Meet me at Masala Zone

Photo Credit: Indu Chandrasekhar

It’s a known fact that taking the London tube every day makes you susceptible to advertising. After seeing the mouthwatering picture on the sign for masala zone every morning and evening I knew I had had to give it a try.

Despite the tempting advertisement, I was slightly skeptical of this restaurant for two reasons. Firstly it is based in Covent Garden—one of London’s biggest tourist traps and therefore most restaurants in that area are overpriced. Reason number two was that it is an Indian restaurant. Having a chain of Indian restaurants in London is no mean feat considering the city is famous for its fantastic curries, especially around the trendy Brick Lane area. So I was interested to see if Masala Zone could compete in both taste and price.

Putting all my skepticism aside I journeyed to Covent Garden to satisfy my curiosity. Being on a budget is always tricky when eating out, so the cheaper meal options are my yardstick. As far as I’m concerned if even the cheaper meals are delicious the venue is doing something right. Therefore, my first move when I got to the restaurant was to look at the prices on the menu. Surprisingly, despite the location it was reasonably priced with curry dishes starting from 6.50, excluding rice. I opted for their specialty which is the small complete meal. For 8.50 I got a little bit of everything on a tray. This included rice, a small main course, Nan bread, a chutney and two other unidentified dips.

Happy with my choice of main, I proceeded to order the cheapest glass of Sauvignon Blanc on the menu which turned out to be my first mistake. I don’t claim to be a wine expert but I could not stomach this particular brand which tasted like it has been sitting out of a fridge for half the day.  So, putting the wine to one side I took a taste of the meal, which in fairness, was quite delicious and in no way inferior to its Brick Lane counterparts.

After finishing my meal I took the time to soak in the atmosphere of the restaurant itself. Although pleasant, it is clear that this restaurant was a chain and lacked the authenticity of many Indian restaurants.

Masala Zone wasn’t exactly the fantasy I had been picturing, but all in all it was worth the tube journey … just don’t order the wine.