Place: Farzi London
Location: 8 Haymarket
Cuisine: Indian
Meal: Dinner (with family)
On: Sunday, 4 August 2024
I’ve recently downloaded the First Table app on my phone, which offers 50% off deals at restaurants for a minimal fee. To treat MIL before she headed back to India, we decided to dine at a nice, fancy place in central London and found Farzi on the First Table list. We’ve been to Farzi in Hyderabad before; it’s a cozy place serving fusion Indian food, so we were excited to try it here in London.
We booked a table for 8:30 PM on a Sunday night. Upon arriving, we were seated at a table towards the back end of the restaurant. It’s a large venue with two levels of seating. It was sparsely crowded this evening, with about five other tables occupied. Dimly lit, the interior reminded me of the Hyderabad restaurant — cozy and comforting, just the way I like it.
They had a simple menu (nothing fusion about it). As part of the First Table offer, we were required to order drinks for each of us, with no discount, to avail the 50% off the food So we ordered a Mango Cosmo for wifey, Farzi Nimbu Paani for MIL, Chai Lychee for myself, and a Mango and Passion Fruit Lassi for the lil one. We also ordered their Chevre Kebab and Angara Paneer Shaslik as starters. (I actually wanted to try their Okra & Baby-Corn Feet, but they didn’t have it.)
All the drinks were good, and I really liked my Chai Lychee made with lychee juice and coconut milk. I’m a fan of coconut-based drinks, so this was just perfect for my taste. I could taste more mango than passion fruit in the Lassi, but it was equally good.
They served complimentary Dholka pieces, which was an ice gesture. These were soft and decent.
The Chevre Kebab was served soon. It was essentially a chunk of goat cheese fried to perfection. While it was oozing oil, it tasted delicious — after all, what’s not to like about fried cheese?😁.
The Paneer Shaslik came next — basically paneer tikka with a fancy name. The paneer was really soft and fresh, and perfectly marinated. The sauce was spicy, with a nice sweet tinge as an aftertaste. Another good dish.
While I was satisfied with both starters, I did notice that the portion sizes were pretty small. Considering this, we ordered a Smoked Palak Paneer Handi, a Dal Makhani, a Wild Mushroom & Tender Stem Broccoli Pulao, and a Saffron Pulao, along with a Bread Basket for the main course. I know that this sounds like a lot, but it was perfect for the four of us.
I actually wanted to order their Haveli Kofta, but wifey insisted on the Paneer. I’m usually not a fan of Palak Paneer, but I have to say that this was a really good dish. It was smoky, as the name suggests, and the paneer, along with the gravy, just melted in my mouth. I was pleasantly surprised and satisfied.
The Dal Makhani was rich and creamy, but it was too tomatoey for my liking.
The Bread Basket came with a Butter Naan, a Garlic Naan, and a Laccha Paratha. While the Garlic Naan and Paratha were nice and soft, I found the Butter Naan to be too thick.
Apprehensive about the portion sizes, I ordered two rice items, and I’m glad that I did. Additionally, MIL doesn’t eat mushrooms or broccoli, so we needed an alternative anyway.
The Mushroom and Broccoli Pulao, as the name suggests, came with chunks of wild mushrooms and broccoli stems. It was mild and quite tasty, with pleasant flavors. However, the quantity was again disappointing.
For one fourth the price of the other pulao, the Saffron Pulao was more satisfying. It was nearly the same, just lacking the mushrooms and broccoli (and salt). If there is a next time, I would just order two of these along with another subzi, maybe.
We were pretty stuffed and satisfied, so we did not order any desserts. We also wanted Amorino ice cream, so.
Overall, it was a pretty good meal — better than I had actually anticipated for sometime these fancy restaurants serve fu fu food at exorbitant prices. All the items were tasty, the service was super quick, and the ambiance was neat. I particularly appreciated the attention they paid to us. My only concern was with the portion sizes — like most fancy fine dining restaurants, the quantity of food doesn’t really match the price you are paying. But that’s probably because you’re paying for the fine dining experience. But at least it was tasty!
I would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice dining experience in central London. And if you are going, don’t forget to get 50% off using First Table.
Food: 8/10
Service: 9./10
Ambiance: 8.5/10
Meal for 4: £92.56 (£6 for booking fee + £29.75 for the drinks + £56.81 for food including service charge and VAT)
Verdict: 8/10
