Restaurant Review: Daawat at Johnstons

There’s a new restaurant on the block in London’s theatre-land and that’s the recently launched Daawat at Johnstons, located within the Strand Palace Hotel.  It was previously Johnston’s Restaurant, a brasserie style eatery that served British food, but after the rebrand it now looks to the east, offering contemporary Indian cuisine.

Ragda Patties and Bhel Puri

It’s a Wednesday night when I check it out and not particularly busy, but there’s just enough people dining to create a bit of an ambiance. The décor’s modern and open-plan with an informal feel. I’m there with Food I Fancy’s guest blogger, Claire. We kick the evening off with a couple of the perfectly made Kir Royales. Must say that the drinks list is quite extensive, which is in contrast to the more streamlined food menu. Although brief, there are a few familiar dishes, as well as an on-trend ‘street food’ section. I’m keen to try some of the items from this section so we order the Ragdha Patties and Bhel Puri. I’m expecting the patties to be like, well a patty, but it’s more like a hash, a good one at that – well spiced with fab textures. The Bhel Puri is again good – nuttier in flavour and with crunch.

I’m a sucker for a seafood starter so opt for the Tandoori King Prawns and Claire chooses the Paneer Tikka. The yoghurt used in the marinade beautifully tempers the aromatic spices in the prawn dish. Claire’s Paneer Tikka is OK, though safe and could have been more creative.

Lamb Biryani

Awadhi Kofta

Both our mains are great and it’s where head chef, Krishna Shankar, really shines. The lamb biryani that I order is simply heavenly, it arrives in a pastry-sealed pot. I open the pot to a wonderous hit of Indian spices. The lamb is extremely tender and mixed into fluffy, buttery rice – it packs a nice bit of chilli heat. Claire’s main of Awadhi Kofta (goat’s cheese and spinach balls) is also great. We order a couple of sides; Baghara Baingan and Asparagus Poriyal.

Baghara Baingan

Asparagus Poriyal

The Baghara Baingan has a lovely rich peanut sauce that goes really well with the lamb biryani. But the Asparagus Poyiral was bitter with hard pellets of practically uncooked lentils in.  Apparently it’s meant to be hard like that, but being as they didn’t really add much flavour, it’s definitely not worth risking a chipped tooth over. We share coconut ice-cream for desert. It’s an absolute stunner – luxuriously smooth and creamy – I’d go back for just that alone.

Coconut Ice-cream

Daawat at Johnstons is a decent place to eat, great location and would recommend for pre-theatre dining. The only let down was that the staff didn’t appear to be that knowledgeable when asked about matching wines for our dishes. So we pretty much stuck to the cocktails, which was no bad thing.

You can order à la carte, or from their competitively priced pre-theatre menu, that offers two-courses for £14 or three-courses for £17 between midday and 10pm.

Food I Fancy dined as guests.

Dawaat at Johnstons
Strand Palace Hotel
372 Strand, London, WC2R 0JJ
Tel: 020 7379 4737
www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk