Mala

This place is great! I asked for extra spicy sauce on the side since my wife doesn’t like it too spicy and they made me an extra side of curry, extra spicy, and it was terrific!

For a mid-​ranged sit down meal this is probably one of the better options around St Katherine’s, at least you’ll leave full without feeling you’ve paid over the odds and the flavours are not too bad. The lunchtime Thali is good to taste a variety of dishes. It’s not the place to go if you’re looking for atmosphere but it does a job.

I went here for dinner two nights in a row. Very solid Indian food on St Katharines Dock area by the Tower of London. Many dishes feature the flavors of ginger, coriander and onion and garlic. While I have had better Indian food in London I would recommend this place. It was quite crowded both Friday (when I went early) and Saturday (when I went late) nights. Still they took walk ins and I was seated quickly.
Onion naan was very good and the portions are sized perfectly.
One issue is that their selection of wine by the glass is extremely limited. You don’t go to an Indian restaurant for grape wine but the bottle list is pretty long. Why not the same for by the glass selections?
Décor is clean bright and real spacious; a lively atmosphere and fine for kids. If they make a fuss no one will notice in all likelihood.

Exceptional! I was in India in November 2015 and have since been searching for anything that remotely compared. This place did not disappoint! The food was flavorful with an expert level of spice, the service was excellent, and the view is terrific.

Late night checking in, starving, close to my hotel. Walked in around 10pm and it was surprisingly full. It’s a bit of a weird vibe. All the employees are in tuxedos but it’s not really a dressy place. Not great service. After I was seated (no napkin and no water… but they brought my wine quickly!), the service was quite slow. However the food is really good. If they worked on their service I’d give them another star.

Had a hair in the naan bread and had to ask several times for them to bring us water and more refills on some of our food. Was a big disappointed with the food for the price.

The food was delicious. However, they forgot an order of rice and an order of naan, which was fine, but we had to remind them many times before they actually gave us what we ordered. The staff wasn’t very polite either. Again, the food was very good though.

Best Indian I’ve had hands down! Garlic cheese naan bread was amazing, chicken Tika masala was fantastic as well.

Great service !! Great food !! Lively Vibe !! I was there last week and my favorite entrée was Methi Chicken !!

Genuinely Indian food, lamb jalfrezi was amazing. It’s hard to find true Indian restaurant in central London, if you are craving for Indian food go here.

Loved the food and the atmosphere! Great view of docks! Great service!

Ate lunch here with family. Great setting at St. Katherine’s Dock. We didn’t know much about Indian food so we admitted as much. No worries, the waiter suggested the 2 course lunch for each of us which consisted of a starter and a main dish. We had 5 starters, all separate items to sample and 5 main dishes which provided us an opportunity to try many things. The conclusion I reached is that Indian food has so many sophisticated varieties of taste that westerners just don’t get a chance to experience. The food was fantastic. Interior was regal and waiters, in full black and whites is friendly, respectful and helpful. Our second trip here now and both occasions were of the highest quality. We will return next time we make it to London. Signed, paul, a Midwesterner from the good ol’ USA.

I’ve been to Mala several times now, and being of Indian heritage, I’ve got a good idea of what’s good Indian food, and what isn’t. With this restaurant being around the corner from where I work, it’s often suggested for a lunch treat.
First off, Mala is almost hidden away in a far end corner of St Katherine’s Dock, but once you arrive there, the restaurant is spacious and there’s more than enough room for diners not to be clashing into each other. It’s rather a breath of (London) fresh air to be in a restaurant where you’re not packed in like cattle.
About 75% of the time I’ve been though, I’ve always noticed a little fly hovering around the table we’re seated at. If that continues, I’m probably going to end up naming it.
The waiters are impeccably dressed and very polite, and generally pretty decent at taking your order and fetching it. Don’t expect much in the way of banter with them — it’ll just confuse the poor souls.
I’ve also witnessed a waiter accidentally knock over a glass of red wine over a member of our party (and her lovely dress), and then at the end of the meal, to have offered to only strike the Red Wine off the bill. Not cool, at all.
The food itself is alright though — I usually opt for the Non Veg Thali, which is a mix of dishes. Naan bread, Lamb dishes, Chicken dish, a Potato mix and a pot of veg and what I think is meant to be Raita, but just tastes rather boring. For a mere £10, you won’t be leaving hungry after all that.
Do note that if you do go at lunchtime, by default they’ll give you the ‘cut down’ version of the full menu, to guide you to just order the dishes they can get out quickly (mainly the Thalis). If you want to see their full menu, ask for it.
Unlike Dishoom, the Mango Lassi at Mala is spot on — thick, flavoursome and plentiful. Though a jug will set you back about £13, which is quite the markup!
So overall, Mala is a nice place to go. It’s not stunning, but you won’t be paying over the odds, the food is decent and though the service can be sketchy, the setting itself is nice enough.

If I give Punjab Grill in Singapore five stars, Mala is a strong 3.5. Good tastes but lacking finesse. I took the set menu which consisted of maybe four dishes and some sides.
Service can be a bit slow and inattentive, but nice.

Fantastic! If you’re ever at the Tower of London/​Tower Hill area and get hungry for dinner, Mala is the place to go (especially if you have out-​of-​town guests to impress, like I did). And especially if you’re super hungry. We were very happy with it.
The first thing we noticed was on the walk there — it’s on a little inlet with a bunch of boats next to the river. Beautiful with the reflections of light at night, and one of the many times where I have a moment of how much I love all the different facets of London.
Inside, the space is large and inviting, with lovely décor and low lighting. There weren’t many people here on a quiet Sunday night — all the better for us.
I had a Mango Lassi to drink, my first time to try a lassi. It’s a thick, filling yoghurt drink, but sooo delicious. Also, tandoori vegetables/​cheese (Paneer & Subzi Tandoori Shasli), cheese naan, and Indian donuts and ice cream for dessert. And the best poppadum I’ve ever had (a crispy tortilla-​like starter accompanied by three types of sauces) I was stuffed!
Tip: My companions ordered meat/​seafood platters, and were told they were per person, but they were HUGE. Two people could definitely share one, especially if you get a starter as well.

I had a very nice lunch here. They were prompt, very tasty, and generous portions. I had the vegetarian thali, which is about 4 small pots of different vegetarian dishes, some rice, and some naan bread. It’s a really delicious lunch at a reasonable lunch-​time price.
Service was fast enough, the restaurant was clean, quiet, and attractive. There’s a lot to like.

A bit on the expensive side (plus 12.5% service charge), but: amazing food, amazing service, amazing location. Enough said!

Excellent Indian! We had a large group so we ordered a lot. The usual; tikka masala, tandoori chicken, samosas, jalfrezi, different naan, we also ordered a huge seafood platter, chana dahl and murgh dopiaza.
Everything was delicious!!! The jalfrezi was thought to be the best we’d ever tasted. The tikka masala was amazing and the tandoori was boneless, a first, since usually it has the bone. Everything was fantastic, highly recommend!
Great staff and location, right on the boat docs over by Tower Bridge. Very good, highly recommend!

Great food in a great environment. Really liked all the dishes. Especially the butter chicken, vindaloo and many of the house specialties. Our waiter Farouk and a young man from Bangladesh whose name I cannot remember we’re very helpful and friendly. Nice view of the yachts from nearly everywhere. Also a great value for upscale Indian food.

Fantastic Indian food. The lamb jalfrezi was incredible. Ditto on the prawn biriyani. Mix them together and you have a little bit of heaven.
It’s hard to go wrong with Indian in London, but Mala shines. The location isn’t too shabby either.