Chor Bizarre

I had not been here in quite a while and had a very nice meal. I started with the pomelo salad to be a little lighter and try something different. Different it was, and tasty too. The pomelo is like a grapefruit but had a firmer texture, almost like a pineapple. The salad had a little kick to it as well which made for a nice starter.

For a main, I had the lamb shank which was excellent. Well cooked, flavorful and delicious. As a singleton, it was hard to try too many things so I look forward to coming back with more people and sharing more dishes.

My partner and I went to Chor Bizarre for lunch one day, and overall, I felt that it was very good Indian food, but felt a little tricked by the waitress. We were walking around Mayfair and ask the concierge at the Athenaeum Hotel for some good Indian food in the area, and he recommended this place. He called ahead, though that wasn't really necessary because the place was empty for lunch.

Unfortunately, we were not able to spend a very long time at this restaurant because we had to quickly leave to make our plane back to America. We started with the chutney nadroo (crispy lotus root tossed in tamarind chutney, fennel seed and onion seeds), which were very light and acted as a great amuse bouche. For entree, we ordered the cauliflower and chicken biryani and some bread garlic roti (as well as a chicken dish I forget). They were without except very good,. We both love Indian food, and this is some of the best we've had.

However, I do think to a certain extent that the hostess pulled a fast one on us. They knew that the Athenaeum Hotel had just called for us, so for whatever reason, they did not give us a lunch menu and only gave us the full dinner menu even though we were rushed. Knowing that we had to leave very soon, why give us the menu with the tandoori options that take forever to cook? We didn't think to ask for lunch menu because we thought it would be provided to us if they had it, so instead of an affordable and quick Indian meal, we had all these dinner portions that we could not possibly finish nor actually take back home with us because of customs. What good is that? So while the food was very good we did feel a bit taken advantage of by the hostess.

Also, this place was a bit difficult to find. There's another Indian restaurant on that same street that we went into, and that one also looked very nice. The vibe inside Chor Bizarre was very classic and traditional, and I really liked it.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Chor Bizarre for Indian food. They had a good number of choices, and the food was delicious. But unfortunately, because we felt a little tricked, I can't really give them a perfect score.

Went back to Chor Bizarre for dinner last night...it was even more disappointing than the first time.

Food is unbelievably spicy - despite requesting it to be mild. Overall food was also just okay...

-- PINDI CHHOLE was good but so spicy I couldn't enjoy it.
-- PAKORAS were pretty good.
-- CHICKEN (can't remember the exact name) was good per my husband.
-- NAAN was dry and unflavorful.
-- MIXED VEGETABLES were super spicy. Can't find this on the online menu so I don't know the exact name but it was basically a frozen vegetable mix with a bit of masala on it. I could have made this and I'm a terrible cook.

Once again the service was pretty terrible. The lady who took our order forgot to bring us our naan, which wasn't a big deal, but she basically argued with me back and forth, saying that we never ordered it in the first place. She never checked up on us, didn't fill our water glasses, etc. The whole thing was very strange.

Overall I appreciate the manager coming by, which is when I mentioned the weirdness of the naan situation. He apologized and brought us a free dessert. The lady also apologized and said she didn't mean to argue. I appreciated her apology but there are way too many good restaurants in Mayfair to pay such a premium at Chor Bizarre. We won't be returning.

Every so often, yet not that often, yours truly needs warmth.

Not human warmth, mind you, not feelings or love or a comforting embrace. No.
Warmth in the belly.
And Chor Bizarre delivered, ladies and gees, it delivered that mixture of 'Im in Mayfair so I can wear a fur and not feel ashamed' and 'this is low key enough that I can scoop the curry up with the naan'

The team and I (four famished ladies) ordered a mix of sharing platters and curries suggested by the waiter, and the service was courteous and quick, with the meats being far more satisfying than my usual Friday evenings', which to be fair is not a huge assessment but hey.

Decor is also lovely, quirky and eccentric. Would return.

Now I'm going to be marginally cheeky here and paraphrase my dad's review as this is where I took him for his birthday on my colleague's advice, and we were not disappointed!


"We ordered a light meal as I had had a late lunch. The highlight dish was without a doubt the Sharabi Kababi Tikkia Masala which was absolute divine, chicken cooked in a hot sauce with a predominant flavour of pepper, aniseed and curry leaves. A speciality from the coastal region of Tamil Nadu. The steamed basmati rice and roti accompanied recommended suited drinks. One always knows when food is good if your appetite is rekindled! I had mango kulfi for desert which rounded things off nicely.There are many Indian restarants around but few have this finesse in both flavour and heat. I will be returning!"


Well said Dad, a firm family favourite!

I had a great time at Chor Bizarre with a former colleague who likes to visit this restaurant every time he is in London. He is an expert in everything Indian so I let him order, and we ended up with quite a few dishes that were all really amazing. Here is what I can remember after a quick perusal of the online menu:

--Bhuna Batair (£ 16.50) - this Tandoori roasted quail really stole the show- it was aromatic, tender, and fantastic
--Lamb Yakhni (£ 18.00) - flavorful and delicious
--Saag Paneer (£ 13.00) - perfectly seasoned with huge chunks of paneer
--Dal Chor Bizarre (£ 9.50) - some of the best lentils I've ever had!

As you can see from the above, the prices are bit high but you are paying for the cozy ambiance and for the cute little touches like giving ladies a bangle on the way out. The portions are also quite large- I ended up taking home a substantial doggie bag and eating delicious leftovers for my next two meals!

Ate dinner here at about 7:30 on a Saturday night. We had been here previously many years ago and remembered the food. At 7:30 we were the only ones there but it quickly filled up between 800 and 830.

Food was great, service was very good with welcoming atmosphere. We shared the vegetarian sampler as a starter and what a treat. The broccoli and the paneer are not to be missed.

For main course we had the Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Roghanjosh. Both we very good. Meat was good quality and very tender. The spices are what makes Chor special. From the sauce on the broccoli, to the chutney when we sat down makes Chor a favorite while in London for my wife and I.

They have a full bar menu. We had a bottle of Prosecco which was very good. Subtracting the wine bill is about £50/person including the naan and rice for 2.

We've been on the hunt for quite some time to find the best Indian food in London, and after a year, hadn't come up with anything worth jumping up and down about. Tayyabs certainly has some interesting stuff, but their grill is way over-rated, often serving over grilled, tough meats. Lahore kebab has some very solid curries, but nothing that really rocks the imagination.

I've gone upscale and tried Veeraswamy - and it was over-priced, predictable, and uninspired. Haven't tried Amaya but it's on the list.

We then went down the list of Mark Bittman's recommendations, and after the first one turned out to be a disappointment (Sitaaray on Drury Lane), we despaired that Bittman had any clue what he was talking about. Then we came across Chor Bizarre.

Wow.

The combination of flavors, spices, and freshness of the dishes made for some first rate food. Without exception, each of the various vegetable dishes we had was inspired, thought provoking, and must.put.more.in.mouth delicious.

I've only ever come across a similar level of interesting flavors at one restaurant -- Tamarind Bay in Cambridge MA, in its early days. Indian food that is so good, when you walk out into the street, you're already planning on your calendar when you can make it there next.

Service is meh, but COME ON PEOPLE who goes to an Indian restaurant for the service? You come here for the FOOD.

Chor Bazaar was the choice of a friend who lives in London. It turned out to be quite a good choice, and I enjoyed my dining experience.

We had a reservation and were seated promptly. The decor in the restaurant is pretty cool - and eclectic mix of Indian-themed tables, chairs and decorations that are purposely not all the same. It gave the restaurant a nice eclectic feel.

The food was excellent. They had an extensive menu that focused on North Indian cuisine, but with a few southern twists thrown in (South Indian Parathas, my favorite). The table shared a shrimp masala, lamb ghost and a butter chicken dish. All were delicious, especially the lamb, which came with a wonderful rich gravy.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 starts is because I thought it was a little bit expensive for the portion sizes it delivered.

If you like Indian food and want to try more of an Indian Fusion, give Amaya a try... It's pricey, but the food is well worth it.

I've only been to Chor Bizzare once and I have to say, I wasn't impressed with both the food or the service.
My boyfriend and I had heard about it as being slightly 'different' from your typical Indian restaurants and being Indian ourselves, we were intrigued and decided to try it out.
When we got there the decor was very opulent and decadent, and my first impressions were good.
We sat down and decided that we would order some starters, a mixture of chicken and lamb kebabs and something which we had never come across before - rabbit kebab.
It was good but not great. I've had better Indian food in much less fancy establishments and haven't had to pay over the odds for it. Furthermore, when asking for the bill, we had to ask three times and two different waiters before it arrived.
Overall I think that Chor Bizzare is overrated and expensive. If people are looking for good, tasty, Indian good then travel further afield to the Harrow, Queesnbury, Wembley etc area where the food is better and more reasonable. Alternatively, if you are in Central London then go to Dishoom! I also felt like the waiters were not giving us the same attention or service as the other (non-Indian) guests. This may be me being cynical or controversial however that is how I felt.
Needless to say, I won't be going back to Chor Bizzare again.