Melati

A lovely restaurant with fresh food served in well sized portions. The service was friendly and speedy, so we weren’t left wanting. The best part was the lack of loud music and as alcohol was not served, the whole place was lovely and relaxed.

Very unassuming Malaise restaurant, with surprisingly good food.
Generous portions, friendly, homey atmosphere.
Unbelievably good masala roti.
I’ll be back for sure!

I went there with my wife and my parents a couple weeks ago. It was a nice change from the bland British food we’d been having for the past few days.
I had the fried lamb cutlets, They were very tasty, and, while neither of them had much meat on them, there were enough pieces for me to be full. The coconut rice wasn’t very flavorful, but worked well with the dishes that were ordered. Both my parents and my wife were happy with their dish, which is a small miracle, as they usually have wildly differing tastes when it comes to food.
The person helping us was very nice and enthusiastic, trying to do some small talk with my parents in French (they don’t speak English), giving us tourist tips, of what to visit, and how to get there. She was very knowledgeable about the food.

We had two vegetarian dishes here, a vegetable coconut curry and the kuey teow vegetable noodles. The noodles were OK, if a bit bland, but the coconut curry was laughable. It was completely tasteless, the coconut milk had been obviously watered down — judging by the taste with cow’s milk. I usually like Malaysian food, but this was a serious letdown.
On the plus side, the service was very quick and friendly, so still two stars for quickly feeding us.

This place was rank.
Initially, we were drawn in by what appeared to be great prices. Don’t be fooled. The portions were tiny. We each ordered a main and sufficient rice to share, but left hungry.
Some step-​one basics were completely fluffed by the staff, too. Our waiter left halfway through taking our order; of all the spirits listed on the menu, only one (Jack Daniels) was available; two of our rice orders were forgotten.
The food itself was a complete relic. Nothing seemed fresh or lively – instead, rubbery meat, lovelessly slathered with MSG-​thickened goop was slopped onto the plates by uninterested staff. Everyone in the party commented on the unremarkable quality.
The thing is, what I’ve written above is a two-​star review. It became a one-​star review when, over the next two days, I could barely leave the house for the… disquiet it caused my insides. I shit you not, for I almost shit myself.
This place describes itself as Malaysian/​Indonesian/​Asian food. That’s rich. Describing its wares as food is slanderous to food everywhere.

One of the better Malaysian restaurants in London. Authentic cuisine, friendly service, and prices that won’t break the wallet. Love the Ayam Rendang.

I remember going in here with a party from work in the mid 1980s and the blind man in the group ordered the most amazing looking, multicoloured shaved ice desert. Great fun trying to describe to him what he’d ordered. The other food used to be really good too IIRC.
Not any more. Took a friend in here the other day and I was embarassed, the food was so bad.
My Nasi Lemak was just a huge pile of rice with a tiny teaspoon of flavourless chilli sauce, a tiny spoonful of pickled veg, a tiny handful of peanuts, and a 2″ square of breaded well I’m not sure whether it was fish or chicken! Oh and three slices of cucumber and half a cold boiled egg.
What happened to the ikan billis and the really nice curried fish, etc etc that would have been included in Nasi Lemak once upon a time? Dreadful. And very dry. No-​wonder endless staff kept rushing up filling our glasses with tap water! You might be very glad of that in many London restaurants but here it seemed almost obsessive.
My friend had some sort of mild and tasteless chicken sludge rather like the pasanda at a really bad Bangladeshi curry house. You know the sort I mean.
Depressing.
What happened to all the Malaysian/​Indonesian restaurants in the West End? The original Rasa Sayang near Leicester Square (now long gone) served far better food than this back in the late 1970s but can’t have been expensive as we were students. The site occupied by its sister restaurant in Frith Street is now a Nandos! Have landlords hiked up the rents in Soho so much over recent decades that there are hardly any decent independent places left? As we walked back we saw that the Melati in Peter Street has recently closed down as well.
Worst of all, the restaurant was doing brisk business. Why? Has there been one of those totally inaccurate Time Out reviews recently? (They kept listing a place opposite me for 3 or 4 years after it closed down some years back!) Don’t be taken in by all the faded awards along the corridor. I spotted one dated 1998, and the rest ???
Very sad indeed. AVOID.

This place was a good change from the Thai place I expected. It reminded me a little of Burma Superstar in San Francisco.

Have been here before, nothing special but enjoyable. Vegetarian friendly. Avoid the tasting menu, not worth it. Lovely service, nice atmosphere. Worth a visit.
Some dishes are traditional Malaysian others are a little vague. Being so close to China town I would expect better. Have visited Malaysia many times and I would say this restaurant expresses great Malaysian food.

Okay, so I came to this restaurant years ago when I first found about it, and love, I was not disappointed then, but sad to say, I was disappointed recently!
So the menu has changed. A lot of things I didn’t recognise and some dishes that I remember being very tasty, chicken coconut curry and chicken plum curry being two of them.
I ordered the plum curry which as I knew it, was a thickish sweet curry with whole plums in it. Absolutely amazing!!! It was complimented by coconut rice and a delicious roti! So, in my excitement to see the tasty dish still on the menu, I ordered again. As I await anxiously for this dish I see fondly remember, I was shell shocked when it appeared before me!
I could have cried! It looked to be a chicken breast on the bone with a sea of watered down curry which did not really fast like the plum, well it was a bit tasteless. The rice had to be ordered separate and was not that hot. The roti tasted more like a tortilla wrap; i was just very upset. When you look forward to something for so long, and you expect it to improve with time, and it doesn’t, your tummy really feels saddened!
So. I then ate the dish hoping it would get better with every mouthful, but it didn’t (surprise, surprise). I gave up in the end and decided throw in the towel and head home. I’m not sure if it was a different chef or maybe they altered the menu to be more commercial friendly… but I always rated this place as authentic Malaysian restaurant. Well, it didn’t feel and taste like there was much authenticity about it. ;-(
Staff were friendly and accommodating, décor was very dark and intimate, very cold in the restaurant itself (so bring a cardigan or jumper).
It was okay, but I may try again as I am hopeful that this was just an off day!

I went for dinner with a friend who loves it and I could see why, the staff were welcoming and friend, the place was cosy and we had plenty of time to chat. The food was tasty, although we suffered from diner envy — what did the other table order, it looked great. I’ll go back. It was about £20 each for a simple meal and a beer each.

This was hands down the worst Malaysian food I have ever had. The setting is nice — it is a quiet and by London standards, a large space. And the savory prawn crackers had us anticipating a crackling fare. But the roti canai was a big disappointment — the roti was fine but the curry was insipid. And the chicken was overdone — flavorless. The prawns with vegetables were another letdown. The veggies had clearly been taken from frozen packs, defrosted and sauteed. The result; a watery taste. I could not finish my portion and it was an unfortunate introduction to Malaysian food for my friend. Avoid — the chain Jon Makam is far superior.

Interesting to see that another reviewer felt the wine gave them a bad hangover, I felt exactly the same.
I wasn’t particularly impressed with the service here. The waiter was in fact very rude and we were quite taken aback by his lack of manners.
The food was good but not great and slightly over-​priced in my opinion. I wouldn’t go back as there are plenty of other restaurants nearby with a bit more to offer.

We were looking for a change of the usual indian /​thai /​japanese routine and decided to give this place a try after a friend’s recommendation. The menu looked promising and food was good, the vegetable satay a bit too sweet but the rest was fine. The staff were ok, but we felt bit rushed at the end, as another qyper said, they were quite looking forward to close early… Around 20 quid per person, not bad considering it’s in theatreland, but just 3 stars because of the terrible hangover the house wine gave me.

I love Malaysian food.
I’d almost go as far as saying it’s my favourite cuisine but perhaps that is just because of the memories it evokes of my trip there some time ago now.
We were wandering around Soho looking for this place, or the other Melati around the corner (perhaps — we never found it) and stumbled across it after sneaking down a side alley past a sweet shop.
With that sort of magical introduction, as well as a slightly crazy hall of mirrors style entrance we found ourselves warmly welcomed in a quiet but friendly atmosphere. While it wasn’t busy on Wednesday night, two groups came in who were clearly regulars and I can understand why they came back.
The satay was tasty and I wouldn’t agree too greasy as mentioned elsewhere. The Coconut rice was as you would expect and the Spicy Tiger Prawn curry had a delicious kick to it which awakened my tastebuds but didn’t linger.
While the Beef Rendang with it’s dry, rich sauce, full of flavour and with incredibly tender meat was a main I could eat again and again.
The Roti with curry sauce was what really got me though.
I’ve had nice Rotis elsewhere in London but the famous Roti Chanai breakfast in Malaysia was always as much about the curry for me and they nailed it here. «A taste of home» as the waitress suggested and I was transported from the first dip.
Decent value considering the location, I will be back.

Ich kenne das Melati seit 1994, als ich fast wöchentlich dort gegessen habe. Seit 10 Jahren geht das nur noch, wenn ich geschäftlich mal in London bin, also selten. Immer ist dann aber das Melati wenigstens an einem Abend «gesetzt». Denn geändert hat sich an der Qualität der Speisen über den langen Zeitraum fast nichts: Es schmeckt einfach sehr gut und authentisch. Meine Empfehlung: Singapore Laksa — seit Jahrzehnten gleichbleibend gut und scharf. Aber alle anderen Gerichte auf der Karte empehle ich ebenso.
Achtung: Es gibt in Soho noch ein zweites Melati in der Peter Street. Das ist auch ganz o.k., aber ich würde immer das in der Great Windmill Street vorziehen.

Rumour has it that Melati is one of the best Malaysian in town Considering that fact, I was quite disappointed during my last visit, I can’t really agree with the rumours (and I’ve been for 15 years on and off). During my last visit I thought that the Satay was too greasy and too sweet, the Laksa quite boring — NOTHING like you’d expect in S E Asia or Australia. All in all probably not really too expensive for London but compared to all other places I’ve been, I didn’t think it was good value for money at all either

I felt a pang of guilt last weekend when I walked past Melati and realised that I hadn’t even thought about reviewing it. To be honest, in these days when Malaysian food has become more widespread and more authentic, I had forgotten about Melati but for over 20 years, it has been a trailblazer for South East Asian food in London. It popularised this style of food before it became fashionable and places like C&R Café, Kopi Tiam and Rasa Sayang in Chinatown have Melati to thank for their success today.
The menu leans more towards the Indonesian style and choice of dishes and spelling although it states that it offers «Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean’ food. The restaurant is spread out over 3 floors and quite intimate.
Kari puff (chicken and potato curry enclosed in crumbly pastry) and martabak (meat and onion fried into a light bread) are nice starters. For main course, try the ayam bawang goreng (fried chicken with crispy garlic) or ketoprak (salad and rice cakes smothered in peanut sauce). Ice kachang is a nice refreshing dessert — moung of shaved ice with beans and other condiments and various flavour syrups)
The other traditional Soho entertainments still abound like a time warp in this part of Soho and like them, Melati seems to be caught in that era.
The food probably merits 3 stars compared to what else is now available but Melati gets an extra star for being a trailblazer.

Went for grub here before the theatre, just a random choice and was surprised with the quality; no skipping on the portions and plenty of flavour. Was expecting my tongue to be hanging off me during the show thanks to the salt but such a thing never happened; happy days! Starters, Main and a few beers came to around £20pp, good value for the location.

Melati, which purported to serve «Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean» food sounded dubious to me initially. We were actually looking for a Chinese place (under the same name) but ended up here, it was faith.
I don’t think I have ever tried food from this area before, ‘authentic’ at least. The problem is that I can’t really say how ‘authetic’ it was. Even so, I enjoyed it. The Singapore laksa (£9) is served with vermicelli, spiced to an adecuate level but tasted a bit watered down. It also had a lot of bean sprouts which I love, so its all good there. It was a big portion so I was very satisfied by the end. It is worth mentioning that one must be aware that when cuisine from other countries open restaurants in a city like London, tastes have to be altered in order to satisfy a majority of palettes.
It is a three storey restaurant that was packed we we arrived for lunch, we were able to get a table on the ground floor, which I gave many thanks for, because as I went to take a peek at the other floors I could feel a lack of air and ventilation.
The wooden décor and toned down lighting pulled together the atmosphere in a nice way, I want to really know more about this Asian cuisine and seems this place has a lot of scope for learning.

This Malaysian/​South East Asian restaurant was once a favourite haunt for meeting friends, but a recent visit proved disappointing. Many of the old favourites had disappeared from the menu and the staff seemed determined to close the restaurant early. We were the only diners left and it wasn’t even 11pm! We suspect a change of ownership. Not as good as it once was, sadly.
Just a note of warning: don’t confuse this Melati with the other one not very far away in Peter St, Soho! They are not part of a chain and are under different ownership. Our friend booked the wrong one by mistake and we had to sort out the confusion on the night. doh!

Belle découverte
Pour les amateurs de sucré/​salé une adresse à né pas manquer. Les papilles sont mises en eveil par les différentes épices et la surprise est totale et réussie! Un peu cher toutefois…