The Indian Club has been here since 1950, when it acted very much as a canteen for the Indian High Commission opposite.  I was first taken there by an Indian work colleague in the early 60s. It doesn't appear to have changed since! The restaurant is part of the small and inconspicuous India Hotel and reached through a narrow doorway, on the side of which is a tattered old typed menu (typed on an old upright by the look of the typeface). Up the stairs is the hotel reception but keep going and you reach the dining room - a basic, cafe style room with lino flooring, plain chairs and Formica topped tables (no table cloths - heaven forbid!) and rather scruffy decor in true Indian fashion. Despite being cafe style it does have a couple of waiters who are dressed in a white jackets (or off white usually, with a few stains down the front to provide the authentic Indian ambience.) On a recent visit I was horrified to see a number of tables had reserved signs on them. Perhaps this is a change as I’m sure you never used to be able to reserve (although I never tried).

Fairly limited menu of basic but genuine Indian fare (no CTM or Balti selection here). Food good, fundamental Indian cooking. Particularly good are the vegetarian dishes and Dosas, probably because I suspect the chef is from South India. The Bhajias can have rather a thick coating of batter but they are generally good (particularly the unusual chilli bhajias). Pillaus, Masala Dosa and Vegetable Curry are all excellent. Service is OK in a casual sort of way, although they can be busy and it can seem slow if a large order is taken before yours. However, full marks to the waiter on a recent visit as, learning I had a time limit, ensured I was served before a large group that had ordered just before me.

Not perhaps the place to go for a special occasion meal but an excellent, no frills place to go for a good, cheap basic curry. No license but a bar on the floor below serves bottles of Cobra and you can take them upstairs to your table (although you are supposed to be a member of the India Club to buy them). The elderly lady behind the bar is, I am sure, the same one as when I first visited. She used to be a dolly bird then!!

Malcolm Wilkins - July 2006

PS. I have had two recent contacts that tell me they have been disappointed with the food, and I must confess that the last time I visited I didn't think it was quite up to previous standards. I hope it's not a sign of decline. (MW - March 2007)