London: Mango Indian Restaurant - A Review

London is such a fantastic place for food and Mango Indian Restaurant which is just a 5 minute walk from London Bridge Station on the Jubilee Line was a wonderful restaurant to review on one of the hottest evenings of the year. I was invited to review Mango and my friend and fellow blogger Nayna from Simply Sensational Food accompanied me.

I was lovely to arrive when it was still light outside and we were seated at a window seat which meant great light for taking photos - a blogger's dream!

We had poppadoms with the usual accompaniment like the very thinly sliced onion, mango pickle and raita - yoghurt and mint sauce. Nayna was really taken by the red sauce which was too hot for me however she asked the waiter for the recipe!

For some reason I thought I didn't like paneer - an Indian cheese however I have been trying it when an opportunity arises and I find I really do like it.  I even chose it for my starter - Aachari Paneer (V) slices of paneer marinated with pickling spices and slow cooked in the tandoor oven.

Nayna had the Aloo Tikki (V) - typical Mumbai street food - potatoes and chick peas spiced with fresh coriander and cumin seeds served with a coriander & mint chutney.  We swapped a bit of each so I do know how tasty this one was too.

I often order a biryani in Indian restaurants but have never had it served the traditional way with a dough cover.  The cover creates a steaming environment which not only cooks the chicken but keeps it moist and tasty.

You don't eat the dough cover but once you pull it back you smell the lovely aroma and digging into the bowl you find huge chunks of lovely tender chicken. A biryani includes the rice therefore only a bowl of raita is needed as an accompaniment.

Nayna is a vegetarian so she ordered the pilau rice and three vegetable dishes.

The dishes selected were (from the front) Dall Makhni - black lentils in a creamy sauce, Sag Aloo - Baby potatoes and spinach lightly spiced with garlic and cumin seeds and Dhai Baingon - Baby aubergine cooked with yoghurt, lightly spiced with turmeric and fresh coriander.

The bread basket was a mixture of naan breads all freshly cooked and very delicious.

We were unable to eat all of the food as the portions were really generous so ended up with takeaway boxes as we made our way home.  Since we were full we didn't try the puddings however they offer traditional desserts like Matka Kulfi and Gulab Jamon and lighter things like sorbets and gelato.

We dined there on a Tueaday evening not expecting it to be heaving but almost every table was full and there was a great atmosphere. I would certainly dine there again if I was in the Borough Market area!

If you want to read Nayna's account of the meal click here for her review.

I was an invited guest at Mango Indian Restaurant.  I was not expected to write a positive review.  As usual all opinions and photography are my own and no photographs may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.