Bit of a blur at Moti

A restaurant group based in New Delhi has opened a London branch in Covent Garden premises that, if I remember well, previously housed Zilli Fish Too.

They must have been told that Londoners like bars and also that up-market Indian restaurants such as Tamarind and Amaya show off their kitchen to the customers. In what seems like a bit of an afterthought, tables on the ground floor of Moti Mahal are squashed between the long bar and the glass frontage of the kitchen.

The tendency of Indian first courses to blur together as little brown patties was not avoided as four of us ordered four out of the five starters, but the cakes of corn, spinach and lentils and cottage cheese samosas had a nice, crisp immediacy about the frying.

When our choice of main courses was displayed on the table there was, apart from the tandoori lamb chops, a tomato-coloured, creamy sameness about all the dishes.

A cry of "Where's the chicken?" was heard at one point, but small portions (at comparatively high prices) meant that none was left. The lamb chops had that knitted texture that a too-long yogurt marinade can bring about.

Staff were friendly and attentive, but the owners will have to rethink the space and perhaps make the basement dining room a more alluring place.

Moti Mahal
Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AA