London: The East End Regenerates - Eat at Est.India London

Home is where your heart is and although I wasn't born in London my heart really beats here.  There is something happening to areas in London in the form of a regeneration and the area around Borough Market (nearest Underground station is London Bridge) is really alive, vibrant and full of energy.

As my friend Nayna who writes at Simply Sensational Food and I searched for the restaurant Est.India London we were going to review we discovered a part of East London neither of us had known before. Flat Iron Square and Union Street have some great looking buildings, a case of  'New London' which is really 'Old London'.

And on a small triangle opposite the entrance to Flat Iron Square we found Est.India London the restaurant we were looking for -

From the outside it was busy with people sitting at tables enjoying the warm, sultry summer evening, trains passing overhead and the noise of revelers drinking and eating at the establishments in Flat Iron Square. If you want a relaxed atmosphere and a lovely meal you should pop in!

We were warmly welcomed. Poppadoms were delivered to the table.

For our starters I chose the Stuffed Paneer, beautifully presented however I felt it was a bit dry.

Nayna picked the Vegetable Samosa.

We liked our starters but were not bowled over.  Then the main courses arrived and the real fun began!  I often order Chicken Tikka Masala but really this can be hit or miss in my local Indian restaurants.  This however was superb.  The chicken was tender and moist and the masala sauce really tasty, buttery and creamy. I also had a pilau rice and a side order of raitha, the yogurt and cucumber sauce so essential to any good Indian meal.

When the owner came over for a chat I mentioned that the paneer I had for a starter was a bit dry.  He asked us to try the Kedai Paneer - wow it was amazing; the paneer was served in a tasty sauce with big chunks of green pepper. It was a bit spicy but not too much for my little taste buds. Full of flavour and really moist.  He explained that the paneer was made on site.

Nayna who is a vegetarian ordered the Sag Aloo - spinach and potato dish along with pilau rice and raitha. The Sag Aloo was served so beautifully in a bowl that complemented the colours really well (you don't expect a spinach dish to look so lovely)!

Lately when I eat out I am too full for a pudding or dessert. After this meal I was full but really fancied something refreshing so I ordered the Mango Sorbet.  Three large scoops of refreshing and home made mango sorbet.  The flavour was so natural and creamy and very, very refreshing.  (Nayna ordered the Pistaccio Kulfi Stick.)

The management were really friendly and went out of their way to make sure we had a really lovely meal.

I would certainly come back here for a meal and would really like Mr R to experience this fantastic food as well.  I want to discover more of the new East End of London!

I was a guest of Est.IndiaLondon.  I was not required to write a positive review.  As usual all opinions and photographs are my own.  None of my photos may be reproduced in any form without my written permission.

Read Nayna's review click here!