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.

Restaurant Review: The Gate Islington - A vegetarian paradise

When my vegetarian friend Nayna invited me to join her for a restaurant review of The Gate Islington, a vegetarian restaurant I was up for it.  Although we are omnivores in our family (we eat meat, fish, vegetables etc) I like to have 2 or 3 days per week without eating meat or fish and actually you don't miss it.  Mr R never complains if it is a vegetarian meal.

We went to The Gate on a Tuesday evening and were surprised to find it so packed full.  The Gate originally had one restaurant in Hammersmith before opening in Islington, a short walk from Angel Underground Station on the Northern Line.

As we went in it smelled really lovely and herb crusted if that makes sense!  It made me want to order something comforting and filling as well as delicious.

For starters Nayna had a sweet potato soup which was a beautiful orange colour and I went for the Pickled Asian Salad.  The salad was a mega pile of crunchy, vibrant and beautiful slices of candy beetroot, green papaya, heritage carrot, shimeji mushrooms, sweet peppers, frisee lettuce, fresh peach and mangetout with a sesame dressing

This dish was crispy and crunchy and required lots of chewing time, rather a good thing really as the more you chew your food the easier it is to digest.

For my main course I chose Aubergine Teriyaki which consisted of glazed and grilled teriyaki aubergine, stuffed with horseradish coriander pesto, roasted pepper, shitake mushrooms and ginger duxelles, with warm noodle salad with peppers, flat beans and carrots, and mango and coriander salsa. It was not what I was expecting (do you do this and make your mind up what something will look and taste like before seeing it?) but it was really nice, crunchy and satisfying.  It made you feel virtuous just for eating it!

We each had a side order of sweet potato wedges - these were huge and really we could have shared a portion.  At least Mr R got to sample some of this lovely meal!

Nayna had the Sweetcorn and Cilantro fritters which was served with black beans, roast pepper and grilled corn on the cob salsa, topped with char-grilled Mediterranean vegetables and chunky guacamole.

She said the sweetcorn fritter was a bit too large and thought that perhaps the dish would have been better with 2-3 small fritters. The whole plate had so much food on it she could not finish it!

We were both so full up but couldn't resist the selection of desserts.  I had Strawberry Eaton Mess swirled with a strawberry coulis.  This was the perfect end to a really lovely meal and was light and summery matching the summery weather outside perfectly!

Each of the desserts had a suggested dessert wine available by both the glass or bottle.  A dessert wine is often overlooked these days but a practice we should really revive!

You can find The Gate Islington at 370 St John Street, London EC1v 4NN (Tel: 020 7278 5483) and The Gate Hammersmith at 51 Queen Caroline Street, London W6 9QL (Tel: 020 8748 6932).

I was a guest of The Gate Islington.  I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions and photos are my own.

If you want to see what Nayna wrote about the meal just click here.