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IndoChen (Formerly London Curry House), Chef Ram Thapa's Indian-Chinese on Cameron Station in Alexandria, by the Owners of the Curry Mantra Chain


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"Curry Mantra 4" is called London Curry House and is now open at 191 Somerville St, Alexandria, VA in Cameron Station (see attached screenshot of Curry Mantra's website identifying it as the Curry Mantra 4th location).

I was wondering whether or not to give London Curry House its own thread, so I wrote Asad Sheikh (the owner), and he told me that although it's under the Curry Mantra umbrella, it's a completely separate entity.

You can say it's another brand of Curry Mantra that is focusing on bigger units. I checked the menu, and it's notably different as well - these two things, along with the very different name, are more than enough to give it a separate thread (recall, my primary criterion for giving a restaurant a separate thread would be, "If someone says to a friend, 'Let's go to London Curry House,' would the friend respond 1) 'Okay!' or 2) 'Which one?'"

Michael Landrum, if you're reading this, I hope it's becoming clearer - this has *always* been a very algorithmic decision; not anything personal at all.

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Ate there the other day with my girlfriend.  We wanted to split an appetizer, and she was going to have an appetizer as her main course and I ordered an entrée.  We told the waiter the order in which we wanted things - the shared appetizer first and then the other appetizer and the entrée.  Shortly thereafter, we were served a complimentary appetizer (I guess the Indian version of an amuse bouche) of lentil chips and dip.  Not five minutes later, we were served all of our other dishes.  The food was tasty, but the service needs to get ironed out.  Not unusual for a new restaurant.

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Ate there the other day with my girlfriend.  We wanted to split an appetizer, and she was going to have an appetizer as her main course and I ordered an entrée.  We told the waiter the order in which we wanted things - the shared appetizer first and then the other appetizer and the entrée.  Shortly thereafter, we were served a complimentary appetizer (I guess the Indian version of an amuse bouche) of lentil chips and dip.  Not five minutes later, we were served all of our other dishes.  The food was tasty, but the service needs to get ironed out.  Not unusual for a new restaurant.

Welcome, Finatic. You were served papadam which around here is invariably served with little tubs of tamarind chutney (slightly sweet, a little spicy, and often thin and dilute), and usually also with coriander chutney. It's sometimes free, but not always, so this goes in the plus column. :)

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Went last night, after Bombay the night before. What can I say? I'm Indian, I love this stuff, can eat it every day. In fact, I did growing up.

Nice space. Large bar for an Indian place. Typical white table cloth on table with glass on top of it, maroon/red furnishings. It's like there is a kit for these places. All the places in Devon Ave in Chicago are like that, too.

Complimentary app was not papadam (at least for me), which is very very thin with small areas of black char. Watching my mom make this in the kitchen is a childhood memory I still think about, right on the open flame, her fingers dancing as she expertly rotated it around, going from soft to crispy. Here, the crisps was thicker, probably the chips from pappri chaat, with a red sauce that was good, tamarind, and coriander chutney. They had wine and liquor and beer. No fancy cocktails listed. Started with house Pinot and was served a little too warm for my taste.

We ordered the palak chaat as a starter, and it come seconds after the complimentary dish. If you're expecting Rasika's version, don't bother. It's fine in it's own right, but nothing like one of our region's finest dishes. Got the Port City IPA after that.

We ordered the goat biryani and lamb vindaloo. The meat in the goat biryani was super tender. It's served in a really cool way, with like a bread top sort of like a pie. I'd never seen it like that. The rice and seasoning on top, goat on the bottom. Really tasty. Lamb Vindaloo was fierce. Very spicy. They were not messing around in the least. Potatoes, lamb (not as tender as the goat), vinegar based sauce. Pretty awesome.

Price points are high ($15-19 for most mains), had a Groupon to soften the blow.

There is pretty much nothing else in Cameron Station. I wonder if it's doing well. Not that many people there last night, but it was Wednesday. I would think Friday and Saturday, the locals would just walk over and bring their strollers and little monsters and enjoy some curries. I'd probably come here for a solo meal at the bar, they have sports going and some AsiaTV (I think). Service was very friendly, too. They have a private room, seats around 20ish, for small parties.

Oh, I found the menu to be quirky. I don't know - it's really funny that they are talking so much about London. And, I get the idea that London is a hot bed for South Asian food, but it just made me smile, all the British flags on the menu and in the space. The specials are named after neighborhoods in London (Picadilly Circus, Mayfair, etc.). The Brits stole the Hope Diamond. The least we can do is have our own flags up :)

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Shortly thereafter, we were served a complimentary appetizer (I guess the Indian version of an amuse bouche) of lentil chips and dip. 

Welcome, Finatic. You were served papadam which around here is invariably served with little tubs of tamarind chutney (slightly sweet, a little spicy, and often thin and dilute), and usually also with coriander chutney. It's sometimes free, but not always, so this goes in the plus column. :)

Complimentary app was not papadam (at least for me), which is very very thin with small areas of black char. Watching my mom make this in the kitchen is a childhood memory I still think about, right on the open flame, her fingers dancing as she expertly rotated it around, going from soft to crispy. Here, the crisps was thicker, probably the chips from pappri chaat, with a red sauce that was good, tamarind, and coriander chutney. 

Finatic, Simul is correct: London Curry House doesn't serve papadam as complimentary appetizers; they are indeed the same crisps uses in a papri chaat - thicker, more airy, no black pepper, etc.

I've had the food from London Curry House on many occasions in a delivery setting, but I'd never been in before, and was a little taken back to see that it's in the former Food Matters location. It was weird because I've had probably twenty different things on their menu, and here I was for the first time, walking into very familiar surroundings (I used to go to Food Matters pretty often).

This is a pretty classy restaurant - not as upscale as Bombay Club, but you definitely feel like you're in a nice restaurant, with servers in tuxedo shirts, a nice bar, and very attentive service. The little papri chaat crisps they serve as appetizers are a nice way to begin your meal with a Gin and Tonic.

One insider secret about London Curry House is that their best seller is the Butter Chicken ($15), and this is primarily a sauce dish - you only get a few small chunks of chicken; a much better value is the Chicken Tikka ($17) which comes with probably twice the chicken meat, skewered, and baked in the tandoor. The Butter Chicken is fine, but if you're getting delivery; don't ever order two of them - get one Butter Chicken, one Chicken Tikka, and literally dump the entire order of Chicken Tikka into your order of Butter Chicken. You'll have three times the chicken meat, and there's so much sauce in that one order that you won't need any more. I got both of these as a delivery order the night before I left to see Matt off at Indiana University, Bloomington, so this was, in essence, the beginning of my trip. In addition, I got the Gobi Paratha ($4) which, along with the Shahi Naan, is my favorite bread here.

The night before I left, I enjoyed my Butter Chicken, and saved my Chicken Tikka and Gobi Paratha to have on the road the next day, figuring it would be much better than roadside fast food (and it was a good call). Whenever I got a little hungry in the car (it's a 600-mile trip each way), I'd break off a little piece of Paratha, and have a cube of Chicken Tikka.

I went into London Curry House after I returned, so that was a separate thing entirely, and I made it a point to order something different than I've had before. They have pints of Port City Wit ($6.00) and Port City IPA ($6.50) on tap, and I got both, and since it was during happy hour, both were $2 off the prices I listed, making them much more palatable.

For dinner, I ordered the Madras Curry with Goat ($17), which is probably a dozen, mostly bone-in pieces of goat meat in a thick, mild, creamy curry sauce - despite the sauce, it's pretty much imperative to eat the goat with your hands, pinching each piece with your fingers, or a piece of the Shahi Naan ($4) I ordered - their Shahi Naan is stuffed with finely shredded coconut, tiny bits of nuts, and raisins, and is a really nice complement to any of the curry dishes here.

So there are two visits to the very fine, somewhat pricey London Curry House: my usual delivery (which I used because of my trip), and my first-ever visit - since they have a $35 delivery minimum, I use this restaurant sparingly for delivery - my total bill when I visited, with tax, was only $31.90.

This is every bit as good as Curry Mantra 2 was, perhaps even a step up, albeit more of a, well, London-style curry house than their other restaurants. I should re-emphasize that London Curry House is pretty darned expensive for a Virginia Indian restaurant, but they're not sacrificing quality for price here - this is really good food, and I for one prefer to pay a little more to support their efforts at quality.

I have no idea why London Curry House wasn't ranked in Italic in the Dining Guide, but it is now. It is easily the best restaurant in its general vicinity.

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Just checked their website and it lists the minimum tab for delivery as $45. Guess it's gone up.

It's $35 on grubhub.com. That said, I'm never going to eat $35-worth of food here, and if you add in a decent tip for the driver, considering their already-high prices, it becomes very expensive to get delivery from here (even without a delivery charge) - so, either have multiple people eating, or be prepared to have leftovers for the next day. And even if you get something close to the minimum amount, you're still going to be paying in the upper $40s.

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I'm downgrading London Curry House - the food I had this evening was bordering on inedible, and delivery took nearly an hour longer than I was told. Out of about ten meals here, this is only the second horrific one. If anyone can confirm that I'm wrong, and frequents the restaurant on a semi-regular basis, I'll adjust accordingly, but after this, I wouldn't send my worst enemy here. Even the damned sauce that came with my tandoori chicken - which I was going to pour atop my rice - smelled spoiled, and I threw it out.

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On 10/30/2016 at 8:28 PM, DonRocks said:

I'm downgrading London Curry House - the food I had this evening was bordering on inedible, and delivery took nearly an hour longer than I was told. Out of about ten meals here, this is only the second horrific one. If anyone can confirm that I'm wrong, and frequents the restaurant on a semi-regular basis, I'll adjust accordingly, but after this, I wouldn't send my worst enemy here. Even the damned sauce which came with my tandoori chicken - which I was going to pour atop my rice - smelled spoiled, and I threw it out.

5 hours ago, TheGut said:

Asad opened a new place in Sterling called 1947.  It has been open a few months but I think he might close it down due to lack of diners. 

My issue with Asad is that he is always in expansion mode.  He should be focusing on ensuring that his restaurants are financially stable before deciding to expand.

I had some leftover Mint Paneer Tikka in the refrigerator from last night, which the menu specifically says is "homemade," and because of that, I'm sure it is, but tonight is the first time I have *ever* thought there may be a way to purchase Paneer wholesale - I've been repeatedly told that Paneer is very easy to make; what I had tonight had a texture resembling thick, dense, heavy, leaden, goat cheese (without any of the the goat-cheese tang). I honestly Googled "Paneer Loaves Wholesale," and didn't find much, but apparently they exist - again, I'm not concluding or even inferring anything, because I absolutely believe the menu when it says "homemade," but this tastes - if such a thing even exists - purchased.

I have several pieces left of both the tandoori Paneer and Chicken - I'm throwing it all away: This is about $20-worth of leftovers.

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2 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I'm sure it is, but tonight is the first time I have *ever* thought there may be a way to purchase Paneer wholesale - I've been repeatedly told that Paneer is very easy to make; what I had tonight had a texture resembling thick, dense, heavy, leaden, goat cheese (without any of the the goat-cheese tang)

Paneer is available and cheap at the Restaurant Depot. Large versions of smaller packages you find in Indian stores. I am not a fan -- but they are fine in a pinch for non-discerning diners (sorry). And yes, your description is very accurate. 

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Definitely people get store made paneer in bricks. Most indian stores have them. Most buffets use the store bought stuff. You can tell when they use it. Mom used to cheat with that once in a while, but it just takes some milk and lemon juice and some time to make it. Pretty easy, all things considering with Indian food. In dissent, i had a decent meal there the other night. Chicken vindaloo and another chicken dish.

I hardly get paneer dishes out any longer, rarely is it that good. 

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If paneer is homemade you will know it, it is extremely soft, crumbly and airy. The way you describe it definitely is not and resembles the taste of purchased frozen panner bricks you get at any indian store. In my opinion paneer does not freeze well, it is something to be enjoyed made fresh within hours.

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Felt like Indian food last night so decided to give London Curry House a try. Bombay Curry Company is usually are 'go to' spot, but thought it might be nice to try something new. I'll be sticking with Bombay Curry Company in the future.

I started with the Dahi Porri - yogurt, tamarind and chickpeas inside a puffed lentil shell. The filling was overly sweet to the point that it tasted more like a desert than an appetizer. I also thought the filling was served too cold. It felt like it came right out of the coldest part of the refrigerator.

For an entree, I went with the Lamb Vindaloo because I felt like something spicy, paired with the Gobi Paratha - cauliflower stuffed bread. The vindaloo was bright red, almost glossy. It was spicy, but there was no real flavor or complexity to it. All the spice was on the front end. It was like eating lamb chili... bad lamb chili. The Gobi Paratha might have been good, but they cut it into four pieces before it gets to the table. The result is that the bread quickly gets soggy.

I always wondered if I was missing something with this place. So at least my curiosity left satisfied... 

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From an article in the Washingtonian about the new Bombay Street Food in Columbia Heights:

Quote

Restaurateur Asad Sheikh has built a mini kingdom in northern Virginia with 1947, London Curry Houseand three Curry Mantra restaurants—all of which he’s since sold, but still consults for. This Friday, Nov. 30, he expands into DC with Bombay Street Food, a Columbia Heights restaurant paying homage to the street vendors of his childhood.

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Was not a fan after my sole visit to London Curry House two years ago, but a friend reported a recent good experience there. Then Washingtonian included it on their "Cheap Eats" list, and noted that it was under new ownership -- the same owners of Royal Nepal in Arlandria. So on a recent Friday night, I figured I'd give it another try.

My 9- and 11-year old boys accompanied me, and it was a great experience. We started with the Jhall muri, a puffed rice dish similar to bhel puri, and an order of the Bison MoMo dumplings. Both were delicious. The Jhall muri may have had a tad too much tamarind for my taste, but the kids enjoyed the sweetness. For mains, we kept it pretty simple: butter chicken, biryani and lamb vindaloo. The biryani came encased in a pastry crust, didn't have raisins (hooray!), and was great. The butter chicken and vindaloo were also both very good, with a lot of complexity.

I'm glad this place found new owners and new recipes. It's going to be a new Indian 'go to' for a family still mourning the loss of Bombay Curry Company in Del Ray.

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