Indian Zing

Indian Zing opened in 2004, on the busy King Street in Hammersmith, near Ravenscourt Park. Its founder and head chef is Manoj Vasaikar, who had been head chef at Veeraswamy and deputy head chef at Chutney Mary before opening Indian Zing. He had previously trained at various hotel groups in India, including ITC Sheraton, Taj and Oberoi. 

There was a short wine list, though with no vintages listed. Example labels included, Badet Clement Languedoc Viognier at £36.00 for a wine that retails at £18, a (misspelt) Featherdrop Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc at £42 compared to its shop price of about £16, and Domaine Lucien Crochet Sancerre La Croix du Roy at £56 for a wine with a market value of £29. The menu was fairly lengthy, with dishes from different regions of India.

A basket of popadoms comprised rice pappadums, whole wheat crisp flat bread and spicy roasted urad dal pappadums. These came with mint, coriander and pomegranate seed relish, a raita made of Greek yoghurt, onion, cucumber, tomatoes and raisins, as well as mango chutney with black peppercorn, cumin and bay leaves. The popadoms were nicely crisp and the accompaniments went well.

 Malai methi murgh was cooked in the tandoor, the breast of chicken marinated with cheese to soften the meat, and cooked with dried fenugreek, served with a green herb relish. This was quite good, the flavours coming through well, though the chicken was cooked just a fraction longer than ideal and had dried out a touch (13/20). Crab meat was mixed with spices, herbs and coriander cress, along with pan seared potatoes and served on its shell. The crab was free of shell and the blend of spices nicely enhanced the delicate flavour of the crab (14/20). 

Malabar chicken curry had pieces of chicken breast flavoured with mustard seeds, whole spices, onions, ginger, garlic, curry leaves, tomatoes, tamarind, as well as coconut milk. This had very good flavour balance (14/20). I was less taken with Keralan fish stew, which used a fish called pantgasuis, a kind of catfish. The stew also had vegetables including artichoke, beans and coconut milk. I didn't think that the fish had much flavour, while the spices came through less distinctly than in the chicken curry (12/20). On the side, tarka dhal with red chillies and garlic was fine (13/20). I enjoyed gobi mattur, a mix of cauliflower and peas, which had good spicing and nicely retained the texture of the vegetables (14/20). Garlic naan had pleasing, soft texture and plenty of garlic flavour (13/20). Saffron rice with cumin was also fine.

Service was friendly, and the bill came to £108 each, though much of that was a bottle of Bollinger NV champagne (at £96 compared to its retail price of £59). If you shared a modest bottle of wine then a typical cost per person might be around £55. Indian Zing is a good neighbourhood restaurant that continues to deliver enjoyable food.

Further reviews: 05th Dec 2023 | 05th Oct 2009