Gaylord's Golden Anniversary - Fifty Years On and Still One of the Top Indian Restaurants in London

Name: Gaylord Restaurant

Where: 79 Mortimer Street, London, W1W 7SJ, http://www.gaylordlondon.com/

Cost: Average cost is £40 per person, not including drinks or service. From the à la carte menu, starters are priced from £7.50 to £12, tandoori dishes from £12 to £16.50, and mains from £15 to £20. Biryanis of king prawn, lamb or chicken are priced at £18.50 to £21.  There are two, three-course set menus: the Maharaja Feast (£30) and the vegetarian Maharani Feast  (£27).

About: The Gaylord Restaurant in London opened in 1966, and in 2016 celebrated its 50th anniversary.  Said to have the first tandoor (charcoal clay oven) in London, it still serves the same fragrant fresh breads and kebabs, Indian and Punjabi fare it did at the height of the Swinging Sixties. Photographs of George Harrison and Peter Sellers posing with restaurant staff in 1966 are on proud display in the restaurant’s entrance. 

The 1966 menu is still available for diners to see, and it was a shock to see that portions of chicken tikka masala were priced at 30p, and lamb rogan josh at 40p!

The Gaylord Restaurant is an elegant establishment in the heart of Central London, serving both traditional and modern Indian cooking to a varied clientele of locals, shoppers, families and tourists. The mid-week evening we were there, the restaurant was nearly completely full.

What We Ate: We started with a few delicious golgappa shots (£6.50) – fresh and spicy little pani puri, these are round, hollow puri fried crispy pastry shells, filled with a mixture of flavoured water and fillings like tamarind chutney, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. At Gaylord, they are served over shot glasses of chilled herbal infusion.

The murg gilafi seekh (£8.50), fragrant portions of minced smoked chicken topped with bell-peppers and chargrilled on skewers, were delectable. 

Tandoori tiger prawns (£10) were jumbo-sized and succulent, having been marinated with saffron and Indian spices, then grilled in a clay oven. 

In a departure from the original 1966 menu, Gaylord now offers Mexican tacos with an Indian twist. We had the spicy rajma (kidney bean) taco (£7.50) – jauntily served (recalling the colours of the Indian flag) on a gold, green and red toy wire car. 

Still on the starter menu, we were tempted by the pao bhaji (£10) - soft buttered buns with mashed potato, vegetable curry, chopped onion and coriander, capsicum. Served in a fondue pot, these were delectable.  

Crab cake dakshini (£11) came with a generous amount of meat, deliciously flavoured with curry leaves, aromatic Indian spices and mustard cress. 

The lamb chops Anardana (£11), served on a sizzling plate, had been marinated in spices and pomegranate juice, then charcoal grilled to give an irresistible smoky flavour and aroma. 

The Makhani Paneer (£11.50), dating right back to 1966, combined cubes of fresh cheese made on the premises, simmered in a creamy tomato sauce.  I could see why this had lasted the duration – simple, good quality ingredients, delicately cooked and well presented.

Equally good was the soft shell baby crab (£7), in light batter with spicy Goan masala. This came with slices of toasted coconut (a combination I thoroughly enjoyed) beautifully served in a large seashell.

Gaylord’s butter chicken (£16) was a lip-smacking classic - a deboned tandoori chicken, cooked in a tomato-based sauce enriched with butter and double cream, flavoured with aromatic herbs and spices, including one of my favourites, fenugreek. 

Lamb shank (£19), came meltingly tender, delicately spiced and served with a subtle onion and tomato curry.

The fish tak-a-tak (at seasonal price) was a whole grilled fish, filleted (tilapia on the day we were there) and spiced with mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilli and caraway seeds, served in a tin-lined copper pan. 

To accompany, we had a paratha (£4), a piazi kulcha (leavened bread stuffed with onion and coriander, £4.25), and basmati rice (£6), cooked with lemon, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Best of all though was the house speciality of dal bukhara (£9.70). This had black lentils slow-cooked for 8 hours over charcoal, and was deliciously rich and creamy. 

For dessert, the carrot pudding - gajar ka halwa (£5.50) blended a hot, sweet carrot pudding with pistachio slivers. The gulab jamun (£9) had fresh cheese spheres, deep-fried and served with a delectable sugar syrup laced with spiced dark rum, flambéed. 

What We Drank: Cocktails are priced at £9 to £12. The entry level wines, both white and red, are Beaujolais from George Duboeuf, Le Bouquet de George, priced at £19.90. Indian Kingfisher and Cobra beers are also available. 

We were keen to explore the range of Indian wines which Gaylord has just launched under their own label, all from Akluj in Maharashtra.  The house sparkling white wine, a Fratelli Grand Cuvée Brut NV, Chenin Blanc (£35) was very well made - bone dry, with refreshing citrus acidity and minerality. 

The Gaylord Sangiovesi Bianci (£36.50) was palatable and off-dry, but for my palate lacked complexity. 

Better was the Gaylord Fratelli Sangiovesi red wine (£36.50) - fruity and well made, when enjoyed with the restaurant’s spicy food, the cherry fruit and sweetness were accentuated. 

Likes: There were so many highlights in this meal – the tandoori lamb and prawns, the paneer, the whole tilapia, the meltingly tender lamb shank and the carrot dessert were all excellent. 

Dislikes: None

Verdict: With a 50-year history, there are few restaurants in London that have stood the test of time as well as Gaylords. But this is no surprise - the classic Indian dishes are hard to fault, while service is friendly and well informed. I would love to return to Gaylord soon. Highly recommended. 

London Restaurant Reviews - Koba

Koba

Dr G and I were recently invited by Catty of TheCattyLife to her favourite Korean restaurant “Koba” on trendy Rathbone Street in W1. Accompanying us on the evening was Mr Noodles of Eat Noodles Love Noodles.

Having just come back from a three-week holiday in Vietnam and Korea, I was keen to find out how Koba would stand up to all the marvellous meals I had eaten in Seoul. We arrived at Koba to find a small but uncluttered restaurant, with elegant decor. The restaurant was busy with a young and sophisticated crowd.

Catty took charge of the ordering, which she did expertly by choosing some excellent, unusual dishes as well as some Korean staples.

We started with a portion of “Pajeon” – spring onion pancake with seafood @ £7.90. This is one of the most traditional dishes in Korea, and the perfect snack to accompany chilled beers. Koba’s version was fluffy, well seasoned and with a good quantity of seafood and spring onions. I normally order a spicy version with added Kimchi called Kimchi Jeon (also sold at Koba @ £7.90, no.16 on the menu).

The “Japchae” – stir fried glass noodles with beef and seasonal vegetables in soy sauce @ £7.20 - was also delicious. The white sweet-potato noodles had been perfectly cooked maintaining their chewy texture, and were not overwhelmed by other ancillary ingredients. It was a well balanced and flavoursome dish although I felt that @ £7.20 the portion was a tad ungenerous.

I adore tofu and so we ordered “Kimchi Tofu” – steamed tofu with fried Kimchi and pork @ £7.50. The tofu is steamed only and served un-seasoned. If you do not enjoy the plain, clear flavour of tofu, you will not appreciate this dish. Tofu goes really well with kimchi as they have contrasting flavours and textures.

This is a staple dish in Korean restaurants and I always order it as a way of judging the freshness of the restaurant’s tofu and the quality of the kimchi, two areas in which Koba did not disappoint.

The star of the evening was, in my opinion, the “Yook Hwei” – seasoned raw beef with sliced pears and egg yolk @ £8.60. This is a dish I had never tried before and is now one of my favourites, a type of Korean steak tartare.

The combination of shredded beef, pears, raw egg and garlic was sensational. The meat had been semi-frozen before being shredded and tasted very fresh with the accompanying pears.

A selection of barbecue meats was also ordered including:

“Kalbi” – marinated beef spare ribs with sweet soy sauce @ £8.90 were good but again I felt that the portion was not as generous as I would expect at the price.

“Bulgogi” – marinated sliced beef @ £7.90 – very delicious.

“Daeji Bulgogi” – sweet and spicy pork belly slices @ £8.60 were also amazing - the meat was tender and had been seasoned perfectly.

“Zzukumi Gooi” – sweet and spicy baby octopus @ £8.40 were an interesting addition to the other meats and worked well as a seafood choice.

I was surprised to find that we had to order separate portions of “Pamoochim and Sangchoo” – sliced spring onion with chilli and vinegar, fresh lettuce, and seasoned soy bean paste @ £3.50 to accompany our barbequed meats. This is unusual for Korean restaurants as these are normally served as part of a barbeque course.

The meal would not have been complete without “Bibimbap - Yook Hwei Dolsot” – steamed rice and raw beef with vegetables in a hot stone pot @ £9.50. This was stunning and nearly as good as the raw beef & pears dish.

I was slightly disappointed that we were not offered a selection of namool (normally bean sprouts, spinach and white radish) or a small plate of kimchi as it is customary in most Korean restaurants. I found both items on the menu for £5.50 each. Assa Cafe will offer the namool and free barley tea as part of their £5 lunch set menu, also containing one main dish.

To finish off the meal, we ordered “Koba Special Ice Cream” (black sesame, red adzuki beans, and green tea) @ £5.20 while Dr G opted for “Green tea ice cream” @ £3.50. While matcha ice cream is my favourite flavour, on this occasion, I felt that the black sesame ice was the most interesting of the three.

Koba serves both “Hite” and “OB”, the two most popular Korean beers, @ £3.50. We opted for beer, while Catty went for “Green tea” @ £1.80. I would have ordered a bottle of soju or makgeolli (a traditional type of raw rice wine which I took a real liking to since participating at a makgeolli tasting with the guys from SeoulEats in Korea) but found that Koba prices were prohibitively high, especially considering these were all half-bottles (@ £15 for the makgeolli, £13 for the soju, and £15 for the Bek se Ju).

Service was efficient and polite but despite being attentive, it was also slightly rushed at times. A big thank you to Catty of thecattylife for taking us there and introducing us to her favourite Korean restaurant in London.

Cost: £139.40 including service charge and drinks or £35 per person.

Likes: the most sensational “Yook Hwei” – seasoned raw beef with sliced pears and egg yolk (well worth a return visit just for this), pleasant and trendy decor, excellent barbeque, tofu & kimchi. Excellent location.

Dislikes: expensive drinks list, having to pay extras for items like namool or kimchi, or for a portion of lettuce leaves and spring onions to accompany the barbeque meats when these are normally offered free of charge in most Korean restaurants in London.

Verdict: excellent Korean restaurant serving well executed dishes, and in more sophisticated surroundings than the usual New Malden/Centre Point area cafes. Recommended.