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Restaurant
Name: | The India | |
Previously: | Cannon Tandoori | |
Area: | Cannon Street | |
Address: | 21 College Hill | |
London EC4R 2RP | ||
Phone: | 020 7248 5855 | |
Website: | www.theindia.org.uk |
Visits to this restaurant ...
1. 28 Aug 2003 | | | 2. 30 Sep 2004 | | | 3. 26 Feb 2009 | | | 4. 28 Apr 2011 | | | 5. 26 Jan 2012 |
6. 31 Aug 2023 |
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Visit Report
Visit Number: | 42 (visit 1 of 6 for this restaurant) | |
Date of visit: | 28 Aug 2003 | |
Cost per head: | £27.00 (2 beers) |
Serv | Amb | Beer | Start | Nan | Rice | Main | Veg | VFM | Score | Comments | |
Overall | 7.3 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 7.02 | |
Jon | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7.1 | See Jon's comments |
Robin | 7 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7.7 | See Robin's comments |
Mark | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5.5 | See Mark's comments |
Richard | 8 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7.1 | See Richard's comments |
John | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7.8 | See John's comments |
Dave | 7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6.9 | See Dave's comments |
All Comments
Jon - It was an interesting night thanks to the London-wide power cut which meant that much of our pre-curry drink was lit only by the emergency lighting - thankfully, the pub’s Arkwright-style cash register meant he could keep serving. Luckily, the power was back on before we went to the curry house else it might have been called off. It was an unusual building underneath the railway arches and although they put us miles into the back of the restaurant on our own, it did fill up as the night progressed. The food was generally pretty good, although it was a bit lumpy in terms of price. Griff made his usual complaints about the apparent informality of the club (i.e. lack of minutes from the AGM) which was a thinly-veiled attack on the President. Suggestions were also made to restrict membership of the club so as not to automatically allow GRD workers we don’t like to come along which may put the membership of some previous attendees in doubt.
Robin - The price was high but the food was wonderful. The tasty mixed kebab starter had an interesting sauce with a hint of cheese, the excellent main lamb dish was aromatic, juicy and succulent, the special rice was very good and the nan was superb. I marked down the ambiance because to start we were the only group in one of the catacombs, but later another 2 or 3 tables became occupied which lifted the tone somewhat. Draught beer would have been nice, but overall this is most definitely an establishment to which I would eagerly return.
Mark - "Have you booked?" daft question as most of this cavernous place was empty. It did eventually fill so the ploy of sticking us in the furthest vault away from anyone else was not due to Jon wearing jeans and therefore likely to upset the 'suits' who are the obvious clientele. The subtle lighting, plush interior and modern bangla rhythms (surely they should sound off key to the western ear) combined with the bland food to scream corporate curry rather than anything authentic. Boti Kebab was tender but under-nourishing while Peshwari Chicken was forgettable. Good to see a few new dishes on the menu including the first I've seen starting with an X - Chicken Xacutti. Meanwhile UFO sang, "Lights out, lights out in London" as we enjoyed a pre-meal candlelit beer.
Richard - Excellent starter - sort of as cheesy tikka kebab, and main of butter chicken, rice and side dishes were very good too. Beer was a monstrous £4/bottle, and the food was not cheap with mains in the £6-7 range. It seemed a bit much to pay to be in a basement/dungeon with walls of brick painted pink, despite the quality of the food. Much discussion of club rules, with Griff's memorable comment "without rules you have anarchy". He has been nominated club secretary, with special responsibility for minutes.
John - I liked the Cannon. It's decorated like the inside of a gay nightclub (so Robin tells me), so the absent club members would have felt at home. I started with a very tasty prawn puree followed by an outstanding Chicken Joypuri, which was served on top of a flattened yellow pepper. The chickpeas hit the mark as did the Cobra. The meal was rather expensive but the quality of the food made up for the cost.
Dave - Overall good performance from the cannon - cheese covered chicken tikka starter was excellent and my Chicken Rogan was very tasty. I marked the ambience down as I was not over keen on the air-raid shelter design of the restaurant. Expensive prices also a drawback.