Akash Tandoori

Hidden gem next to the launderette. Lamb Passandra and Vegetable rice was delicious.
Staff very polite, friendly and attentive.
I must go back!

Small little place that is even hard to find. Prices are good, service was great, and the food showed up quickly. Food was good, but the chicken Tikka Masala was sweeter than I like it.

On a bien mangé, accueil sympathique cependant où sont les desserts?
Inexistants dans ce restaurant ! Étrange …mais entrées et plats étaient très bons !

It’s a nice little restaurant. We wouldn’t have found without the direction «under the stairs». The service is just excellent. Polite, friendly, helpful.
The food was delicious! We had the Butter Tandori Chicken and the Chicken Marsalla. The housewine was a surprise because it was good too.
It’s a shame that London isn’t around the corner because we would eat here a lot.

This place hit the spot. Once we found it, we returned three times in a short two week trip. The food is delicious especially the tikka both lamb and chicken. Indian food isn’t usually our go-​to but we were craving this food. The staff is very friendly and the price is a steal.

In short, do not let the location below the stairs put you off, Akash has a nice house white and does delicious Indian food.
Akash restaurant is located at an odd place, because it is a little bit hidden away behind some stairs. I walked past this restaurant so often, and never went in — in part exactly due to its strange location. After eating there, I can ensure that it is not at all as dodgy as it can seem from the outside.
To start off my dinner, I ordered the house white wine, and it was surprisingly good. The wine was dry and crisp, a very good choice. I did not bother to get a starter and went straight to the main with the delicious butter chicken dish. Because I like bread, I choose naan bread as side dish — to soak up all the tasty sauce.
There was a funny detail about this naan bread, that I did not expect. I ate naan bread at quite a few places by now, but it never reminded me of pancakes. This naan bread did — I think it was a bit sweeter than most other naan breads I’ve had so far. It also was very soft, which supported the pancake-​like impression of this bread. The oddity of pancake flavour aside, the naan bread tasted really good. For me, it complemented the a slightly spicy sauce very well, I enjoyed the contrast of the sauce and the sweet bread.
The dessert was a bit of a let down. Strawberries are always a winner, but this strawberry cup looked very much like a ready-​made kind of ice cream cup, which was not really what I expected from an Indian restaurant.
Overall, Akash is a welcome addition to my list of decent local restaurants and I will definitely go there again. Next time, I might also check out their bar — another detail you probably do not expect at most Indian places.

Akash is a tiny little Bangladeshi curry house on the Edgware road, just opposite the Little Venice canal. It’s been there since before I was even born (mid 70’s?), and is a real golden oldie. If Akash were a record, then it would have to be something like a 12 vinyl recording of Led Zepplin’s ‘Stairway to Heaven’. A timeless classic.
If you’re a Little Venetian like me, and you’re reading this, then you probably know it all already. But for those of you who are yet to be furnished with this invaluable little bit of information, please read on
Hidden under what looks like a staircase leading to a first floor block of flats, lies a miniscule wooden veneered playhouse-​style front of a door (and one window), that is the entrance to Akash. It’s hardly noticeable. You’d probably notice it if you were walking on that side of the road, southbound towards Marble Arch; but other than that, driving past it or even being on the other side of the road, renders it pretty much invisible to the naked eye.
It is a true local, in every sense of the word. As you enter into this oasis of calm, what strikes you first is the timeless tranquility of the atmosphere inside. This is in real contrast to the hustle and the bustle of the nonstop traffic outside on the Edgware rd. It’s like you’ve stepped into another world, a peaceful world. Inside, the room is tiny, resembling that of an airplane cabin aisle or something similar, with booths to the left, and free standing tables to the right. The booths house four people, and are sectioned off neatly by lovely, ornamental, carved-​wood, trellis-​like palisades, which give you a nice sense of privacy but also enable you to see through them at the same time. We always go for the booths. In the background is a constant chiming of what I guess is supposed to be classic Indian (subcontinental Asian) indigenous music? It’s like a soft ‘ping ping ping’ type of sound, that is both relaxing and appetite-​inducing.
The real forte of Akash, is its consistency; that being the ability to serve you good curries of exactly the same quality, all year round, year in year out. You never have the misfortune of eating a dud curry in here; it’s always the same. Always. There’s a little bit of trumpet-​blowing, decorating the wall next to the counter, with photographs of the main chef receiving numerous awards for best cook etc, coupled with various signed pictures of famous people, notably ‘Lulu’ and the late ‘John Inman’. Apparently someone * cough * requested his picture to be taken down, in light of Johns recent departure, which I think is totally unfair. It’s these little touches that bring a real sense of nostalgic character, neighbourly community, and individuality to these types of local eateries.
If the consistency of quality food is a forte in Akash, then the price of the food has to be the mainstay. I’d hate to use the word ‘cheap’, being rather fond of this place, because that word can carry negative connotations. So instead we can call it ‘unbelievably affordable’. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve ordered a massive takeaway, only to find myself standing at the door, frowning down at the inconceivably inexpensive bill, then saying to the delivery man something like you sure you haven’t left anything out? or Jesus Christ, that’s a bit cheap innit? or wowzers, that’s certainly good value for money here, have a tip etc. You can basically fill up four ravenous stomachs with a twenty pound note.
THE FOOD
The menu is straight forward, with all the classics lined up in an orderly manner, categorized clearly in the appropriate sections. The chicken samosas are scrumptious, served piping hot, with a tasty meat and veg filling, wrapped up in a crisp golden pastry. They look like giant won tons. The onion Bahjis are huge balls of interlaced deep fried onion, both crispy and juicy at the same time, with a lovely golden colour. They used to do a mouthwatering Saag Paneer (a fried spinach dish with melted cheese mixed in) with really gooey cheese; but lately they changed the cheese to some sort of hard cheese, which really doesn’t melt, which is a bit of a disappointment for me. I always order the chicken Korma, which comes in a lovely creamy sauce, which to my liking, is perfectly balanced with cream, spices and coconut (I think? I swear there’s some almond in there too) and contains six or seven big chunks of chewy chicken meat. I always get a boiled egg in mine; it’s a bit of a ritual, which the manager there has become accustomed to over the past twelve years. I don’t even ask for the boiled egg anymore, and am always pleasantly surprised to see it sitting right there in the middle of the pot amongst the chicken cubes. The Tandoori chicken is a bit lean (would be nice to have a much thicker leg/​thigh, but I got a funny feeling this dry cooking style reduces the water content, and so is meant to be like this) but comes nicely seasoned with a red coating of the spice. The Pilau rice is fragrant,

I have visited Akash on numerous occasions across many years and I must say I have never been disappointed. Friendly staff welcome you to the diminutive interior, where you will be served quality Indian food with a much more «home made» flavour than most English versions of an Indian restaurant. The poppadoms come with dips that taste far fresher and flavoursome than most. Onion Bhajis that are not just standard prepacked, frozen versions that sometimes crop up, they had a real flavour. Main dishes all have a nice depth of flavour, that do not rely on an overkill of strong flavours (artificial or otherwise).
Great, but somewhat cramped, restaurant for decent price. Fresh, great tasting ingredients seal the deal.