restaurant. The decor inside is smart and modern (no moving wall pictures, sticky carpet, or twingy twangy music which typifies the average Brick Lane mold). Set over 2 floors with a mezzanine upstairs overlooking the main restaurant and a basement for over-spill, its not huge but enough elbow room to be comfortable and it manages to feel well occupied (even for a Monday night they seemed to have a consistent flow of city bods coming through the doors). The food all came elegantly decorated - not your typical curry house presentation - and the food provided just enough pezzaz to keep me supping on the Cobras.

As for value for money, I can't really comment...this time. Definitely deserves a repeat visit especially due to it convieniently being a stones throw from the office!

A cut above

Pros: The Curry Leaf East is a more upmarket looking place than traditional curry houses, perhaps as you might expect in the City. Seating is spread across the ground floor, a first floor balcony level and a basement which I've never seen in use.

Larger groups tend to be sat on the first floor, as we were on my last visit with our table for seven. The service is the right balance between attentive and overbearing.

The usual Kingfisher and Cobra are available. My Prawn Til Tinka starter (pictured) had a nice dry spice to it. My Lal Maans main had nice big chunks of lamb and a tasty sauce with a blackened chilli on top.

The toilets are modern and clean.

Cons: Not the cheapest curry but not unreasonable and you're paying for quality.

I'll take a leaf out of their cook book

Pros: The Curry Leaf is a tardis of a place with a small front and a spacious long eating area - there's even a downstairs and an upstairs but usually it never gets that busy that you see these.

The service is decent - quite understanding when a bunch of refreshed people arrive en mass with no booking and a dozen lagers immediately ordered.

The food is good - not too expensive with some nice options such as the tandoori chicken and the veg side dishes.

Cons: Occasionally it all goes wrong

- went in once and everything was over cooked,
- a table of 8 beside us was served first even though we got there first as a table of three and;
- we had to ask for the bill a few times

This has been the exception though.

It's the national cuisine don't you know

Pros: Curry is the national cuisine here in Blighty and there are more curry houses per square mile than grains of sand in a curiously large egg timer ... perhaps.

Of course the East End has more than its fair share owing much to the hit and miss curry houses of Brick Lane. If you're looking for something a bit closer to the city however, there is the excellent choice of the Curry Leaf.

It has a very broad menu covering more than just the usual. In particular there are a noticeable number of fish dishes which make a bit of a change. I can particularly recommend the mixed fish grill, the salmon curries and the lamb gosht served on the bone.

The staff are always friendly with prompt service and large bottles of Cobra (or is it Kingfisher) quickly brought to the table followed by the usual poppadoms. The wine list is also good as curry houses go.

Cons: While not particularly expensive, expect to pay around 50% more than a typical English curry house with mains up to £10 to £12. A lot of the food is not particularly spicy so don't go there if you're after a Phaal.

Also the entrance feels a bit like walking through the whale at the Natural History Museum, although I quite like it personally.