REVIEW: Salaam Namaste, Bloomsbury

Today we revisit one of my favourite Indian restaurants in London'; Salaam Namaste in Bloomsbury. I was invited to re-try their iconic menu which is dotted with beautiful Goan dishes and plenty of surprising vegetarian options. I visited with two meat eaters, so this review is packed with dishes for every diner!

The service overall was very friendly and approachable. We were kindly allowed to sit outside and enjoy the late evening sunshine. We began our meal with a few glasses of prosecco to celebrate some exciting news.The prosecco with fresh strawberries was fresh and very sweet, which went down a treat against the food.

We were treated to complimentary spinach, potato and date patties with two different sauces. These were a lovely amuse bouche and featured plenty of the flavours we would later experience with our main dishes. It is always such a nice touch when the kitchen decide to give you something they believe to be one of the best bits – we probably wouldn’t have ordered these as well as our own starters but it was a welcome addition!

We also enjoyed a plate of poppadoms in two flavours with a mix of sauces including spicy tomato, cooling mint and mango chutney. Delicious!

Overall food was very good. I enjoyed a starter dish of potato fig and spinach cakes with a fresh sprialized salad. The texture of the cakes was lovely and soft which I enjoyed with the sweet mango chutney. My guest's prawn starter was really tender and juicy. The spicy sauce worked well against the prawns and the texture was just excellent.

My main course of paneer dumplings with spinach in a rich tomato gravy was absolutely delicious. The rich tomato gravy was exactly that - and super sweet in flavour. The dumplings were lovely and soft which worked perfectly with the tomato sauce. I ate this dish with plenty of pilau rice and garlic naan bread. I highly recommend this dish for vegetarians and non-veggies alike.

My second guest tucked into a dish of tandoori mushrooms. These were the highlight of her entire meal and were perfectly sized for a starter. 

My guest's Green Goan Curry could have been much spicier - the menu states it is hot but unfortunately the finished product is quite mild. There was plenty of chicken within the sauce which worked well against the spiced vegetables.

I really loved the two naan breads that we opted for. The garlic naan was super garlicky, soft and buttery. The date and ginger naans were very sweet and an interesting contrast flavour against the spicier curries. Finally, the black lentils, which is one of my favourite Indian dishes, were so soft and very wet - I know that sounds weird but this is when they are at their best! 
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