Masala Zone

We were able to get a table for 2 after a 20-​minute wait — the line can be long but it moves quickly. We ordered off the special menu. My friend and I split the appetizer platter of the «traditional street food» and the sample platter with prawn curry, butter chicken, rice, lentils, naan, and the vegetable of the day (cauliflower). They told us that a platter would only feed one person but it is definitely large enough for two! Extremely flavorful and lots of great variety on the platters. I also ordered the drink with chili vodka (I forget what it’s called but it was the second one on the menu, with the chili vodka and grenadine) and it was very good, albeit a little sweet.
The décor inside is extremely colorful and warm — the colored lamps make the place super bright yet cozy.
Not the cheapest place, but I imagine it’d be great for an occasion with friends!

Food is high quality, but the prices are much too high for the service and quantity of food delivered… Not the best.

Fun place and good indian food.
The locale is filled with ceiling hanging marionettes. Very picturesque.
Place is packed.
We ordered a sample of dishes:
Chicken samosas
Aloo Tikki Chaat
Dahi Bhalla
Dali Puri
Dehli Chicken Tikka
Malai Chicken Tikka likedit!!!
Chicken Wrap
Cheese Naan
Steamed rice. Could eat the whole bowl.
Washed down with Mango Bellinis, Mango smoothies, Masala Cola, tea.

What can I say… I love the food here. It’s so close to the food you can get in India. Tasty, real Indian flavors and perfect ambience. I say this because trust me… I had most horrible Indian food experiences in UK. Some places served mozzarella cheese cubes instead of paneer!!! But this place is one of the best Indian restaurants. You are in good hands. And every branch of masala zone has a themed ambience and it’s so good and relaxing.

Been here twice. Amazing staff, food and value for money. Will be back many times in the future. Atmosphere is also incredible with the décor! Would recommend.

Food was great… But BEWARE! I watched the waiter bus our table from the previous diners. He move the used place mats to one side of table, wiped it down and repeated the process for the other side then reset the table with the used place mats. I brought this to the hostess’ attention I was told she would look into it. Never heard back. Additionally we were given, 6 water glasses that were filthy and appeared to come from the «Waiting to be washed pile’» Food good but not good enough to make up for their lack of controls around cleanliness. I will not return

Whenever I walk in, there are at least several tables of Pakistani or Indian customers. I think that says it all. My Pakistani friend compared the food to his grandmother’s. The price is right, too!

Average Indian fare. No bread or rice with the stews. The rice sides are small so order more than you think you’ll need for your group. Overall a reasonably place to grab a quick bite if you’re craving Indian while at Covent Garden.

Interesting Indian restaurant with a modern touch (not the typical Indian place… more a kind of tourist-​occidentalized Indian place) and consistent food.
I will never understand why they make you wait before being seated when there are at least 6 to 10 tables available in different sections of the restaurant,
The food is OK, though a typical Indian restaurant in the Indian area is likely better and cheaper. But the experience is worth a try for sure.

My cousins and I wandered into Masala Zone because of the smell-​it was intoxicating, especially to three hungry girls. After wandering around Covent Garden, and literally running into the BAFTA’s going on, we were ready for a hearty dinner and Masala Zone was perfect. We started with some vegetable samosa and naan, both of which were so fresh and chock full of flavor. We all got thali and it was the perfectly balanced and proportioned meal. The thali consists of two chutneys, two curries, rice/​bread, and a spicy paste and it’s a great way to sample different bits of the menu. I stuck to the spicy vegetarian curry and loved it!
The restaurant is decorated with hanging Indian marionette puppets, which creates a cozy and very colorful atmosphere and is quite large. It would be a fun place for a large family/​friends dinner. I am taking one star away from service as we had about four different people serve us and it became very confusing. Everyone was extremely helpful and kind but it was hard to keep everyone straight! I am sure there is other great Indian food in London, but if you are near Covent Garden Masala Zone is worth checking out.

The thali lunch is a good deal. Regular thali is under 10 bucks and the grand thali is under 14. The main diff is that grand thali comes with both rice and chapati and starter. For regular thali you can choose between rice or chapati
The ambience is really pretty though with small rajasthani puppets suspended from the ceiling. It looks pretty in here
The service is a little slow but since it is crowded it is acceptable. The servers are courteous though

Summary based on one dinner:
–had a grand thali, which was too much, but I wanted rice & bread
–not the best Indian food I’ve ever had, as is touted, but pretty good
–popular, leading to queues at the door when you haven’t booked
–friendly service
–ok prices
Recommended in the touristy Covent Garden area

Love love this place! The puppets on the ceiling are beautiful, and I love the fact you get thalis. It’s definitely much better if you order a Thali rather than separately. Try the saffron chicken or the Malabar chicken, the paneer makhanwala is also tasty

Klare fünf Sterne für dieses indische Restaurant mit mehreren «Niederlassungen».
Der Service ist sehr aufmerksam und scharf meint schon recht scharf, aber auf Wunsch gibt es noch extra Chilis dazu, die es in sich haben,
Das kostenlose WLAN gibts mit dem Passwort «bestindia»

Looking for someplace interesting to eat my son and I stumbled upon Marsala Zone and figured we would give it a try. The staff were very helpful explaining the dining/​food options. We enjoyed diverse platters and everything was delicious. The bill was very reasonable. The interior is quite interesting with colorful dolls hanging from the ceiling and interesting masks on the walls.
But it’s all about the food and Masala Zone excels.

Food was nice. The place is clean by London standards. Kid friendly. Although the menu says the food is hot, It isn’t by Louisiana standards.
Worth a try nonetheless.

Kinda disappointing for the price.
We ordered two portions of kababs as the starter. It was nice, but I’d say I’d had better ones. I ordered a grand thali, with chicken curry. This probably is the best deal, especially when you don’t know what exactly to have — - for less than 15 pounds, you can get a taste of everything!
My friends had rotis, nams and rice together with different gravy dishes. They were good, but again, I think i’d had much better ones before. They taste… well just typically restaurant-​style (yeah, what do I expect at a restaurant anyway???) The lamb chop was good though, worth trying, but other than this and the thali, I wasn’t really impressed to be honest. The 6 of us ended up spending over 110 pounds without drinks, which was pricy compared with the quality of the food.

i was super excited to eat here. it looked cool and loved the dolls hanging from the ceiling. it even smelled good. however i was not impressed with the food and it didn’t taste as authentic as i hoped it would be. i have definitely had better butter chicken elsewhere.
and it’s dumb for entrees not to come with rice automatically.

This was a great spot for Indian food…
I liked it so much, I actually visited this spot twice during my London stay. Each time I had their Thali option, which included a very good portion of food and I left satisfied… there are a handful of options available so you can cater it to your personal taste. The restaurant décor was also great since they had hundreds of traditional puppets hanging from the ceiling… mixed with the modern and traditional fixtures and furniture, it made for great ambiance that was cool yet warm and inviting.
Located near Covent Garden, this place has a large menu with something for everyone.

This Masala Zone location is one of seven locations that they have in London and just like every other location, they serve up some delicious — you guessed it — Indian fare to the masses. With its unique, cheerful and frankly quite amusing décor, this place won us over the moment we stepped in and we knew that we’d be in for a good meal. As we were seated and brought menus and some water, we kept looking up at the several hundred puppets from Rajasthan suspended from the ceiling. It was quite a sight to see.
Covent Garden being a fairly expensive area of London, we were happy to see that they offered lunch specials; we gladly took advantage of those and were able to get a combo for £10 which included a starter and an entrée.
Ironically enough, because my sister lived so close and it was a great, go-​to, cheap lunch, we ended up going there multiple times and were able to try quite a few dishes — especially since their combos are offered up as thalis which are a selection of small dishes served up an an entrée.
From their tikka malasa to their chappati, the raita, the dal, the rice, everything was always good. Especially their butter chicken. I ever tried their very unique Masala Coke which is a Coca~Cola beverage sprinkled with some Indian spices and some mint. It was uniquely refreshing albeit a bit weird.
Service there is always quick, efficient and pretty attentive. The place was also very clean, spacious and convenient located. We’re fans.

Wir sind hier durch Zufall über eine Empfehlung der Konkurrenz-​App vorbeigekommen und spontan wegen der ansprechenden und orginellen Einrichtung zum Essen geblieben.
Als Thali-​Neulinge wurden wir sehr nett und ausführlich beraten, die Bedienung half uns beim Zusammenstellen und gab uns hilfreiche Tipps. Auch für unsere Kinder gab es hier genügend Auswahl, die Speisekarte ist absolut familiengeeignet.
Alle Curries waren köstlich, mal scharf, mal mild, das Fleisch (Huhn und Lamm) sehr zart und ebenfalls sehr lecker. Letztendlich waren unsere Augen grösser als der Mund, nach dem köstlichen Grand Thali waren wir mehr als satt, das mittlere hätte wohl auch gereicht.
Die Preise waren angemessen, ca. 10 £ für das mittlere Thali, 12£ für das größere. Wein und Bier sind (vergleichsweise) teuer. Alles in allem aber typische Londoner Preise und der gebotenen Leistung entsprechend.
Eine klare Empfehlung unsereseits und ein Grund, London noch ein Mal zu besuchen.

Masala Zone is a chain of restaurants belonging to the MW Eat Collection. So yes, it feels like a chain unlike many of London’s restaurant chains which in fact, don’t.
The overall rating is at best, mediocre.
First, the negatives. The food doesn’t taste fresh and that’s pretty much a deal killer. The street food bit is tempting, but to the Indian — street food must look like street food. Don’t try to gourmet up Indian street food, never works. Soggy ‘bhel’ is a total no-​no. So yeah, give me something to work on here.
On a positive note though, the menu is surprisingly well done. There is an element of creativity and imagination in the menu. The street food element is refreshing, although it tastes nothing like street food. The afternoon platter is brilliant, albeit not because it is ingenious or delicious, but because I haven’t found something similar in a restaurant setting. The deserts are not too bad either.
Needs a lot more work on improving the quality of food.

Hmmm Masala Zone! Der Tipp wurde mir letztes Jahr schon gegeben und endlich, endlich hab ich’s auch hier her geschafft.
Hier sollte man den gemischten Teller bestellen (habe leider den indischen Namen dafür vergessen). Mir hat die kleinere Größe (regular) schon gereicht, hab’s nicht mal auf geschafft! War super köstlich! AUch für Vegetarier!
Sehr zu empfehlen ist auch die Haus-​Cola mit Minze und Limette. Schmeckt wie ein Cocktail und ist nich teurer als die anderen Softdrinks.
Wer noch nie indisch essen war und auch wer Fan von indischem Essen ist: Dieser Inder ist genau der Richtige, um einen ersten tollen Eindruck zu bekommen, oder um indisch mal etwas cooler zu genießen (als nur in diesen typischen altbackenen traditionellen indischen Restaurants).

Die Deko ist ja wirklich sehr nett und gefällt mir.
Ich hatte hier ein Thali gegessen und habe vorher gesagt, daß ich gerne etwas hätte, was «hot» wäre.
Die freundliche Bedienung schien sich darüber zu freuen und empfahl mir auch gleich etwas, ich folgte natürlich der Empfehlung. Das war aber leider nichts, es war von der Schärfe her doch sehr gemäßigt.
Ansonsten waren die Gerichte auf der Thali-​Platte okay. Aber nichts, was mich so überzeugen würde, daß ich sagen könnte, es wäre besser als in den indischen Lokalen in meiner Heimatstadt Düsseldorf. Nein, im Kirtis Dhaba oder auch im Mayur schmeckt es mir besser.
Andererseits war es für London preislich wirklich im Rahmen.

Nach einer kurzen Wartezeit wurde wir an den Platz geführt. Dort hat uns eine sehr nette Dame die Speisekarte und das Kombinationsmöglichkeiten der Thaliplatte und den Curries (sorry für evtl. Rechtsschreibfehler).
Wir haben uns für die «Combination of Thali» entschieden und jeder erhielt eine wirklich große Platte mit verschieden Dips uns anderen Kleingkeiten (Linsen, Broccoli etc.).
Kurze Zusammenfassung:
Ambiente: Großer aber dannoch sehr gemütlicher Gastraum mit lauter indischen Figuren an der Decke.
Service: Sehr sehr freundlich, würde ich mir gerne öfters in Deutschland wünschen.
Essen: Unsere Thali-​Platten waren umfangreich und super lecker.
Preis: Thali-​Platte ca. 11 GBP, Preis ist im Anbetracht des Umfangs als günstig anzusehen.
Ort: Direkt vor der Tür ist die Haltestelle «Covent Gardn», insofern sehr leicht zu finden.
Insgesamt ein Pflichtbesuch in London!!!

Das Masala Zone begeisterte uns gleich vierfach, und das wiederholt:
— da wäre zum einen die witzige Innendeko mit hunderten von indischen Marionetten an der Decke (wirkt allerdings am besten abends)
— die Möglichkeit Thalis zu bestellen, das sind Platten mit verschiedenen Currys in kleinen Schälchen (die 3 bis 4 vegetarischen Optionen wechseln täglich und sind nicht wählbar) dazu kann man ein bis zwei größere Currys aus der Karte auswählen. Unser absoluter Favorit war das Chicken Mangalore! Ausserdem gibt es noch Reis oder Brot und 2 Saucen zum Thali.
— die Preise sind für central london sehr sehr gut, besagte Thalis kosten unter 10 Pfund und machen super satt
— zuletzt kommt die gute Lage gerade für Touristen oder Studenten hinzu.
Eine perfekte Wahl für die man auf keinen Fall zur Brick Lane pilgern muss!