Aaron S.
Yelp
I wanted somewhere special to celebrate my birthday on a recent trip to London, and after extensive research, I settled on Indigo, it's located inside the luxury hotel, One Aldwych, just off the Strand. The menu was extensive and entirely gluten and dairy-free, I had so much to choose from.
This restaurant offers fine dining without pretentiousness. It allows the quality of the food and service to shine without relying on a pompous atmosphere or subpar elements like other restaurants in the city.
I managed to make a reservation easily on the same day as my reservation on OpenTable and sat at a table by the window, which had nice Instagrammable views of the city.
Shortly after my entire party was seated, we had some bread brought to our table, which was served with a butter alternative, which I recall may have been a pistachio cream. I wasn't a fan of the bread, although it was served hot, which was a nice touch. My party did not eat this. It was not charged onto the bill; I am not sure if it would have been if we had eaten it fully.
I decided to go for the Peterhead Cod In Beer Batter, which came with triple-cooked chips, crushed peas and tartare sauce. The hand-rolled potato gnocchi, venison, halibut and 28-day-aged Irish rib-eye dishes also sounded tasty, but I felt like a proper fish and chips. My entire party of three ended up opting for the same dish.
The fish was stunning, considering this is a fine-dining restaurant, I was surprised at the generous portion of the fish, the cod was a fantastic quality, far superior to what you'd find in an average fish and chip shop, it just came apart with my fork so easily, the batter was crispy, and the seasoning was on point. I particularly liked the sides, too, including a special vinegar, which was very strong but certainly packed a punch and enhanced the dish even further - even for someone who usually detests vinegar.
The tartar sauce was also made with great quality ingredients; I would have liked it a little more wet as it didn't feel like a sauce, the peas again were fresh and tasty, and the generous chunk of lemon to squeeze on the fish again proved all components of the dish were well thought out. I knew I'd made the right choice.
The chips were tasty, too, I would have perhaps liked a few more, though, even if the portion of fish was slightly less to give the dish even more balance.
I did have to ask for a separate drinks menu, as it only included beer and spirits, they don't have a restaurant menu for cocktails, however, my waiter handed me a menu from the Lobby Bar downstairs, and I was able to order from that. The cocktails again seemed unique; I hadn't heard of anything on the menu - my usual favourite, a Long Island, wasn't on there. Instead, I went for an Arizona Bloom.
The Arizona Bloom was listed on the menu as containing - Coconut and saffron-infused Havana Club 3 rum, 21 citrus, Franklin & Sons pineapple and almond soda, and Henner's sparkling wine. It was excellent, the presentation with the work along the glass and leaf inside the drink made it feel like it was served in a fancy cocktail bar rather than a fine-dining restaurant, they had been generous with the alcohol as it was strong and delicious.
There is a service charge added onto the bill, but again this is pretty much the standard everywhere in London, not a practice I agree with, but our waiter performed exceptionally, placing napkins on our laps, and came over regularly to make sure our drinks were never empty and we had everything we needed.
The food and drinks were exceptional, and while it wasn't cheap to dine here, it certainly is a place you want to go to mark a special occasion such as a birthday or wedding anniversary as a treat, with excellent food and service, and the fact the entire menu is gluten and dairy free, yet still anyone dining here who doesn't seek allergen information wouldn't realise, the food is that good and that for me warrants a full five-star rating.
