Bayleaf Restaurant

No, it did not hit the spot! Below average Indian food with HORRIBLE customer service.
Highlights: Takes reservation, clean and decent size seating area with zero wait.
Can Improve: Customer Service! We dined in with our taste card and when we ordered we confirmed with the waiter the specifics of the deal and what we had to order. We ordered accordingly and when we asked for our bill while just finishing our dessert, he goes that we did not order enough and now need to order one more appetizer and a dessert. That just ruined the whole experience, why wait to tell us we needed to order one more app as we are finishing our dessert. Then he started to talk rudely to my wife, at which point I lost my patience and told him to call his manager, since it was almost closing time for them he comes back and says that he will make it work on the bill and give us what he originally promised. The nerve! Additionally to the horrible service, the food was very blend, even after we requested spicy and the taste was below average.
Benchmark: In the area, I still have not found a decent Indian restaurant. But around London, Namaste Lounge, Delhi spice or Everest are my go to spots.
Dined in for dinner Jan 2016 and will not be returning.

Not to be confused with their takeaway just a few doors down, BayLeaf is new, stylish and according to my wife has the best loos she’s seen in a restaurant for quite some time. Orders are taken on a tablet which is kind of cool. The presentation of the food was excellent. What let us down was the quality of the food. None of my party were really satisfied and one was decidedly not. So sadly this lovely place can’t get four stars. As a caveat — it is quite popular, so our experience may be an aberration.

This really was an excellent meal we had at this (fairly) new restaurant a few doors up from the original Bayleaf Takeaway. It is a world away from the middle of the road offerings of the takeaway, athough I should reserve judgement as the takeaway menu has changed since the restaurant opened. The Goan fish curry, chicken and okra we had were amazing really full of flavour and packing a powerful punch. I was less enamoured with the doughy dry bhajis we had as a starter. The wine selection seemed well thought out and the Carmenere we chose was a great accompaniment to our meal. The problem is however the price point and position they have aimed for within the market. Dont get me wrong I can see why they have decided to position themselves in fine dining area of the Indian food market. The area is full of multi million pound houses and really has nowhere close by that exudes the style of this place. The décor is bright, clean and modern, a combination of stark white and dark wood, bubbling water walls and pierced Islamic fretwork. It all combines to give you the impression as soon as you enter that you’re going to pay more than at your run of the mill local Indian restaurant. All in all our meal came to around the £100 mark for 1 shared starter, wine, water, mains and 2 coffees, not bad when compare to an Italian say but many would say steep in the world of Indian food. The Goan fish curry came in at £16 plus rice your talking about £20 for a main. This is definitely fine dining prices and the numerous staff, sommelier (sort of) and maitre d certainly give you the right feel but I just didn’t find anything to elevate it above just a decent curry that you can find in any number of places. So if you don’t mind spending go because the food is nice but dont expect it to be as amazing as the décor would lead you to believe. A slight case of style over substance but a good meal all the same.