Restaurant
Name: | Bengal Tiger | |
Previously: | Moved fm Carter Ln,Blackfriars | |
Area: | Old Street | |
Address: | 108–110 Old Street | |
London EC1V 9BD | ||
Phone: | 020 3654 0854 | |
Website: | bengal-tiger.co.uk |
Visits to this restaurant ...
1. 28 Feb 2002 | | | 2. 25 Sep 2003 | | | 3. 25 Oct 2007 | | | 4. 25 Sep 2008 | | | 5. 24 Sep 2009 |
6. 19 Dec 2013 | | | 7. 18 Dec 2014 | | | 8. 29 Jun 2018 | | | 9. 30 May 2019 | | | 10. 25 Aug 2022 |
Visit Report
Visit Number: | 250 (visit 10 of 10 for this restaurant) | |
Date of visit: | 25 Aug 2022 | |
Cost per head: | £47.00 (2 beers) |
Serv | Amb | Beer | Start | Nan | Rice | Main | Veg | VFM | Score | Comments | |
Overall | 7.5 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 7.4 | 6.8 | 5.2 | 6.83 | |
Neil | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5.8 | See Neil's comments | ||
Jon | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6.7 | See Jon's comments | |
Graeme | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7.5 | See Graeme's comments | |
Jeff | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7.1 | See Jeff's comments | |
Dave | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6.9 | See Dave's comments |
Richard | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7.9 | See Richard's comments |
John | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 5.4 | See John's comments |
Brian | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7.9 | See Brian's comments |
Tim | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6.9 | See Tim's comments |
Mark | 8 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6.3 | See Mark's comments | ||
All Comments
Neil - We met at the super cheap Masque Haunt (now a Wetherspoons) so all enjoyed the reasonably priced beer. Then a quick walk to the Bengal Tiger which was very spacious and newly decorated. Food was quite average though if fresh, my paneer tikka starter was ok but the chicken rogan main bland. A surprisingly high price at the end even with the free baileys. It looks like the value is in the set menus which Tim and Richard tried out, this looked very generous especially the mixed starter. I'd certainly choose this option if we return.
Jon - The Bengal Tiger, apparently the same restaurant in a new location, was a large smart restaurant with an extensive menu, but turned out to be on the pricey side with the final bill approaching £50 a head! The set menus probably offered the best value, which two of our group went for, but none of them really appealed to me and I went for a salmon tikka starter followed by a tandoori mixed grill. Both were pretty good with the salmon being the stand out of the two – very tasty and a nice juicy texture. The special rice wasn't very special but everything else was up to standard, and at least the cost of the meal was mitigated by visiting a Wetherspoons beforehand. Good night as usual and great to see a record post-lockdown turnout!
Graeme - This is the 'old' Bengal Tiger that has relocated from the Blackfriars area to Old Street. It's a big open place, nicely decorated and with decent toilets (well, the Gents anyway). My food was excellent. I had the Salmon Tikka to start (very tender) and Garlic Chilli Chicken for main (it could perhaps have done with a touch more chilli but that is being very fussy). The service was very good, including a decent 'slug' of complimentary Baileys at the end. The price was high at £47 p/h but the quality of the meal meant it was still just about good vfm. I enjoyed meeting in The Masque Haunt (a Wetherspoon's) where there was plenty of room and a good selection of beers.
Jeff - So, seems that there are still a number of changes in the central London curry restaurant scene as the Gulab is moving, but not yet ready, and the Bengal Tiger has moved too - from St Paul's to the Old Street area, where rent may perhaps be cheaper and footfall greater. Their menu looked more traditional than before, in my memory at least, and the prices looked about average but with veg dishes at 6 or even 7 pounds and the same for beer, the bill soon adds up and we ended at £46.33 which we rounded to £47. Quality was pretty good: although the duck starter was only three small pieces they were very well prepared. My lamb karahi was a decent size and again pretty tasty. Free liqueurs were offered and accepted. For ambience, I thought that the chairs were a little cramped together considering the size of the room, but service was pleasant. Tiger beer was available, which I suppose is fitting really.
Dave - Good night at the relocated Bengal Tiger - no chicken curry in the menu but managed to persuade them to do a less spicy madras with lots of sauce as a replacement - overall not too bad - would be happy to return.
Richard - A lumpy price, especially as Tim and I shared a decently priced £25 menu each including rice, nan and 2 veg sides! Beer at £6 was expected but £7 each for sides like aloo, channa, bhaji is expensive if too many sides were ordered. At least we started with cheaper drinks thanks to Wetherspoons. The set menu was good with bhuna and king prawn sag (not to my taste but well done), really good and substantial mixed starter (including meats, fish, bhaji), sides and nan of choice included. It was a nice upmarket place and I'd return.
John - Pretty average .... king prawn puree followed by garlic chilli chicken followed by an inflation busting bill.
Brian - Very enjoyable duck tikka starter, and my jealousy at the size of Tim & Richard's shared starter soon abated, especially when I was able to finish my main. Salmon something or other main was lovely, plenty of perfectly cooked meat in a fairly spicy sauce. Sides, rice and chapati all good, rounded off with a complimentary Janice. Company excellent as usual; a very good evening indeed.
Tim - We arrived to find the restaurant empty of customers, and we were allocated a large table in the middle of the room. I thought the decor interesting, including the stained-glass ceiling area and unusual light fitting above the stairs. After deliberating for a while over the menu, I decided to share a set meal for 2 with Richard. The mixed starter was excellent, featuring at least five items and two sauces (although one tasted like warm mayonnaise). The mains (chicken bhuna and king prawn sag) weren't quite as exciting, though still perfectly fine. The peshwari nan though was very sweet, it seemed to be flavoured with mango puree plus extra sugar, but no nuts, and the texture of the bread was also a bit doughy. There was a choice of 3 beers and a fourth (Monsoon) was listed, though unavailable. The meal was finished nicely with an offer of a free round of liqueurs, in quite generous portions, but the overall cost was quite high.
Mark - The relocated Bengal Tiger is still charging City prices so not surprisingly was almost empty. The place looks lovely (apart from the loo's!) and service was good but that would be expected with the low number of eaters. Lamb tikka starter was plentiful but a very different cut than normal and I found the meat a bit dry and not as tender as hoped. Garlic Chilli Chicken lacked the zing I was expecting but overall was very tasty. Great turnout and glad we saved on the pre-meal drinks via 'Spoons.