Soho’s Carnaby Street corridor has become a smart area for grabbing a quality curry, with excellent restaurants such as Asma Khan’s Darjeeling Express and Calcutta Canteen, Dishoom and couple of other South Asian inspired eateries clustered around the street. New to the scene is Soho Wala with a menu of “fresh Indian street food” served in a relaxed atmosphere.
I recently had dinner at this two months old restaurant nestled on the side fo the Courthouse Hotel opposite the ‘top’ of Carnaby Street.
Getting to Soho Wala about 10 minutes or so earlier than my guest, I settled in with a snack of crunchy truffle flavoured phulwadi and the first of two bottles of Cobra (330ml, £4.90). Once my dining buddy arrived, we ordered a range of dishes to share.
We enjoyed most the items selected from the small plates section of the menu. The chapati peanut chaat (roasted peanuts with chilli, coriander and red onion, £4) and kurkure bhaji (crispy lotus root and okra, £4.20) were particularly tasty. I’d be inclined to have them again and to explore other small plate options. That said, larger dishes certainly weren’t bad. I liked the clay oven baked prawn balchao with its aniseed and chilli sauce (£11). Kali dal with choor choor naan (slow cooked black lentils, with naan, £8.10) was a rich savoury treat as well.
Jalebi waffle ice cream (£5) was a fun and syrupy dessert to share at the end or the meal and before a pot a fresh mint tea to round things out. The eclectically furnished dining room was near capacity during the early Friday evening when I visited. Service was friendly and efficient.
Soho Wala is located at 21 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7HL (enter on the side of the Courthouse Hotel). Find out more at sohowala.com.
