Dinner at Carom: Authentic Indian Cuisine

On Saturday, we had the opportunity to visit Carom and tried their authentic Indian cuisine.

Hubby and I are a big fan of Indian food, so we couldn’t wait to try it.

Carom is a Pan Indian restaurant and bar located in the heart of Soho in London.

Carom is D&D’s first Indian restaurant. D&D London owns and operates over 30 of the most famous restaurants in London, Paris, New York and Tokyo.

Each D&D restaurant is unique and Carom, Soho’s hidden gem, is one of them.

Carom, named after the Indian spice (also known as ajwain), specialises in authentic pan Indian dishes.

It offers an extensive choice of dishes in a variety of sizes allows you to tailor your menu to your appetite.

You can sample just a few plates with a drink or take your time over an indulgent feast.

The A la carte menu was developed by head chef Balaji Balachander.

The menu is inspired from Indian street food and varied regional influences of India. We had a three course meal from their set menu.

There are three options of starters, main courses and desserts, including vegetarian options.

Ideally, hubby and I would like to have gone our for dinner on our own, however we didn’t manage to arrange childcare for our little boy.

Once I mentioned to the restaurant that our three-year-old son would be coming with us, they were very accommodating and understanding.

We had an early dinner, as we were aware that the restaurant would get quite busy in the evening.

It was our first visit to Carom, I loved the idea of having a candlelight dinner in one of their booths.It felt quite private and intimate!

They have a two hour turn-round policy on Saturdays, but the time was more than enough to enjoy our meal without having to rush.

We had a bottle of Chenin Blanc 2010, Bush Vine Kleine Zalze from South Africa with our meal. It is an easy drinking, refreshing white wine.

Little man had Poppadom with a selection of homemade chutneys as a starter, the poppadom was nice and crispy, while the chutneys were full of flavour.

Our little boy picked Chicken Satay with herb marinade as a main course.

The chicken satay comes with a chilli and mango chutney, which is very tasty!

Hubby ordered “Hariyali” which is Turkey tikka in green herb marinate, tandoor grilled with fig and cranberry chutney.

According to hubby, the turkey tikka was very nice, succulent and juicy.

I tried some of it – for reviewing purposes – and I agree, the turkey tikka was very tasty!

I ordered “Shammi Kebab” which is ground lamb with aromatic spices.

Shammi Kebab is served with pomegranate raita and mint chutney. The Shammi Kebab was beautifully cooked and seasoned.

When I read the menu, I was curious to find out  if the pomegranate raita would go down well with the dish. I was pleasantly surprised that it worked nicely with the texture and flavours of the dish.

As a main course, hubby and I ordered the same dish. We usually order different dishes when we go out, so we can try each other’s dish, but there was no way I would share mine with him this time.

We ordered Tandoor grilled Chicken Breast with garlic and black pepper marinade.

Tandoor grilled Chicken Breast is served with Tamarind rice in coconut and cashew korma sauce.

The sauce was very tasty and the chicken was tender and we could clearly taste the marinade. The rice complimented the dish perfectly well.

For desserts, hubby chose White and Dark Chocolate Mousse with green apple and vanilla custard.

I had a feeling he would go for a chocolate based dessert.

White and Dark Chocolate Mousse is a colourful dish, beautifully presented with a strawberry on the top.

It is a layered mousse, you can clearly see and taste the white and dark chocolate mousses. The flavours complimented each other, making it a delicious dessert.

I wanted to try their Fennel spiced bread and butter pudding with cinnamon ice cream.

The bread and butter pudding was served warm with a caramelised crust on the top.

The bread and butter pudding was creamy and luscious. It tasted lovely with the cinnamon ice cream.

At Carom, you can enjoy two courses for £10 and a three course meal like the one we had for only £15, which we found very reasonable.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal, it was very tasty and full of flavour. The staff was friendly and helpful! We look forward to going back to Carom restaurant!

Thank you very much to Carom and London24 for this wonderful dining experience!

I was under no obligation to write this post. The opinions expressed in this post are honest and my own.