Curry may be the country’s national dish, but that message hasn’t reached the Maida Vale district of London. Despite your reviewer having lived locally for over 20 years, not a single Indian restaurant has either thrived or survived over this period. Chakra, a mini London chain, recently chose to open its fourth outlet in the area. It’s a brave restaurateur that seeks to succeed where others have failed. Based on a recent visit, Chakra may not endure.
A brief perusal of the restaurant’s website ought to ring some alarm bells. If I want a night out involving curry, I probably would not have in mind “a dining experience that manifests calm and harmony.” Sure, Chakra does have beautiful décor, with lush dark blue wallpaper, smoked mirrors and lots of greenery, but the concept of calmness seemed also to have been taken to extremes since when my comrade and I visited at 9pm on a Friday evening, we were almost the only guests present. When I asked our server whether the venue was usually busier, she asserted so, but provided no real explanation behind the current absence of guests.
One potential explanation could be the confusion surrounding the menu. Chakra’s website suggests that the culinary approach embraces North Indian and Punjabi cooking, but our impression was a more notable nod to Indo-Chinese dishes. The segmentation of the menu was also curious, with our chosen starters (from the ‘small bites’ section) more akin to side dishes. There was also a notable absence of anything that could be truly considered a vegetarian main. Here, the mains felt like sides. It was also unclear where grilled options might sit alongside more traditional curries. Throughout, our server made no effort either to encourage us in a certain direction or to talk us through the menu’s complexities.
When the food came, it was good, but certainly far from outstanding. Our sea-spiced aubergine starter was overly greasy and gelatinous. This was redeemed by our other choice of salt & pepper tofu, which contained a firm punch of flavour yet also managed not to be too heavy. My grilled lamb chops were probably the highlight, with their prior marinading in ginger and coriander lending a lot of flavour to the offering. Were there a criticism, then it would be the small portion size, particularly given the price (almost £17). By contrast, my comrade’s paneer butter masala and dahl makhani were so large that we were unable to finish them, even if takeaway cartons were provided.
It's a real pity that we didn’t have a better experience at Chakra. I very much wanted to be delighted with my local Indian, regardless of whether or not it would “restore calm and harmony to my body.” Chakra showed some flashes of greatness (the poppadoms were good too), but the experience was generally underwhelming and far from cheap, particularly once a bottle of wine was added to the bill. Let’s see how long the venue survives.