East India Company

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops. This review is taken from the 2007 edition.

Entering East India Company via a short, narrow staircase brings you into a candle-lit basement restaurant, an atmospheric room of dark wood, Raj-influenced knick knacks and old colonials staring down from the walls. Menus are fairly familiar, and, for the most part, you'll find pleasant, dependable dishes. The chickpeas in the chana puri come in a tasty sauce, and a sizeable vegetable thali contains one spicy chickpea dish, one mushroom-dominated vegetable dish and one potato dish, as well as accompanying rice and chapati. Starters of spinach and paneer dumplings are a touch on the bland side, tasting mostly of potato, and the chicken pasanda, although it is rightly mild and creamy, could do with a bit more zing. Naan breads are spot-on though: puffy and doughy, with just enough buttery ghee. If decision-making isn't your strength, or you have a bigger appetite than wallet, you might want to try the all-you-can-eat buffet, which offers a good selection of dishes. To complete the sub-continental experience, finish up with Indian dessert favourites mango kulfi or gulab jaman.

• High point: Stylish surroundings
• Low point: Some dishes a bit lacking in flavour