Memories Of India - Restaurant Review

As soon as I boarded my flight to London Heathrow, my Indian food cravings kicked in. London’s Indian food is the next best thing to India, I’ve been told, so I was excited to find out.

By the time I landed, cleared UK border control, checked in to my hotel, gained an understanding of my location in the city center, freshened up, and bought theatre tickets for the next night, it was almost 4:00 p.m. London time. Because of the time difference, I was ready for breakfast, but the rest of London was digesting a big, late Sunday brunch, eating an ice cream cone in one of the lush, spring blossomed-filled parks, or having a late afternoon pint on a small table outside a public house. Luckily after a short stroll through Hyde Park, I stumbled upon Memories of India.

There were no patrons at 5:00 p.m. this afternoon, but the menu looked good and prices seemed reasonable. Plus it was happy hour from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. which meant 25% off meals and two for one drinks. I ordered myself a pint of Kingfisher (a typical Indian beer) and vegetable samosa appetizer while perusing the menu.

Samosas are one of my most favorite foods, so it’s an appetizer I order almost every time I go to an Indian restaurant. The samosas at Memories of India were different than any I had ever eaten in New York, Minneapolis, Boston, or Florida. Two delicate triangles, much smaller than other samosas, placed next to a bed of greens arrived. The waiter, who had encouraged me into the restaurant while examining the menu outside earlier, brought out four large bowls of accompaniments for the appetizer: raita, a yogurt, cucumber, mint sauce commonly found with Indian food (which he recommended for the samosas); chutneyed hot peppers; diced onions with mint; and a mango jelly-like plum sauce (that I finally tried at the end of the meal which made a great little dessert!).

The samosas were light and airy, the outer shell more like the shell of baklava than a heavily deep fried shell as most of the samosas I had tasted back in the States. And there were no potatoes inside, but instead carrots, peas, sautéed onions, corn and Indian spices blended together. So far so good.

When I finished my appetizer I was brought a warm towel heavily scented of fresh lemon to clean my hands. As I waited for the main course I noticed the quiet Indian music in the background, mellow but seductive. White tablecloths covered the light wicker furniture. Accolades for Memories of India dating back to 1991 covered the front window of the restaurant. A burner lit by a single candle was placed on my table. Shortly after, my main course arrived: a side dish-sized order of sag punir and regular nan.

It was definitely the best sag punir I had ever had. The spinach was oozing in a delicious savory butter, curry, and spice sauce. The “cottage cheese” as most Indian restaurants describe the cheese in this dish was softer than I’ve ever experienced, but was lightly sautéed on the outside before being mixed in with the spinach, giving it a slightly crispy outer layer. The nan was charred to perfection: just a little bit of black. I had no problem finishing the entire meal, but wished I had ordered some basmati rice to soak up the rich buttery sauce of the sag punir. Because it was mixed with curry, there was still yellow traces of it underneath my finger nails that I noticed as I began to type this restaurant review. :)

I was presented with a large (for an Indian restaurant) menu of dessert selections, from chocolate hazelnut sundaes to mango lassis. Unfortunately, I had no room in my belly, but lots of walking yet to do, so I passed. (I did, however, stop for a ginger and dark chocolate chunk cookie at Ben’s Cookies near the South Kensington tube line – yum!)

My overall take on Memories of India: The waiter was a bit pushy on trying to upsell menu items and be sure I was aware that the restaurant has been around for 20+ years. But the food was tasty and I thought the portions were a nice fit to the price. I wouldn’t go back since I don’t spend much time in London and there are many other Indian restaurants to tackle. But if you come across Memories of India and need your Indian spice fix, I recommend stopping in.