Mint Leaf
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our review
Mint Leaf’s entrance, on the corner of Haymarket and Suffolk Place is a little deceptive, it is only as you descend the black staircase scattered with rose petals and enter the reception area that you get an idea of the size of the place. Beautifully set out, this huge subterranean, stylish restaurant has a long black granite bar, dining areas sectioned off that both leave you with a feeling of being part of the whole but still giving you a sense of privacy, and low lighting which sets off the dark wood dividing structures. The whole effect works very well.
The restaurant has a buzzing bar and a great cocktail list, so we sipped as we chose, which was a very nice way to start the juices rolling. We tried several small sharing dishes as starters: the jumbo prawns were exactly that, two big meaty crustaceans marinated in cumin, roast garlic and chilli yoghurt that were seriously tasty; the turbot, two nuggets of fish seared with chilli basil and lime was beautifully cooked and had great flavour; the soft shell crab had an amazingly light spicy tempura batter, and was complimented well by lovely chilli dipping sauce; the guinea fowl, cooked with a yoghurt, chilli tomato and fenugreek sauce, was incredibly tender and had a lovely subtlety about it and the slow roasted duck leg spiced with star anise and coriander just melted in the mouth. All amazing dishes, with great flavours and beautifully presented.
On to mains, we shared three curries: sea bass poached in fenugreek and tomato sauce, the fish kept its meaty juiciness making a lovely dish; the chicken chettinad, braised with tomato, curry leaf and ‘chettinad’ spices, was equally tasty; the baby lamb shank ‘nihari’ was tender falling from the bone in its lovely onion and vetivier root sauce. Accompanied by stir-fried baby corn and bok choy, served al dente; amazingly crisp okra juliennes in spicy tempura batter; meaty flavoured black lentils; baked rice and a range of nan bread, this was a fantastic feast.
Our stomachs full, our eyes lighted on the apple jalebi, so we tried it. The thin apple fritters in a stack with green cardamom ice cream and saffron syrup was lovely and a great ending to this meal.
We had a very good organic Chilean sauvignon blanc to accompany the meal, its slight effervescence, tingling on the tongue, worked well with the spices. Service in the restaurant was attentive. Mint leaf serves only halal meat, some of their dishes are smaller than others, reflecting the cost of the raw produce, the turbot being a case in point. This is one of a select group of restaurants taking Indian cuisine to a new level, beautifully cooked food with no traces of excess oil. It is an exciting taste experience that we would recommend to anyone.
akandpa - January 2008
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
Visited Mint Leaf for my Husband's Birthday (Nov 2008) and was thoroughly disappointed! The food was terrible and shockingly over priced for what was on offer. The place looks nice, so may be worth visiting for a drink, but wouldn't recommend it for dinner.
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Overall rating 
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Went on a Saturday. Great atmosphere in the bar area and excellent cocktails. Had a very good whisky sour which isnt easy to get right. The music was good but the Sax player seemed confused. He kept playing the same 30 second tune over and over whilst walking around. Would have been far better and less annoying if he actually played a song or two whilst doing his rounds, or just stayed put and complemented the music.
The food was good - far better than I expected and I have been lucky enough to eat the best indian food in London.
The service was not good. Our waiter did not understand customer service at all but feels he is more important than the customer. Shame as the night would have been perfect otherwise.
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Sarj
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Save your pounds and go elsewhere - Mint Leaf is overpriced and badly staffed. My friends and I encountered the rudest, pushiest, most arrogant staff in town - not only did they get the orders wrong, but they kept pushing the wine menu despite our group making it clear we were not there to drink. The portions were miniscule and the meat options, most notably the twelve one-inch cubes of meat masquerading as a kebab tasting platter, were overcooked to the point of eliminating all nutritional value. The vegetarian curries were watery. Avoid, avoid, avoid - you can have a much better time at it's competitors.
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Sajini - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Saturday, November 29, 2008
We went there yesterday night, my boyfriend and I. The food was good (quite spicy too), the ambiance nice, and the staff helpful. The only think I didn't like was that the music was VERY loud (but good) for a restaurant; there is no separation between the bar and the restaurant. Certainly, this is cool for drinks in a bar but not to have a diner, it was a bit annoying and exhausting...
I could probably go back, but for sure not with my old parents, neither with a good friend to catch-up, nor for a romantic diner (unless you don't want to hear your girlfriend of course ;-)
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 6
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Had drinks and dinner here last Friday. Had a great time. Bar was buzzing and the sax player and DJ were excellent. Cocktails were to die for and food was delicious. Not cheap but worth it.
Will back... soon.
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SB
Overall rating 
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Went to Mint Leaf on Saturday night for my sisters 21st. There were a group of 7 of us and we had a really great night!! Decor is very cool and this place seems to go on forever once you are inside. I was a bit worried about booking this restaurant as I had read some bad reviews about the staff being rude and portions being small etc but I have to say that we didn't experience any of this. We booked the 50% off food offer and arrived at 7pm(the latest offer time) Although some of the party were a bit late the staff were very friendly and accomodating. There was no mention of having to order before a certain time and we wern't hurried at all. Overall the food was excellent and the portions definitely are not small! We ordered extra just in case but we had food left over. Some of the best indian food that many of the group had ever tasted, and although the drinks do "up" the bill significantly, we did drink A LOT and the 50% offer was more than worth it (total discount of nearly £200!!) I would definietly reccomend this place and would say that the only thing it lacks is a bit of ambience; especially in the bar area. Other than that a truely great night with excellent food!
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Overall rating 
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
My boyfriend and I ate here the previous Monday, as we decided some time ago to travel extensively around London, looking for the best Indian restaurant. We are looking for tasty, exquisite food, professional, friendly service, and pleasant surroundings.
However, at Mint Leaf, the food is very tasty, but very overpriced. The service is appropriate for the 'annoying- only -to- be- seen -once- tourists'. Do not expect to be welcomed and recognised here if you are a regular customer, even if you do spend more then £60 per head each time you visit! Welcoming staff at the reception (particularly a rather condescending and bad mannered woman) is poor and unacceptable to say the least.
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Naomi
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Monday, August 18, 2008
I went here last night with great hopes for a lovely meal and was sorely disappointed. The place is nice enough, but the food was decidedly average the prices extortionate. I had the tasting plate at £24 which was a plate with about 10 little bits of meat on it - what looked like a chopped up shish kebab, 3 little bits of chicken and some bits of lamb, with a tiny bit of salad. No sauce, so I paid £2.50 for a naan, which was the size of the things you buy in packets at the super market and stick in the toaster. The bill for 3 of us for 2 x tasting plates and 2 other small dishes, with a £27 bottle of wine, was £178!! Service was average. I won't be returning.
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PD
Overall rating 
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, August 01, 2008
We (5) visited on Monday 28th July. The menu is unhelpful and the staff do not make up for its shortcomings.
The food is quite good although £5.00 for boiled rice is extortionate!
Service was slow to non existent and the staff did not have a sufficient grasp of English to compensate for their tardiness.
We will not be repeating the experience.
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Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I‘ve been to Mint Leaf quite a few times. I love their cocktails (espresso martini is the forward after a long day at work!) and the food is absolutely amazing. I like the idea that their food is sort of modern Indian food, not too spicy for my taste. I went there with my friends and couple of times took my clients out for lunch. Everything was brilliant. And I am really surprised some comments are saying that members of staff were rude, cos I find it the other way around- they were very sweet and nice. I will go there again soon and would recommend to everyone.
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Iwa
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 11, 2008
