The Cardamom Room Wanstead

This restaurant is a must visit place esp for special occasions. The service was absolutely attentive, friendly & very hospitable. They gave us poppadoms, pistachio creme brulee, masala karak chai & chocolate on the house. We were shocked by their generosity & kindness🙌🏼. The interior is stunning yet minimal & they have a singular pod right outside their restaurant. The food is immaculate & every dish was superbub. - Starters & drinks: The Aloo tiki were delicious & soft. I liked how crispy it was and I could really taste the paneer&pea cake. The Chutney was freshly made & a perfect accompaniment to the starter 😍. Normally, I'm not a big fan of cold samosa Chaat but the Papdi Ki chaat is the best cold Chaat I've had😍. Every bite was bursting with flavour!! The Papdi, spicy potato, sweet yoghurt, tamarind & the green Chutney were all coming through beautifully. The Momos were steamed Nepalese beef dumplings. They were enjoyable & tasted like samosas but in a shape of a 🥟. The pina colada was refreshing & quenched my thirst although I've had better ones. - Mains: The lamb chops were cooked to perfection. I loved how the meat easily came off the bone & it was succulent. I can say the same for the lamb birayni. The dhaal curry wasn't watery & was very flavoursome. The birayni and curry were scrumptious 😍🤌🏽 as well as the butter chicken masala. The chicken was soft & coated in the most creamy sauce with subtle tastes of sweetness and it wasn't overpowering at all. The naan bread & paratha were both exquisite & the paratha wasn't oily. - Dessert: Considering the pistachio creme brulee was on the house, it was the best dessert out of the three! I'm not a big fan of creme brulee but this was the best one I've had. The pistachio was coming through!🤌🏽😍 & the masala biscuit was freshly baked🤩. The walnut chocolate cake which was a birthday surprise on request tasted like a brownie. It was gooey & chocolatey🥰 & the mint ice cream was faultless. The almond kheer was absolutely refreshing & tasted like finni. I liked that all of the desserts were light yet filling. The karak masala chai with evenly blended spices were coming through & was a perfect end to the evening🤌🏽👌🏼.

Sensational. This location has struggled for years. Hassan and his friendly team and brilliant kitchen brigade have nailed it. Some of the finest Indian food we have eaten locally. The team produced a special menu (pictured below) and didn't put a foot wrong. Two of the "tells" of an Indian restaurant are the poppadoms and onion bhajee. Are the popadoms fresh, light, not greasy, crisp? Or are they stale flabby remnants from yesterday, warmed up? These were a triumph, smaller, lighter, freshly cooked, served with an interesting range of sauces and chutneys. The Onion Bhajee was also excellent, fragrant, light, simply delicious. The restaurant stepped up a gear with the mixed starter - Sheek Kebab, Chatpata, Papdi Ki Chat ( a genius chicken dish) all excellent - and then raised their game again with some quite sublime main courses. A beautifully presented Chicken Biryani, arguably the star of the show, a fantastic lamb rogan josh, unctous and deeply flavoursome, a delicious Chicken Tikka Massala (God bless that Glasgow chef who invented it in the 1960s) and finally a Handi Murgh, a unique (well, new to us) Chicken dish. What sets The Cardamom Room apart is the service - genuinely warm and friendly. Combine that with excellent food and local prices, and you have a winning formula that wil make us regulars. All I need now is for Hassan's chef to devise a new Indian Weight Watchers Menu, and I would come every day. Finally, please visit, and visit soon. Our local restaurants need our trade to survive - use them or lose them - and the more we spend locally, the more we do to preserve our family owned local restaurant scene. #LoveWanstead. Thanks to Dennis and Nicola Weeks for arranging a wonderful evening.

I had an amazing dining experience at Cardamom Room. Adraki Lamb chops were succulent and tender. Chicken Biryani - The biryani was served with raitha, and cooked in a copper pot. It was perfectly cooked and flavourful with a generous amount of chicken. Lamb Shank - Highlight of the night. The lamb itself was amazingly soft and fell right off the bone each time it was pulled away. Mango lassi was delicious. They offered us on the house Onion Bhajji and Masala Karak Chai. The presentation of the dishes were amazing followed by the outstanding service by the staff, they regularly checked on us while we were eating to make sure we had everything we needed. I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone looking for a great Indian meal in Wanstead.