Both Londoners and tourists travel to Russell Square to sample Salaam Namaste’s sensational Indian cuisine. This restaurant offers so much more than your average Indian with traditional and speciality dishes on the menu.
The setting itself is nothing special. A warm and comfortable dining room with gaudy décor – we felt slightly squashed even though we had perhaps the best seats in the house. The restaurant manager was at our beck and call throughout the meal, which lasted a while as the staff struggled to cope with a busy night – every table was filled for the entire evening.
We ate a lot. Too much. But it was just too tasty to leave. After the crispiest, thinnest poppadoms, an array of starters arrived for us to devour. Onion bhajis were fresh and light, chowpatii bhelpoori (a popular street snack in Mumbai) were crunchy and spicy, and the jungle lamb kebabs were wonderfully tender, coated in the most divine marinade.
For mains we selected the recommended Butter Chicken from Delhi, the richest and creamiest curry I have ever eaten. Tandoori Chicken arrived sizzling at the table, highly seasoned and completely delicious. We barely managed the side dishes but I remember the baby aubergine cooked in mildly spiced yoghurt and the aromatic pilau rice particularly fondly. We opted for a bottle of the Pinot Grigio to accompany our meal, refreshing and light, it was very suitable.
Dessert took a long time to arrive and I was disappointed that tandoori pineapple was not available. Instead I opted for the coconut ice cream, which tasted homemade. If you’re after something more traditional, I’d go for Kulfi, Indian ice cream made with reduced milk.
For a really great Indian meal, Salaam Namaste is the place to go and judging by its longstanding reputation, it rarely disappoints.
More information and menus here.