Dinner @ Mint Leaf (Indian)

Location: London, Haymarket

Website: www.mintleafrestaurant.com

Give me a curry and I'm one happy gal'! Yes I'm pretty much easy to please.. to an extent. Maybe throw in a cocktail or two and its a done deal. Being part of the Taste Card, I was able to visit Mint Leaf knowing that I had the advantage of getting 50% off on all food (excluding drinks). It only costed me £29.99 for a 1 year membership for hundreds of restaurants in London and around the UK. If you're a foodie that finds yourself eating out more then twice a week, then I highly recommend getting one as it definitely saves you a lot of money. Mint Leaf, located in the heart of central London (Haymarket) is a trendy restaurant serving great curries and blow-you-away cocktails. Seriously, the cocktails were fantastic! If you love clubs and bars, then this restaurant is pretty much all you need for a good night out.

Pure deliciousness and if I was to be quite frank, they were the best cocktails that I have ever had. Period.  No indian meal is right without a cocktail in hand, well for me it isn't! The one to the right was a strawberry and basil cocktail and on the left was a refreshing strawberry and melon cocktail, both very sweet, refreshing and so damn good. 

To share, a delicious and a very strong saffron flavoured Lamb Biryani (lamb with basmati rice flavoured with mint, coriander and saffron). This was actually my first time trying a dry based curry and it was fab! A perfect dish to share, especially if you're belly is filled with any of their delicious and generous cocktails. The photo does not do any justice to the size of the dish, but it is perfect for 2. 

Our waiter suggested a sauce based side dish to compliment our briyani, so we opted for Dal Makhani (black lentils - slow cooked with tomato and butter). 

To also balance out the strong flavours, we also opted for the Bhindi Masala - Okra stir fried with tomato, chilli and spices. Note: no emphasise on the chilli, just a slight hint of it. However, the sweetness of the tomatoes counteracted with the heat of both the briyani and lentils. 

No indian meal is complete without a side dish of Naan bread. I usually go for the plan naan as it is neutral in taste, perfect for dipping in your left over curry sauces - I'm not the only one that does that, am I? 

Overall, it was an Ok experience and the was good. What let it down the most was the service, itt was only just average, mainly because the waiting time was  between 20-30minutes for your main. We hardly saw our appointed waiter, and when he eventually did turn up, there was less than 30 words exchanged during our duration their. So, yes communication lacks at this establishment. Other than that, the food was fab, but the cocktail was what stole the show. Would I go back? Mmmm..

To see the rest of what's available at mint leaf, take a look at their menu here