This is a Soho restaurant that, for once, is not a tourist trap. In fact, you'll probably think yourself lucky as you look through its sophisticated menu of Indian tapas.

The Venue
Soho can be tricky and you often don’t find the quality you associate with a central London location. Yet there are many exceptions and Imli, with its modern décor, sizeable space and attentive service, is one of them. Forget the traditional Indian décor too, here it is all about contemporary clean lines, wood paneling that echoes something more Japanese, and unfussy wooden furniture with no tablecloths. The only concession is a splash of colour - bright orange walls infuse the flavor of exotic spices and warm the environment.

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is quite buzzy, demonstrating the popularity of the tapas concept menu as well as the venue itself. The clientele is varied, spanning small families, groups of friends, relaxed businessmen discussing work and even couples treating themselves not only to an intimate dinner but to good food too. And, of course, there are also a few lucky tourists who stumbled upon this restaurant rather than settling for the many lesser options available in the area. Lucky them…

The Food
The concept is Indian tapas, so expect smaller dishes, designed to share, all served as soon they're ready. The tapas selection (£2.50-£6) includes both cold and hot dishes and it covers rarities like the delicious coriander vadi (graham flour and coriander wedges with jaggery and ginger served with a very fresh tomato and mint chutney) and aloo matar ki tikki ragda (potato cakes with garden peas, coriander and ginger, topped with chickpea, red onion and tamarind chutney). Both are beautifully presented (and unlikely to appear on most menus) with flavours that are just sublime.

Move on to grilled tandoor tapas (£9.50-£15.50), a new take on more traditional tapas (imagine spicy squid and masala grilled chicken (£6.85-£10.50), classic dishes (lamb roganjosh and chicken biryani to mention a couple - £8.65-£11) and vegetarian tapas (£4-£6.50). Classics like the aubergine masala, the lamb roganjosh and the Bombay aloo are what you would expect from a quality Indian restaurant: heavy on the aromatics, rich, and with a slightly oily texture. The mushroom, corn and baby spinach curry is more experimental but just as successful.

Once you are suitably stuffed, you can move on to the desserts (£3.50-£4.65). Leaving just a little space works, since a scoop of ice cream is more than enough to finish off the evening, especially if the flavours are so exotic as cardamom, mango and basil, or the recommended fig and ginger.

The Drink
The drink list is no less innovative since it branches out into a handful of traditional and exotic coktails (£7-£8). If the rose petal martini with lychee juice sounds tempting, the non-alcoholic Indian Summer (£5) probably will too - it's a sumptuous blend of mango, orange and strawberries. In fact, between mocktails and lassi infusions (£4.50), there's enough liquid goodness to forgo the alcohol for one night. If, however, you can't resist a snifter then Imli provides a dozen bottles of wine (£17-£30 with glasses at £4.35-£7) as well as beer (£3-£7) and the usual selection of spirits and liqueurs.

The Last Word
Particularly innovative and modern, Imli is part of a successful new wave of Indian restaurants. It is not only the contemporary décor, there's true substance here, with an intriguing concept menu and food which is definitely of a very high quality.

View®  Card offers venue information venue map view london review user reviews (5) image gallery (6) book a table