Darjeeling Express

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558 reviews

#983 of 21,318 Restaurants in London££ - £££, Indian, Asian, Vegetarian friendly

+44 20 3375 3772+ Add website

Hours

Sun

12:00 - 15:00

Mon

18:00 - 21:00

Tue

18:00 - 21:00

Wed

12:00 - 15:0018:00 - 21:00

Thu

12:00 - 15:0018:00 - 21:00

Fri

12:00 - 15:0017:00 - 21:00

Sat

12:00 - 15:0017:00 - 21:00

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MICHELIN

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Ratings and reviews

4.5

558 reviews

#983 of 21,318 Restaurants in London

Travellers' Choice 2024

MICHELIN

View more on MICHELIN Guide

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Indian, Asian, Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

“Exceptional and authentic Indian cuisine”

“... Aloo parathas, Tamarind Dal, Prawn Malaikari and Beef Tamatar Kofta.”

“Both Paneer and Prawns were fantastic for main.”

“Food was good, staff great, but the Thali style with all coming at once, whis...”

Location and contact

2.4 Kingly Court, Carnaby Street, London W1B 5PW England

Covent Garden

+44 20 3375 3772

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MICHELIN Guide's Point of View

The cooking of Kolkata and chef-owner Asma Khan’s Mughal ancestry inform the menu at this bright and breezy restaurant on the top floor of the perennia...

Read more on MICHELIN Guide

Details

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About

Home-style Indian regional food cooked by an all female kitchen. All the recipes are family dishes taught by mothers and grandmothers none of the women cooking are professional chefs.

CUISINES

Indian, Asian

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Non-smoking restaurants, Gift Cards Available

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4.5

558 reviews

Excellent

353

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Techno_Pig

Redbourn77 contributions

Excellent food

Feb 2020 • none

Went here whilst working nearby on the recommendation of a friend who’d been a few times before. They opened at 6pm and we had to wait 5 minutes to be seated as it wasn’t quite 6. First in and within 10 minutes it was packed. The reason for this is the food is amazing and authentic. The menu is not extensive and has a good mix of vegan, vegetarian and meat options for starters, sides and mains. I paid £26.50 for Bihari Phulki (lentil fritters), Jeera Paneer and some wild rice. More expensive than a bog standard Indian but this wasn’t bog standard Indian food. I tried a colleagues starter of mutton kabab and it was melt in the mouth. They added 12.5% service to the bill which I don’t agree with (we were a table of six) as I pay service anyway if the service is good, I don’t agree with it being forced on the customer. Apart from that a very enjoyable experience with excellent food. Highly recommended if you’re in the carnaby street area.

Written 27 February 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dajzi13

Ljubljana1171 contributions

Lived up to the expectations

Feb 2020 • family

After restaurants are featured on the Chef’s Table, everything goes up: demand, prices, expectations. I watched the Darjeeling episode on the evening before traveling to London. It was clear that we won’t get a reservation, but tried our luck as walk-ins. Being there at 11:40 helped and we had a wonderful lunch. The chili prawns were a star; the staff was even kind enough to put one more on the plate, so that the three of us could share them without a fight. The prawns were actually so got, that we repeated the order despite having plenty of food on the table already. Puchkas were equally delicious, with the tamarind water adding another layer of flavor and juiciness. The channa chaat was good; we just didn’t fancy the sweet tamarind sauce too much. We equally enjoyed all the main dishes: chicken thighs with tomatoes, paneer, and the goat curry. The latter was a great example of the Japanese kokumi concept; cooked slowly and full of flavor. Spicy potatoes deserve their name, but in a mix of all the dishes, the heat was manageable. The setting is lovely, comfy, and goes well along with the food which feels like being cooked at home. Service was very efficient and kind; the only complaint overall is the service charge of 12.5%. Why don’t they simply raise the prices? And yes, buy the book!

Written 29 February 2020

Drunken Foodie

London11 contributions

Nothing short of exceptional.

Feb 2020 • couples

Nothing short of exceptional. After hearing about the restaurant and its background on Chef’s Table, I was incredibly keen to visit. I am always keen to support women-run businesses - particularly those which have an all female staff (mainly made up of migrant women!) I’d waited for four months for the booking, having decided to book it for my anniversary with my partner. Everything was exceptional. The food, the service and the price were all excellent value for money. The menu was simple, yet varied. It had none of the curries you would expect at a curry house and enough variety to make us want to try everything. We had the Tangra prawns and the mutton kebab to start. The prawns were cooked to perfection, with a great texture and a wonderful seasoning. The mutton was incredibly rich and flavoursome and melted in your mouth. For mains, we got the jeera paneer and the goat curry. I preferred the goat curry, finding it more flavoursome and a lot spicier (which I love). The goat was tender and fell apart easily with every spoonful. Personally, I found the paneer to be too yogurty, but my partner loved it; I think it’s about individual preferences for curries because they were both delicious and flavoursome. The rice was wonderfully grainy and well cooked and not dry and the bread was moist without being greasy (despite being deep fried). Honestly, could not fault the sides at all. The portions are very generous so we were mega stuffed for dessert. My partner got a lassi with his main, which was wonderfully milky and rich. The service was great and attentive. Nothing took very long to arrive and everything was very calm and breezy. For such as prestigious restaurant, I loved how relaxed, welcoming and comfortable the atmosphere was. The bill was very reasonable, coming to £72 for me and my partner, with service for two starters, two mains and a drink each. I honestly wish I could come here more often and will be booking the next available date to come again and try some more of the amazing menu. Do not miss an opportunity to visit!

Written 19 February 2020

Qaiss2012

London7 contributions

Big disappointment

Mar 2021 • couples

I was really looking forward to sampling some of the food on offer at Darjeeling Express, having read universally glowing critic reviews. My wife and I tried twice unsuccessfully to visit the restaurant when it was at its previous location near Carnaby Street, but alas without a reservation they couldn't accommodate us. Finally with the pandemic dragging its heels we settled on a takeaway from its Deli menu with a degree of excitement. We have rarely been so disappointed. The rice was perfectly cooked as were the prawns in our Prawn Malai. Sadly, all I could taste was overly heavy cream and the sweetness of the coconut cream and tomato. I expected a lot better but this was something akin to a supermarket bought ready meal. The Mutton Kati Roll was bland and we've had much better versions of the Puchka. The Dahi Papri Chaat was tasty but even this lacked the combination and depth of flavours available elsewhere, at Masala Zone for instance. Ultimately we were very disappointed and were left wondering what all the fuss is about. What we had was either simply unaccomplished or too Anglicised despite claiming authenticity. We've had one or two similar experiences in highly rated restaurants before. What these places have in common is food that can neither offer the honest robustness of say New Tayyabs in Whitechapel nor the sophisticated complexity of Indian Accent or Jamavar in Mayfair. I really wanted to like the food at Darjeeling Express. I had hoped the owner, Asma Khan, whose culture, language and ethnicity I share would better represent some of the food I grew up eating and still enjoy at home.

Written 25 March 2021

Ashley H

London4 contributions

Perfectly Average

Dec 2020 • couples

I had high hopes for this restaurant after seeing it on Netflix's Chef's Table. And, after our first booking was cancelled the night London's first lockdown was implemented, we arrived on December 9th after a year of waiting. Darjeeling had moved venues over this period and had implemented tasting menus, which are two choices I believe have greatly impacted their offering. The Biriyani tasting menu does come in at £95, which is quite a hefty sum. However, as it was my birthday, my partner and I justified the price for the occasion. But we were left underwhelmed. Several of our dishes were delivered cold or barely luke warm. As the 8 course tasting menu was served 2 courses at a time, we wondered if this was due to a delay in uneven cooking times for the dishes. But, it also made the entire experience feel rushed and the table crowded. I can't complain about the flavours of the food. The spices were perfectly balanced and the accompanying sides complimentary. But, the dumpling wrappers felt dry and chewy, as if they had been left out for too long. And the dessert, a bread fried in ghee and then soaked in milk, left a little to be desired, compared to our neighbours' apricots and ice cream. The biriyani (which, was a primary reason we came) was seasoned well and had perfectly fluffy rice. But our portion only had a few small pieces of lamb. And, over all, the delivery lacked any theatrics and sentiment portrayed in the Netflix series. The diners got know sense of the time or effort put in to the creation of the dish! What had intrigued me about visiting this particular restaurant was the air of authenticity and warmth that was portrayed in the Netflix series. However, I did not sense this same air in our sitting. The loss of the open kitchen and the new layout makes it feel like any other restaurant in London. We saw Asma greet a select couple of tables but no one else. This new space seems to be too big for her to greet everyone, which is a shame as her personality seemed to be a key selling feature. Overall, I was underwhelmed by the experience. And for the £95 would not return.

Written 9 December 2020

jm3654

1 contribution

Shambolic

Jun 2021 • none

Not quite sure where to start. Our food took well over an hour to come (when it did, a waitress spilt a bottle of beer over it). Service was shambolic. The chef/owner came out to apologise to the whole restaurant, and we at first felt sympathetic. But the food, when it did arrive, was nothing special, and at the prices charged it needed to be much better than that. It's very difficult to feel sympathy for long when the bill runs to £75 per head. If they are going to charge those kind of prices (£17 for a cocktail?!) then the kitchen and front of house has to run smoothly. Save your money and go to Dishoom round the corner - the food is much better and miles cheaper.

Written 24 June 2021

Darjeeling Express

Dear Shambolic, I am really sorry to read about your experience. Our Royal Thalis, which combines both starters and mains in one large platter, does take a bit longer to cook due to the number of elements cooked, especially when a lot of order comes together and I can only apologise about the extra delay and the beer issue. That being said, unlike Dishoom, our food isn't cooked in dark kitchens and dispatched through London, but all the ingredients are freshly prepared everyday from scratch by the same team Asma built from scratch. It takes time, and indeed cost slightly more to be ethical. DE team

Written 26 June 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Goingsomewhere

London7 contributions

So disappointing

Feb 2022 • none

Sadly the Darjeeling Express ethos has not been successfully translated within this new location and no amount of references to passion and flavour can justify the staggering prices charged. It looks like this hulking great Covent Garden establishment has got the better of them. Possibly listed building regs have prevented the space from being opened up to create a visual link between the kitchen and the customer which added charm to the previous location. And, of course, the rent must be huge. The interior doesn't hang together either - the general ambience is unimaginative and not very comfy. But the main thing is the food isn't it? Was the Royal Thali (at £55 pp) dazzling and delicious? Not quite. The starters - a trio of bowls containing prawns, lamb patties and a very uninspiring salad - seemed meagre, dry, unadventurous. Was that it? We waited a long time for the main course which was a more generous selection of dishes but nothing outstanding. There was a pleasant hint of prawn stock in the prawn curry but it was overwhelmed by too much cream. Service was sweet enough but lacked that all important confidence and pride to convey the ethos of the food. The Darjeeling Express website says that their food is cooked with passion 'with the aim to nourish your body and soul'. Nourish is a lovely word but 'disappoint' would be more apt.

Written 15 February 2022

ArunRatnam

London326 contributions

Superb food, but very small portions. Desserts a let down

Nov 2021 • none

Lunch on a Wednesday. We had not booked earlier, and found that we were lucky as we landed up at the opening time. Wednesdays are busy days, and the place was soon filling up. A large restaurant, with minimal decor , well lit. Pleasantly received, swiftly seated, menus produced. Still and sparkling water is complimentary, a nice touch, as only tap water is free usually in most places. Simple lunch menu, easy to choose. We chose a potato and cashew toastie cake and a vada pav, but were told shortly that the toastie was not available, so decided on the puchka instead. For mains we two decided to share a kala channa with rice , and also ordered one mirch ka salan as a side. The puchkas were well done but mild, would have prefered a bit more of spice, and the vada of the vada pav was very good, like a Alu Bonda, but the pav ridiculously small, and the vada spilling out of it from all sides. Food takes a while to arrive, but the kala channa , the rice and the mirch ka salan were utterly out of this world, this is the best part of the dining experience today. The service is quietly efficient , unobtrusive, but rather slow . The rice was beautifully fluffy and light, the mirch salan rather sweet with a kick of chili and spice, the channa was tomato-ey but delicious. Do note that the quantities of all the dishes are ridiculously small, dont be misled by the description of the item as a "large plate" ..... For dessert we went for a Carrot Halwa and a Koobani ka Meetha the hyderabadi special sweet. The halwa was barely a tablespoon ful. The biggest disappointment was the Koobani ka Meetha which was basically stewed apricots in sugar syrup. The traditional dish should be almost like a fruit compote or jam, this one was miles from it all, and nowhere near what it should look and taste like. I could also barely see any sprinkling of almonds or other nuts. My recommendation : avoid the desserts, and order a lot of food if you are hungry . Starters AND mains are very small portions .

Written 10 November 2021

Darjeeling Express

Dear Arun, Many thanks for this thorough review of your visit. Just to address the portion issue, it seems that this depends on appetite. More often than not, we have to give people take away boxes as they can't finish the food they ordered. The Koobani is cooked in the traditional way from Nizam's palace in India. The jammy way you describe is the way it is done in Pakistan but this is good information for readers so they don't expect a different item. Julien Angot General Manager

Written 17 November 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Mister_Lloyd

Hornchurch3090 contributions

Amazing Thali Lunch

Jun 2021 • couples

We were looking for somewhere quick for lunch before heading to see Hairspray the musical when low and behold we noticed that only five minutes walk away was Darjeeling Express run by Asma Khan. When we also noticed that they were doing a Thali lunch menu we booked our one hour time slot straight away. This led us to saturday when we headed through covent garden to the corner of garrick street to where the restaurant is located. On entering we received a lovely warm welcome before being escorted to our table. We ordered a drink while we looked at the menu. As I said this was a Thali Lunch menu only where you had the choice from five different Thali’s. There was a Methi Chicken , Tamatar Gosht (lamb) , Bengali Prawn , Badaami Baingan (aubergine) & Kala Chanda ( chickpeas). These all came with a selection of sides Lentil Fritters , Potato & Peas cooked with cumin , Channa Dal , Lemon Rice , Tamatar Chutney & Poppadoms. Each Thali is priced at £20 and is great value for money. There is also an option to add extra sides if you so wish. We ordered the Chicken & Lamb Thali’s plus a couple of extra sides. These were the Mirchi Ka Salaan (green chillies , onion gravy , curry leaves , peanuts , coconut & sesame seeds) & Parathas. I can can tell you now that everything was absolutely delicious. The flavours in every dish were amazing that left your palate dancing with delight. We followed this by ordering the two desserts on the menu. The Gajar Ka Halwa ( carrots cooked slowly in milk with pistachios & cream) and the Khoobani Ka Meetha ( stewed apricots with pistachio & coconut cream. Together with these we finished with a Green Tea and Masala Chai. This brought to an end an absolutely fabulous lunch and on the back of this when we got home I immediately booked us in to return for one of their Supper Clubs. I have to say I would highly recommend a visit here as the food and service was excellent. Thank You Asma for a fabulous lunch and look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Written 6 July 2021

Darjeeling Express

Many thanks for leaving us a review and visiting us. We love thorough reviews and it definitely helps other customers to make a choice to visit, especially when as enthusiastic as yours. We will see you soon at the SupperClub DE Team

Written 14 July 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

John M

Spennymoor54 contributions

Tamarind trauma

Jul 2021 • none

Firstly the positive, the restaurant manager on the night we visited, Thursday 15 July, handled the issue I raised very well, otherwise it would have been 1 star. 3 of our party of 4 chose the set dinner menu, I chose the vegetarian thali but was told by our waiter that it was only available if we all had it! Why is there no mention of this on the menu? We had booked after checking what was available and as I'm vegetarian I wanted the thali as it had variety lacking in the set menu options. I therefore chose, somewhat reluctantly, from the set menu 2 starters and a main. The choice wasn't great. If this is genuine Indian food why can a high end Indian restaurant not offer more vegetarian options as there are millions of vegetarians in India and many very tasty vegetarian dishes from that country. When my 2 starters arrived they were virtually indistinguishable in flavour and ingredients with chickpeas, sev, wheat crackers and TAMARIND featuring prominently. The main difference was one was served cold and the other was cold in places and tepid in others. Flavour wise they were dominated by the tamarind liberally applied to both dishes. Had I been blindfolded I couldn't have separated them flavour wise. I sent back the tepid to cool dish and a fresh one was brought but it was exactly the same and I found it inedible, cloying and sticky and lacking in any subtlety in flavour, but great if you like tamarind I guess. At this point I informed a staff member we would not be continuing with our order due to the poor quality of the food but offered to pay for the drinks we had had, 3 beers at £8.50 each and a cocktail at £17, yes SEVENTEEN and it was nothing special. The manager did her best to appease me and offered alternatives but the limited menu meant there weren't any for a pesky veggie so I declined her offer. She said as I wasn't happy she wouldn't charge for the drinks so credit to her for that. It's a pity the food didn't match however. The starters my 3 companions had were OK but nothing to enthuse over. I think we've all enjoyed better food from the sub continent at a fraction of these prices and without conditions being attached as to what we could and couldn't order. Maybe we were unlucky on the night and maybe it was a question of taste as the restaurant was packed but we found the whole experience very disappointing and the service, manager aside, sadly lacking. Seems to me like a place resting on it's reputation and in need of a rethink and refresh. Won't be back and as a lover of Indian food there are better options available elsewhere.

Written 18 July 2021

Darjeeling Express

Dear John, many thanks your thorough review and kind words about Monika, our manager on the evening. We are really sorry to read that the experience and this feedback regarding vegetarian option has been passed on to the Chef. As you mentioned we have 100s of happy customers every night so it could have been a one-off. DE team

Written 19 July 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Crowen142

6 contributions

The best Indian we've ever had !!

Jan 2020 • none

Absolutely delicious food and very different flavors. We loved the chickpea starter served with cold water and the chicken in tomato and dill. Highly recommend a visit for a different experience of Indian food.

Written 8 January 2020

TomMautner

London139 contributions

Delicious, authentic Indian food!

Aug 2021 • none

Darjeeling Express is clearly a huge success - and so it should be. On a Wednesday evening, every table was fully booked from opening to closing time! Unlike so many restaurants where the celebrity chef patron is present only in name, Asma Khan was there all evening, cooking for her guests and chatting to customers. I was born and raised in India and so I am VERY fussy about my Indian food, and DE did not disappoint. Everything we ate was absolutely delicious and beautifully presented by the helpful, friendly and knowledgeable staff. One of our party is a vegetarian, and also allergic to gluten. Dishes were modified without fuss to accommodate her, and were still really good. Between us, we had four different starters, four different main courses and three desserts and a great deal of tasting of each others' dishes took place. Everyone liked everything, which is amazing, Be warned: you'll find it hard to get a reservation at short notice. Be warned, DE is not cheap - I paid just over £250 for four set menus and some drinks. But it;s SO worth it!! Well done, Asma and the whole team. We shall be back!

Written 18 August 2021

Darjeeling Express

Dear Tom, Many thanks for this thorough and honest review. We try our best to accommodate special dietary requirement and get Asma out of the kitchen ! We look forward to welcome you back, maybe for one of our Biryani Sunday Supper Club DE team

Written 31 August 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Dave R

Rochester41 contributions

Great food, poor sevice

Jan 2022 • none

The food at Darjeeling Express was fantastic, there's some great dishes on the menu, including the Tangra Prawns, which are a must. The service, however, was disappointing. We had an opening-time table, but each course took a very long time to arrive, despite several larger tables being seated and served after us. Birthday and retirement celebrants among our party were offered complimentary drinks, and further were offered to compensate for the slow service, but all of these were then charged on our bill along with a hefty service charge.

Written 23 January 2022

Darjeeling Express

Dear Dave, I am sorry to hear about your experience and delays with food. Our food does take a bit longer than most places but this should have been addressed and not recharged to your bill which seems to be a mistake after talking with the team. Once again please accept our apology for this shortfall in service. Julien Angot General Manager

Written 27 January 2022

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Kamran C

London2 contributions

Chicken biryani for 4 persons

Feb 2021 • none

Our son ordered the chicken biryani delivery as a special treat for his parents. We are Bengali and still live there and I have to express my utter disappointment. This is what we would call Murg Pulao (chicken white biryani) at home. Unfortunately there was no fragrance nor flavouring which one would expect and it was more like boiled chicken and rice, where normally the chicken would be well marinated beforehand. In addition there were only cheaper cuts of chicken thighs, whereas for the price one would expect chicken breast on the bone etc.With an authentic chicken biryani one would serve a cucumber raitha and a salad, with no need for the tomato chutney or mirch ka salaan which affects the taste of the dish. Sadly the local Indian restaurant would make a better dish at less than a third of the price !

Written 27 February 2021

DharmK_13

London250 contributions

great food, but not worth all the fuss

Aug 2021 • none

Great food, excellent location, in Covent Garden. ambience was inviting. But we ordered 5 starters, hoping they were small, The staff didnt stop us and we oredred 2 main corses which came with a generous portion of 2 bowls of rice..... Too much food was an understatement, it was excellent but the waiter should have mentioned we were over ordering....

Written 8 August 2021

Darjeeling Express

Dear DhamrK_13, Many thanks for your review and visit. For the sake of people reading comments and replies, I wanted to clarify that it is far from unusual for our customers to order 4/5 starters as well as mains (and usually skipping desserts!) and giving us clean plates back. We only highlight quantities when people order the evening Thali which is huge, but this is a fair comment I will pass on the team. DE team

Written 9 August 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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