)
Ros’ rating. Food: 5 Service:7 Atmosphere: 5 Value for money: 2
We arrived at Green Chilli at 10pm to find the restaurant very busy. I got the impression that the staff were having a bit of trouble coping with the number of people there.
The restaurant decided to keep the decor plain, with white walls, black furniture and just one or two pictures. I thought this design made the restaurant feel a bit sterile. Goon disagrees, he quite liked it.
To begin with we ordered two drinks, a margharita for me and a lassi for Goon. The lassi was delicious, although very different from any others we’ve had. There didn’t appear to be any cream or yoghurt in it, but just pureed mango. I think this worked really well. The margarita I had bore no resemblance to any margarita I’d had before. While it tasted fine, when you’re expecting a short lime juice based cocktail a large glass of alcholic pinapple juice (with three olives in it- what on earth is that about?) is not too pleasing. Especially when you’re still charged £7 for it at the end of the night.
It took quite a long time for our food orders to be taken but, given how busy it was, we found this quite forgivable. Our waiter did seem very rushed and almost panicked, but he was there when we wanted him and took our orders correctly which is what really matters. I decided to order the chef’s recommendation of ‘masala pomfret’ followed by lal maas (a lamb shank curry) and ‘jeera’ rice. Goon had garlic chicken followed by lamb biryani. To accompany the meal, we ordered a bottle of their Indian Sauvignon Blanc.
Goon enjoyed his starter, although I was ambivalent about both of them. The chicken and fish were certainly both cooked well. The chicken was juicy and tender and the white fish managed to stay moist and flaky although it was deep fried. My problem was with spicing, or more correctly, the lack of it. Both dishes had what I would describe as a generic background mild curry flavour. No flavours stood out apart from maybe a hint of cumin. The food certainly wan’t unpleasant but I can’t say I actively enjoyed it.
Sadly the same went for the mains and there was an additional probem with these. Everything was loaded with tomato. I like tomato but a bit of variation would have been nice. Even the biryani tasted like it had been cooked in tomato. Despite the fact the menu suggested the lal maas was hot, there was hardly any spicing to it at all.
It is rare that I don’t finish restaurant (or, in fact, any) meals but this one I got bored with. Perhaps we chose badly and other dishes would show off the restaurants true capabilities.
The meal cost just short of £70 for the two of us and I find that quite disapointing. I can think of at least one other restaurant in Hammersmith that is cheaper and has better food. If you are looking for a decent, resonably priced Indian meal in Hammersmith I would recommend Le Cinnamon over Green Chilli.
Ros’ rating. Food: 5 Service:7 Atmosphere: 5 Value for money: 2
We arrived at Green Chilli at 10pm to find the restaurant very busy. I got the impression that the staff were having a bit of trouble coping with the number of people there.
The restaurant decided to keep the decor plain, with white walls, black furniture and just one or two pictures. I thought this design made the restaurant feel a bit sterile. Goon disagrees, he quite liked it.
To begin with we ordered two drinks, a margharita for me and a lassi for Goon. The lassi was delicious, although very different from any others we’ve had. There didn’t appear to be any cream or yoghurt in it, but just pureed mango. I think this worked really well. The margarita I had bore no resemblance to any margarita I’d had before. While it tasted fine, when you’re expecting a short lime juice based cocktail a large glass of alcholic pinapple juice (with three olives in it- what on earth is that about?) is not too pleasing. Especially when you’re still charged £7 for it at the end of the night.
It took quite a long time for our food orders to be taken but, given how busy it was, we found this quite forgivable. Our waiter did seem very rushed and almost panicked, but he was there when we wanted him and took our orders correctly which is what really matters. I decided to order the chef’s recommendation of ‘masala pomfret’ followed by lal maas (a lamb shank curry) and ‘jeera’ rice. Goon had garlic chicken followed by lamb biryani. To accompany the meal, we ordered a bottle of their Indian Sauvignon Blanc.
Goon enjoyed his starter, although I was ambivalent about both of them. The chicken and fish were certainly both cooked well. The chicken was juicy and tender and the white fish managed to stay moist and flaky although it was deep fried. My problem was with spicing, or more correctly, the lack of it. Both dishes had what I would describe as a generic background mild curry flavour. No flavours stood out apart from maybe a hint of cumin. The food certainly wan’t unpleasant but I can’t say I actively enjoyed it.
Sadly the same went for the mains and there was an additional probem with these. Everything was loaded with tomato. I like tomato but a bit of variation would have been nice. Even the biryani tasted like it had been cooked in tomato. Despite the fact the menu suggested the lal maas was hot, there was hardly any spicing to it at all.
It is rare that I don’t finish restaurant (or, in fact, any) meals but this one I got bored with. Perhaps we chose badly and other dishes would show off the restaurants true capabilities.
The meal cost just short of £70 for the two of us and I find that quite disapointing. I can think of at least one other restaurant in Hammersmith that is cheaper and has better food. If you are looking for a decent, resonably priced Indian meal in Hammersmith I would recommend Le Cinnamon over Green Chilli.
