La Porte des Indes – Marble Arch

K and I came here back in 2001 (when we worked together in the Marble Arch area) and thoroughly enjoyed it. We remembered it being ‘posh Indian’ (as opposed to the street food kind of Indian cafés that are popular currently) but we hadn’t been back until now. Hey ho, that’s London – there’s so much choice.

La Porte des Indes differentiates itself from other Indian restaurants by offering French-Creole influenced dishes from Pondicherry, a former French colony in India, in a relaxing, stylish environment. There’s a soothing waterfall wall feature, a marble staircase and Indian furnishings everywhere (see photos here).

And on this occasion, we were after an up-market Indian restaurant in the Marble Arch area so it met our requirements. Time to re-visit.

Lamb rasoul – puff pastry parcels

Parsee fish – sole fillets steamed in banana leaves

We started off with cocktails and – for a starter – I had lamb rasoul, curry puffs with lamb and green peas, served with a sweet and spicy créole sauce @ £8.00, while K had parsee fish, fillets of sole encased in a mint and coriander chutney and lightly steamed in banana leaves (Chef Mehernosh Mody’s speciality) @ £12.00.

Samudri thali – a taster selection of seafood dishes

Shahi thali – a taster selection of meaty dishes

For main course, I had a samudri thali “a galaxy of seafood for the adventurous” @ £26.00 (included blackened salmon, a monkfish curry dish, rice, potatoes, etc) and K had a shahi thali “a royal feast of tantalising curries and tandoori specialities” also @ £26.00 (included a chicken curry and a lamb curry along with rice and veggies etc), and G had a selection of side veggie dishes (sag paneer @ £8, Bombay aloo @ £8, a mushroom curry @ £8, basmati rice @ £4 and naan bread @ £3.50).

Inside La Porte des Indes

For dessert, S had Indian tamarind sorbet @ £6.50 and G had Belgian chocolate mousse @£8.50.

Tamarind sorbet – seriously good, kinda tangy and completely unlike any other flavour of ice-cream or sorbet

Belgian chocolate mousse

Including a bottle of Chenin blanc South African dry white wine @ £29.00, our total bill for four came to £243.58.

The verdict: it’s not cheap but you get what you pay for – really good Indian food that’s a bit different. And waiting staff are very professional and attentive.

Restaurant info:
~ Lardbutty rating: 4 / 5
~ Type: Indian (posh Indian)
~ Address: 32 Bryanston Street, London
~ Postcode: W1H 7EG
~ Nearest station: Marble Arch
~ Website + menus: La Porte des Indes website
~ Photos on flickr: images of La Porte des Indes
~ Location: La Porte des Indes map