Indian Room

It was a great experience with Indian Room. I took Sheek Kebab Kabuli and Lamb Karahi. The food was so delicious that I ordered twice. As Indian Room is an old and popular restaurant in Balham, it won’t disappoint you.

I was here back in 2013. Someone I met in the tube recommended that I go here for Indian food. Said it was in a non-​touristy neighborhood. Wow they were right on both.
Great curry dishes. Great naan bread. Great service. And the place is a bit small so not the best for groups.

We arrived here after a long day at work and left smiling. The food was fantastic and the staff were friendly. They have a wide range of dishes and they are fairly reasonably priced. There is plenty of seating for large and small groups. However, it doesn’t feel overly big or small. Lovely atmosphere.

Pretty bog standard Anglo-​Indian restaurant that you don’t even need to see the menu to know what they have on offer. Think chicken tikka masala, chicken korma, lamb rogan josh. No surprises here and the food is fine.

Omg! I was gladly introduced to authentic Indian food and I’m now a fan!
The restaurant was packed on a friday evening but we were lucky to snatch a table for two. I had the curry fish, which to my suprise was not as spicy as i would have thought, with white rice and their famous bread with 3 different kind of sauces and 2 gin and tonic.
Our evening was a total delight, the staff was friendly, prices affordable for a london establishment but most of all the food was so tasty and so filling. This is def a good spot if ur having cravings for Indian food. Totally recommend.

Sitting next door to another Indian restaurant this one is always packed and next door is often quiet so they do something right. The menu selection is quite limited but what they serve they serve well and pack in some flavour. They can have trouble counting poppadoms, and they charge chutney by the person which seems a bit petty as you get the same regardless. Would still recommend dining here. It’s quite small though, so often people waiting on getting tables.

Ordered takeaway — took 45 mins but it was worth it. Chicken Lavabdor is awesome!

Tasty food, comfortable seating, Bollywood movies!
We went here for my housemate’s birthday dinner, and immediately upon walking in you are hit with a wave of warm air upon which waft incredibly delicious smells. It was a bit like walking into my Nana’s place after being out all day and needless to say I was excited from the start.
We were quickly seated near the back and the one issue I had with my seat was that the tv showing Bollywood movies was right above my head and I couldn’t watch! Unfortunate, but I do appreciate them adding that touch as all my favourite Indian places both here and the US usually stream Bollywood flicks. It’s hilarious when you introduce your dining partners to them and most people are enthralled (although it does kill the conversation… maybe a good back up in case of an awkward date?)
Now onto the food! We started off with a tray of poppadams which had a bit of a stale oil taste (too much ghee in the cooking methinks) but that was easily covered up by the delightfully tart lime pickle which we asked to be refilled twice. I would have liked to see some tamarind sauce but the mint chutney was a more than adequate substitute.
I had a lamb rogan josh for a main with garlic naan. The rogan josh was flavourful but lacking in fire. Keep note, although the menu states that a «3 fire» dish is extremely spicy (3 fire being the rare max) it is apparently designed for a milder or less experienced stomach than mine. Basically, if you are used to spicy curries, go for broke and the get the 3 fires as my 2 fires fell a bit flat. The flavours it the curry however were fresh and powerful and I cleaned my plate.
The garlic naan came out piping hot which a crunch bottom crust and soft fluffy insides. The garlic was just right without being overpowering and the level of butter also suited to a T.
Dessert was acceptable with the gulab jamun (called milk dumplings on the menu… que?) being soft and sweet but slightly grainy. The ice creams were delicious, especially the honey ginger one.
Overall, I like the place and the prices were quite reasonable. I’ll be back and maybe even stop off for take out on my way home tonight.

I was brought here on a Tuesday evening for Banquet Night (Mondays and Tuesdays). The deal is that for £11.95 you get to choose any vegetarian starter, any main dish, any side dish, any rice and a tea or coffee. We also added a few Cobra beers and some papadoms bring the eventual price to just over £40 for two. The food was excellent and I ended up completely stuffed. It’s a pretty great offer — I’d definitely go again.

We often head to this spot after work when we’re craving a good curry… or when we’re just too tired to cook for ourselves. The restaurant is always full and it’s not just because there are loads of other lazy sods in Balham – as proof, the Indian restaurant next door is perpetually empty. We haven’t ever tried it, but we’ve given them the benefit of the doubt and assumed they must survive on take-​away orders.
At the Indian Room, we tend to experiment with our orders and branch out to try unknown dishes – we’ve never been disappointed. I hope to someday have worked my way through most if not all of their dishes as each gets better than the last. (Although I’m not sure if that says more about our poor ordering skills or the restaurant’s food.) The prices are very affordable so we always over eat. Oops!
It’s also worth noting that all the folks who work in the restaurant are very very nice!
One last thing, it’s not great for groups over 6 as the space is quite small, but they will do their best to accommodate you if you do have a large group.

I fear that Indian Room may be going off the boil a little. What was once the best Indian restaurant in Balham is at risk of becoming a victim of its own success.
We recently tried to book a table and were told they weren’t taking reservations, as they wouldn’t really know when people were vacating tables. I may be wrong, but I thought this was one of the basics of running a restaurant
Also, they recently reneged on a discount delivery voucher that we had received just the week before, saying it had expired — not good form.
Having said all this, the food is still pretty good quality — although friends have reported a few bad experiences recently.
We shall be giving them the benefit of the doubt for now, but on the next slip up we’ll be finding a new local curry house.

Urban cool Indian restaurant on Bedford Hill serving a great selection of modern Indian cuisine. This place exudes class, and the feel of it is mininalist-​nightclub-​curry, with a backlit red and black sign.
Actually, it’s much nicer than that sounds, and the nightclub element is very understated. To the point of being complete exaggeration. Try the Lamb Dhansak and Sag Aloo for a medium spicy hunger-​buster, and wash it down with some of their surprisingly good house white, all for under twenty pounds a person.