Papadoms Restaurant

I had told my friends about thali restaurants back in India – massive all you can eat buffets all piled into one single plate. So when I saw this one advertising a £8.95 thali, we had to give it a shot.
For starters, though, or is not like the thali restaraunts back in India. It’s not a bigger and you are charged for any extras. But the prices are reasonable, so it all works out. All of us had the thali, and it was good. The chicken tikka was tender; lamb bhuna, delicious; and the rotis were light, soft, and fluffy. The standout for me, though, was the butter chicken. It was just perfect.
My only grouse was the service: it was too slow, especially for lunch hour on a weekday. Also, they took cards for payment from half of the group and then abruptly ran out of roll. The rest of us had to pay cash.

No, no, no.
Such a pity, really. Upon entering you feel as if it’s a cut-​above the Mom & Pop feel of other Indi-​Paki Brick Lane offerings– would’ve fit perfectly in Notting Hill or Westbourne Grove.
But the food, as pricey as it is compared to nearby deals, was unforgivable. The saag paneer was the most underwhelming I’ve ever had anywhere (how do you mess up such a tasty dish?! Add way too much onions like Papadoms) and my tamarind-​spice chicken dish was far from the knockout I thought it was.
With so many other restos nearby at much better prices (and taste), this place comes highly un-​recommended.

No bueno. Was expecting a lot more from Indian food in London. I’m sure I would have gotten better eats if I kept walking.

Despite the low reviews, I came here anyway with a large group and had a pretty good experience.
Brick Lane is notorious for its Indian/​Bangladeshi food, and the main thing you do here is negotiate for your food until you find a restaurant with a good enough deal (this is because there’s over 75 restaurants of the same kind on this street). This restaurant gave us a good deal, to include free wine and beer.
I got this dish that was minced chicken cooked with spices and onions, served in a hot pot along with rice pilaf and cheese naan (Holy crap, that cheese naan was amazing!). This dish was absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to get it again. I also tried the butter chicken which was okay, but I’m not really a fan of butter chicken. The vindaloo was perfectly spicy and the tikka masala and paneer were good too.
I definitely think it’s worth it and am surprised to see the low reviews.

Looking at the previous reviews makes me feel like Popadom’s has recently regenerated themselves as I was very impressed on my visit!
Ordered online and walked down to pick it up. One of the only curry houses on brick lane that actually look attractive outside and in. They were very welcoming when I came in and my meal was ready to go with some free popadoms and salads inside. When I got home all the food was still warm and delicious unlike some takeaway that seems like it might have been sitting them for an hour or so. I would definitely go back here for a sit in meal, especially as they offer some very competitive deals and discounts. Hopefully this review will encourage others to give Popadom’s another chance!

Avoid at all cost. The people and staff running this establishment are crooks. Warning signs — Someone hawking the establishment out front, table water being severed with broken seal, rice was an extra charge for every dish, currency fraud. Patronize at your own risk

I decided tonight was a night for curry and headed toward Brick Lane. As I walking, my first criteria was restaurants that weren’t empty. Then it became restaurants whose staff didn’t hawk their wares. Then it became about shorter menus. Bah! Next time, I’ll do some research.
Nearly each restaurant boasts «The best curry on Brick Lane» or «best 2013 chef». Hard to stand out when you’re each boasting equal accolades. I chose Papadoms because there were diners and the Chef’s specials sounded interesting. Bugger.
Well, I said no water and they brought me Voss which I ignored. I ordered a Chef’s special and a side of rice. First, these are small portions for 13 sterling. The meager rice by itself was slightly dry. The chef’s special was ok, merely providing sustenance. I will not return to this restaurant.

Before I arrived my friend had requested a starter, main, naan and drink for £10 and a deal was readily struck (which made me think more haggling was possible, but that’s pretty stressful). Pakora starter wasn’t great, little bit burnt. I got one of the special ‘award winning’ dishes which was actually pretty delicious minced chicken. I tried not to think too hard about what parts of the chicken (or other animal) had been minced, the Tesco horse meat scandal is really ruining cheap dining for me… Mango lassi was fairly good and naan was standard. Overall, not a bad option on Brick Lane. You may need to be fairly assertive with the servers to get things going.

I disagree with anyone who says the food here isn’t great. But, then again, maybe others have had more experiences sampling Indian food. London is known for good Indian restaurants, and this place is on the famous «Brick Lane» in Liverpool — only a couple of metro stops from the Tower Bridge. We found this place because some guy on the metro earlier in the day suggested Brick Lane.
So, upon arriving on Brick Lane you are literally confronted with dozens upon dozens of Indian restaurants to choose from. Staff members come outside to entice you with various specials. You can haggle and get more things included — free pints, 25% off etc. At Papadoms were negotiated two free ½ liter beers and 25% off. The total cost of the meal was less than 20 pounds and we left completely full. I didn’t even order off the men (which is extensive), but rather I asked the waiter to give me a popular chicken curry. It was delightful — the meat was tender white meat served in a yellow curry with Nan bread and rice. If we had had more time in London I think we would have tried to check out some more places on this road. My advice is to make sure to walk down a little ways before making a decision — but don’t stop to read the menus very closely on the windows as every place will put extreme pressure on you to come inside.
Oh, and if someone thinks the «price is outrageous» I honestly wonder how little they intend to pay for a decent meal. Like I said, we were completely full, could barely finish our portions, each had a ½ liter of beer and the price was substantially less than any other restaurant I saw in London.

The food is reasonable but the price, definitely outrageous. Been to a number (5+) of restaurants on Brick Lane. The prices here are way more than we’d experienced in any other location, and the food is definitely just mediocre. Couldn’t help leaving feeling ripped off. I mentioned this to the waiter in their own interest i.e. to ensure they remain competitive with peers and other similar restaurants … and he immediately offered 50% of the next meal. Hmm. This obviously made us feel even worse (knowing the food was only worth half of what we had paid). Not impressed. If you’re looking for a good quality curry on Brick Lane then go for Bengal Village. The price might look higher on initial inspection but the quality elsewhere than Papadoms (anywhere other) is worth it.

The food ordered was great. Their service along with their attitude is perfect.

The consensus of previous reviews is that this place is good, not great, and I would have to agree. A bit pricey for what you get, but the food is good and the staff is nice. A decent place, but there are better spots, especially on Brick Lane.

Good enough. They’ll give you a deal if you act disinterested (true of any joint on brick lane) — percentage off and/​or free drinks of some sort. Food is not special, but alright.
Free wifi.
Prices about standard (£8−9 for entrees).

I came to visit London on the 27^th of April, and it just so happened that we went on a tour that evening in the East End of London. Our tour guide suggested to go on Brick Lane to check out the Indian food there. Somehow, the man on the street convinced us to go to Papadoms. He said we would get 20% off and a round of free drinks.
I had the lamb biryani — and it was absolutely delish. I thoroughly enjoyed the riec and it was very flavourful. My friend had ordered a chef’s special that was absolutely delicious (but sadly, I cannot remember its name).
The garlic naan was REALLY good. I would definitely suggest for that.
However, service wasn’t the best. I couldn’t really understand one of our waiters, and it took them forever to bring out my mango lassi. Prices were decent, but I think we could’ve paid a bit less.
However, comparatively speaking to the Indian food we have here in Toronto, this was really good.

I honestly didn’t think this place was that bad.
My boyfriend and I came here after seeing a sign outside the door which stated that their curry had won some type of award in some type of festival (marketing at it’s best). The place was completely empty but then again, it was also around 4pm. I had ordered the Rogan Josh and my boyfriend had ordered the Korma and both were very tasty but the best dish was definitely the naan. It was crispy and soft at the same time with a nice sweet flavor to it.
I do have to agree that it was overpriced and the service was somewhat lacking. I think that next time I go to Brick Lane I will probably go to one of the more hole in the wall type establishments. Their curry probably tastes the same for half the price.

This place is so bad that it made me determined enough to spend 10 minutes finding the qype entry to give it a bad review.
Met friends there who had been lured in by a £10 meal deal (presumably some kind of cash thing so they could avoid paying tax).
Greasy mains, bland and uninspiring starters. Lamb bhuna tasted like a bad school dinner and had obviously been made with the cheapest meat they could find.
Service was asonishingly, blatantly rude. Plates were snatched away mid-​bite and when a friend asked for cutlery he was told by the waiter to use someone else’s who wasn’t eating. The waiters on the whole gave the impression that if you didn’t like it then hard luck.
If it wasn’t located almost opposite the main tourist entrance into Brick Lane, there’s no way that it would still be running.

I came here with four other girls. I didn’t want to go in, but my friends were seduced by the £10 set meal deal they offered us (poppadom, two drinks, a starter, a main dish, and rice/​naan), so I reluctantly followed them inside. The restaurant itself is pretty nice inside, but make no mistake; this is a mediocre restaurant posing as an upscale one. The waiters were rude and barely managed to contain their irritation when I said I wanted a moment to decide what to order. The food was VERY mediocre — my lamb kebab starter was too greasy/​salty and looked/​tasted like sausage, the samosas were tiny and filled with just peas, and my chicken korma was nothing special. If you’re looking for filling food and have some cash to blow, come here; otherwise, stay far away. I’d much rather spend the same amount of money on an equally filling meal at New Tayyabs.
(One positive thing: the chocolate they gave us after the meal was really good)

What a terrible experience! I had invited a group of friends to an Art exhibition that I was exhibiting in and a curry. I have always had a good experience on Brick Lane and thought that Popadoms looked great. They tempted my friends in with 2 free drinks and they sat down. there were about 10 of us but it took the waiter 45 minutes to take the order, we then waited for 45 minutes for the food. When it arrived it was luke warm. The restaurant was quite busy but not crazily so. The waiter was rude, got the drinks order wrong and then had a go at us for it.
Never again!

What a disaster! I get annoyed just thinking about this place, but will write a review anyway for the sake of others.
We tried to order a mango lassi. «Sorry, we’re out of that» (It’s only 7:30 pm). I try to order a small beer. «Sorry, we’re out of that.» I order another one, and they’re «out of that too». Supposedly all they have are «large» beers left… it seems like a dirty trick to get you to buy a large beer. After I look really annoyed, the guy suddenly decides that «for you, you can have a small beer.»
The «papadom» at the beginning was decent, but that was about the only thing. We ordered the «award winning» fish dish, and it was a disastrous bony mélange of old fish and lousy sauce. Other dishes were similarly bad and overpriced. The whole meal was 40 pounds and we didn’t even get dessert. I had to wait FOREVER at the end just to get the check.
This is one of the worst restaurants I’ve been to in my life, and overpriced at that!

I don’t usually like to give a place a bad review but this was the first truly bland Indian food I’ve had on Brick Lane. We had a range of dishes, mushroom baji, sag aloo, and veggie curry. All very heavily oily and not spiced particularly well. The service was OK and the staff were friendly but the food took forever to come.
To add insult to injury, my husband ended up with a spot of food poisoning, which we think was from a sauce that I didn’t have for the papadoms.
I’d recommend avoiding this one, especially with so many other great restaurants very near.