Our Review Of The Curry Room At Rubens At The Palace Hotel In London: Gourmet Yet Approachable Dishes

Going for a curry is an experience that can often leave you rolling home, with tiny beads of spice-induced sweat trickling down your skin and a contented belly full of one too many poppadoms (I swear it’s scientifically impossible to stop once you start chomping on those salty, bubbly disks of joy). It’s an experience I admit I don’t do a lot, as I’ve always been more prone to ordering one in; however, I was excited to visit The Curry Room at Rudens at the Palace, a five-star hotel situated within walking distance to Buckingham Palace.

With such a to-the-point name, as well as two AA Rosettes, I had high hopes for the restaurant’s selection of curries, thoughtfully curated by chef Aryn Kumar and all made with a base medium spice strength. I am proud to say that I can tolerate a bit of heat, so this failed to faze me, nor my Nandos-hot-eating boyfriend, who was my very enthusiastic dinner date for the evening.

The interiors were regal (pictured).

DesignMyNight Reviews The Curry Room At The Rubens At The Palace Hotel

We descended into the main dining room on a rich, red, spongy carpet which covered the entire restaurant, giving it an opulent, regal appearance. Decorating the walls were Rajasthani hand embroidery and dark wooden cabinets. The tables were dressed immaculately with tablecloths so white and crisp they made my clumsy hands shake in sauce-spilling anticipation. 

Our waiter promptly brought out a selection of dips (mango, lime pickle and raita) and some poppadoms for us to ravenously snack on while we waited for our starters, and nursed our wine. I enjoyed a fruity and balanced glass of Bouchard Finlayson sauvignon blanc, while my partner opted for a more full-bodied Quid Pro malbec from Argentina.

I was delighted when a crunchy-looking onion bhaji (£8) in a spiced gram flour batter arrived, drizzled in a mint and coriander chutney. It was one of the fanciest onion bhajis I’d ever seen, and really benefited from the coolness and zestiness of the chutney, which lifted the spiced layers of vegetable up, complementing its cumin kick. My partner's lamb shami kebab (£11) came with a similar sauce, while the kebab was more of a patty that crumbled and melted in the mouth.

Everything was presented neatly, and the curries arrived on a silver tray (pictured) that looked a little like a paw print. 

When it came to mains, we were advised to opt for chef Kumar’s Thali (£45 each), which involved our choice of three miniature-sized portions of the curry, a hearty heap of rice, yellow dhal and warm fluffy naan bread. It was the best way to get an idea of what each curry was like, especially when they were all so different.

I began with the Bengal fish curry, which had generous chunks of aubergine bobbing around in a warm, tomato-based sauce. It wasn’t as spicy as I thought it was going to be, but the white fish flaked apart beautifully and carried the fragrant flavour of the sauce well. It was a complete contrast to the decadent North Indian-style butter chicken curry. We helped ourselves to meaty chunks of chicken marinated in a buttery, aromatic sauce that felt naughty yet incredibly moreish at the same time. Again, this was a pretty tame dish in terms of heat; I’d consider it an approachable choice for those visiting with friends or family who aren’t used to spice.

And while my partner realised he still had a whole other lamb Punjabi to go (he got a little carried away with the soft, pillowy naan - who could blame him, it was the stuff of mopping up dreams), I finished off with the tofu and seasonal vegetable curry. This was cooked in a Dehli-style vegan sauce, and I was intrigued to see how a plant-based dish would translate here. I was pleasantly surprised, as while not much was done with the silky tofu (it looked like it had just been chopped into cubes and left to simmer), the sauce was brilliantly complex and married the protein well.

The cheesecake (pictured) was an excellent way to round off our curry feast. 

Having only been able to eat half of my rice, I was ready to call it quits after the four-curry marathon, which was understandable. However, my boyfriend was quite insistent on getting dessert, so we went for Bea Tollman’s baked vanilla cheesecake (£12.50) with a strawberry coulis and two fresh strawberry slices to garnish. I couldn’t fault his decision; the cheesecake was so creamy, tangy and crumbly (the holy trinity) that I entered dessert heaven via a food coma. It was a generous portion, too, considering we’d just eaten four curries, and the base was quite thick, making for an excellent thud of the spoon as we weakly sliced through. It was in this last bite that I acknowledged that I would, indeed, be rolling home.

Overall: The Curry Room at The Rubens at the Palace Hotel

While more expensive than a trip to your local curry house, The Curry Room is worth the splurge if you’re a curry lover looking for somewhere to dine for a special occasion in London. Its proximity to Buckingham Palace makes it feel regal before you even discover the lush seating and ruby-coloured accents. I thought that being able to have a mix of curries for yourself was a brilliant idea; it gave me the chance to try each one in equal measure without the disappointment of reaching for my favourite only to discover it’s all gone.

For more, check out our guide to the best Indian restaurants in London.