As an American, I had "curry on Brick Lane" on my bucket list. I had no idea how good it was going to be. We arrived on a Monday afternoon (during Ramadan). We were the only table, which felt a bit awkward, but the staff provided exceptional service and the food was incredible. We started with 2 papadum and a nice assortment of chutney. The standouts were a pickled dish (maybe with turmeric & lime?) and an onion/cilantro mix. The others were delicious as well. Generous servings of all for only £3! For entrees, the two of us ordered lamb vindaloo and chicken rezala. I told our server we both like extra hot, and he suggested we swap out the rezala for the chicken sylhet jalfrezi, which in his opinion has much better flavor than the rezala. We gladly accepted the recommendation. Our entrees were FANTASTIC, with a perfect spice level. We also ordered raita with cucumber to add a nice cool touch after the lovely spice mouthfeel. I was blown away by the great service, quantity and quality of the food with two glasses of house wine for only £58. This meal will be one of my best memories of my first trip to London. Thank you! read more

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I wanted some good Indian food so I was recommended by Google to try this place out on brick lane. Got the butter chicken, rice, tiki masala and naan bread and it was good. read more

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There are no end to the Indian food options on brick lane. We chose City Spice do to its claim of local awards. The wait staff was friendly and accommodating and seem to work as a team since we had three different people wait on us during our meal. The space is small but there was plenty of space between us and other patrons so it did not feel crowded. The menu was quite large with many options. I personally found the food to be a bit sweet for me, but everything was very good. read more

I did a search for top-rated vegan-friendly Indian restaurants in London and this place popped up. I saw they had a separate all-vegan menu that looked excellent, so that was the clincher. It was four of us sharing, so we ordered a big feast to share. We got: -Aloo Chat (£3.95) to start -- nice tangy and spicy cooked potatoes. Maybe a little small but very nicely done. 4.5/5 -Shabji Garlic (£11.95) - dry, garlicky, immensely flavourful, with nice textures from the veggies used. The roasted garlic slices on top were awesome. I hadn't had anything quite like this in Indian food. Real nice. 5/5 -Bindi Daal Gatta (£10.95) -- I've had many okra dishes in Indian food but none quite like this that came with daal. Tangy, somewhat tomatoey, with nicely cooked okra that somehow combine well with the daal. Interesting, creative dish that worked very well. 5/5 -Mixed Vegetable Rogan Josh (£10.95) -- a very tomatoey veggie dish that was resultingly quite tangy and a touch sweet. The flavours were nice but I didn't realize this would be so tomato-dominant when we ordered - would've preferred a more even mix of veggies, but for what it was, it was very nice. 4/5 -Gunpowder 'Chicken' Dupiaza (£17.95) -- really lovely this dish. The 'chicken' they use (tindle) had a wonderful texture, was accompanied by perfectly cooked onions, and cooked in a rich red sauce. This was kickass but man, the price was absurd. 5/5 The service was top-notch, other than having to wait 45 minutes for all the mains to come out. Despite that, they treated us very well. Highly recommended vegan-friendly Indian place in the heart of Brick Lane. read more

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This is Yelp and Europe most of the users of Yelp tend to be from the USA. What they expect from a US Indian restaurant is not what they will find the UK, let alone the East End of London. Brick Lane has for a long time been a center of immigration in and Bangladeshis ended up here, and before that European Jews which is why you find beigel (bagel) shops here today. So if you want a good Indian meal, head over to City Spice on Brick Lane. The customers often hail from the Indian sub continent, if you want a measure of how good they are, that should suffice. If you are a vegan, they even have something for you. The food is top notch and the service attentive. I especially like their garlic naan, athough I usually pick a chapati. read more

As a person from the Indian subcontinent and of Bangladeshi origin, I was very disappointed by the food. Even though they claim the food is authentic, it is NOT. They basically cater to non-Indians and add sugar to the food. I even asked to give me authentic food since I am of Bangladeshi heritage. Also, they get high reviews because of high pressure tactics - a person is going to ask for a review to get a discount after the end of a meal. Whenever you have a person standing in front of a restaurant, asking you to come in, it is usually suspect. I wouldn't go back there. read more

Excellent vegan food options. My wife had the daal begun gotta and I had the Delhi railway chicken. Amazing flavors and I wiped the bowl clean with roti. Yum! Garlic onion rice was superb!! read more

We went here for the vegetarian/vegan offerings, but were very disappointed. The food was bland-mediocre at best. The waiter was incredibly rude. We got snubbed because we only wanted tap water, even though others around us were also only drinking tap water. Then it took a while for our waiter to take our order, and subsequently, to bring our food, which was room temperature. They served locals first and then got to us. Point made. I wouldn't recommend this place at all, especially if you're a tourist. Waste of money. read more

Fantastic food - but don't go if you're a brown woman. It's just a bunch of brown men who think they know better than you and treat you rudely the entire time. Give you bad service and disrespect you. There are a bunch of places to get curry on brick lane. I won't be back again lol. read more

Delicious Bangladeshi/Indian cuisine with a varied menu. We asked for mild spice level and it was perfect. Attentive staff. We Just sorry it was our last day in London or we'd definitely return. Thanks for a lovely meal and evening. read more

Service was great and food flavorful. There are vegetarian and vegan options so both meat and non meat eaters were happy. We appreciated our waiter's recommendations - if you're unsure what to order, ask for recommendations! So many good curries! read more

We were in the brick lane area when we were invited in with a 20% discount and free wine. I don't eat Indian food often and I was not disappointed. The waiter was very friendly and gave us multiple suggestions on food. We ended up ordering 3 different ones, liked all of them. It was pretty late at night that we were there and were the only customers in the restaurant, with that in mind it was a little awkward eating with 5 other people are just wondering around you. Other than that the food was on point. Would definitely recommend this place. read more

City Spice - Indian Near Me - London, XGL

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Service was not friendly, food was good. Brick Lane is loaded with great places to eat. I decided to try City Spice. I took a cab and arrived, quickly two other restaurant managers rushed me and my family to get us to come over offering 25 percent off etc etc. We held fast and went into the City Spice. Samosas (small) Mango chutney was nice. I ordered a sampler which included Tikka Marsala and a few other dishes. I thought the food was good, nothing mind blowing however. I asked for something to give it a bit of heat/ spice and they sent over some sour chutney which was interesting. I think the experience would have been a lot better if the service was a bit more friendly. Seemed a bit more awkward than like a home cooked meal. Definitely check them out and other places along Brick Lane, this seems to be a great hub for foodies. read more

Let's face it, I went in there as we were being offered a free bottle of house wine and 20% discount on our bill. It was 3 of us and we paid £41 and we had a lot of food!! For this price in a restaurant, you don't expect gourmet cuisine. The food was OK. It was a bit on the bland side - I did expect a spicier Madras - but overall it was pleasant enough apart from the cheese nan which seemed to be a nan with melted cheese on top. Our waiter was nice enough, not over friendly and not pushing us to hurry up. read more

Great food , a lovely deal , and good service, thanks to Abdul the owner and his team . We were tempted in by Abdul, but having been in once we will be back . Our portions were generous enough, we took some home, but I have never needed a huge portions of rice , I'd rather have a selection of different dishes anyway. The restaurant was clean, and although staff could maybe smile more , they were polite, courteous and efficient. Our food was delicious, and we enjoyed each course, it was obviously all freshly cooked. See you guys soon from Dylan and Michelle. read more

City Spice - Me and my husband having fun and great food at city spice . - Indian Near Me - London, XGL

Ended up getting food poisoning from the duck tikka biryani. Not very fun experience.

Here is a very overdue and more recent review about this restaurant for any considering this restaurant: please read! I was too late in looking at these reviews before my colleague and I ordered and understood what we got ourselves into. Don't waste your money and taste buds here. The food is bland and service took super long before we got our food. We were disappointed even in the naan!! Our food must have been sitting in the kitchen for a while because there was a film on the food when they brought it out. We ordered butter chicken, lamb biriyani, cauliflower pakora (no taste and super oily), and Bangladesh thali and some dal. None of it will remind you of any authentic Bangladeshi or Indian restaurant you've ever been to. Seriously, don't be convinced by the street hagglers telling you to come in or be fooled with the banner outside saying they won a master chef award. There's no way they could have won. And the warmth of the staff is lacking - you will realize all they want is your money in the end, just like we did. read more

Food verity is must for me. With the travelling I always tried to take something different. I took Indian food several time and that's why I wanted to take the test again at East London. I searched and found spice london provides The best Indian food with the Bangladeshi dishes. I went there for lunch. Outside environment wast too noisy but in inside neat and clean with comfortable seating space. I took my seat and waiter came to take the order. I wanted to know about some Bangladeshi dishes and he described very well about the dishes. Waiter Niaz who was very polite and sincere helped me a lot to choose the suitable foods. I started my order with chicken tikka pakora and aloo chop. And then keema fried rice, chicken tikka bhuna and lamb korma. I finished my order with a mango lassi. I can't express how much delicious the foods were. In a word, Awesome !!!!!!!!!! read more

I have been trying to find top notch Indian food In break lane area for some time, and I have finally FOUND it. it is a beautifully decorated restaurant. I absolutely can't say enough. We felt like the only people there. We were never in need of anything and it felt like entering a friend's home. The generosity is unparalleled and my friends and I will absolutely be returning based on service alone. I'm a vegetarian, which is one of the many reasons I love Indian food, so many options. But I must admit I'm a weak one when it comes to spicy. I ordered my Sagg Paneer and it was DELICIOUS. Absolutely wonderful. The naan is incredible, and my friends both had the chicken korma and the lamb curry, both of them DEVOURED their meals and wanted more. Overall I just can't say enough. Haven't had a dinning experience this impeccable in ages. 3 cheers for City spice read more

Food was delicious if you can get beyond the terribly rude service. Went with a friend of mine for dinner and was told I needed to submit my order in a particular order, which they proceeded to get wrong anyway even after amending the order of my request. Aside from that and a few other bumps along the way, the food was yummy. Loved the festive-colored rice! read more

ALWAYS AMAZING I am a regular customer at City Spice and I had to show my gratification by putting in a review. Every time I come to City Spice the food is consistently good and the service Is always top notch, I have never been disappointed by City Spice and recommend there food to everyone. read more

Ummm, newp. Even at the Drunky McStumbles stage of our evening, six discerning Yelp customers were unimpressed with the small portions and dud-tastic flavours of City Spice. It's a good thing we bartered for a round of free drinks because at £15 per head, we needed that extra booze to numb the thought that we were essentially paying for some nan and three bites of curry. (Although I will say -- hats of to the nan chef! There's nothing I like more than some piping hot naaaaaannnnn coming to the table at rapid fire speeds. 5-stars for you.) read more

Nooooooooooo This place is no longer the well loved City Spice and is now called Shampan II. Really?! Did you need to do that? Really! I loved City spice when it was open, it was voted by Time Out as one of the top curry houses in the area. They had a BYO policy when it came to booze which mean that no matter how few pennies you had in your student bank account you could always get something hot and spicy goodness to fill your tummy. They had a brilliant veggie selection and some fantastic specials. Actually one of the funniest things ever was when I took Helen W here, and she's not a curry fan. She ordered the special and half way through eating I ask her what she was doing. "I'm only eating the green beans in this as it's just too spicy" At this point I can't breathe, let alone talk for all the laughter, she was just eating the long green chillis and her face was getting redder and redder. Best night out ever! read more

Is this place really closed? I had dinner here on Monday and the menus still said City Spice. We were offered a free round of drinks (beer or wine) and 20 percent off our bill. I thought their food was pretty good, but I wasn't a fan of how they reuse the little bowls with the sauces. We had a shrimp and a lamb dish along with a side of naan and rice. read more

Bricklane..every restaurant bartering with you to eat at theirs.. but how do you know which one to choose?! I have lived in the area for over four years so it is fair to say I have sampled quite a few! There are a list of four that are delicious. City Spice is one of them! As you walk in the curry house doors you are always hit with that aromatic mouth-watering smell. Sitting either upstairs if there is two to six of you; situated on a corner you have good views of the street and all the activity. However if you are a larger group they have wonderful large round tables downstairs - perfect for a party! Bring Your own Wine (BYO) is an option making it a very inexpensive night out with a group of fiends! The exciting part...the food! The Thali is my absolute favourite! You can select it in either meat, seafood or vegetarian. It is a dish with three small pots of three different curries; Nan bread and one other side e.g. spring roll or a piece of chicken. It is perfect - you feel like you are having the best of all worlds as three different flavours but in smaller portions! Just delicious. Remember to always order pompadoms - so much fun breaking them up and dipping them into the selection of dips! Enjoy. read more

Walking along Brick Lane we ended up in City Spice as we were offered a free bottle of wine by the guy outside and we were celebrating my friends birthday. As a curry connoisseur I was really excited to try somewhere on this stretch. Unfortunately once we were inside the service was pretty poor. It was difficult to get the attention of staff and we were waiting around 45 minutes for our food. We weren't given any recommendations on food and the waiter didn't appear to know the menu very well. That said I ordered a peshwari nan and chef speciality jalfrezi and the food was pretty tasty! The curry had lovely flavours and was quite spicy which I love. It was a decent portion size and the price was reasonable given the free alcohol. Can't compare it to other curry houses on this stretch but the food was decent...just a shame about the service as it would make me reluctant to go back! read more

There are so many curry houses on Brick Lane that it can be hard to choose with one to plump for. On a Saturday in early August I was part of a group of intrepid Yelpers who took over a sizeable portion of the restaurant. The BYOB policy meant that we had a table overflowing with wine, beer and food. I had my usual chicken tikka masala order which was slightly bland compared with other curry houses in London. Overall City Spice ranks just below Eastern Eye in (my personal) league table of Brick Lane. read more

I want to start off by saying that this place is amazing. The food is extremely well done and the best part of all... The service is incredible. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone considering Indian food for dinner or lunch. City spice the best I've ever found. read more

The food is fantastic. Out of all the different Indian restaurants I've tried, this one has been by far the best. Everything is authentic and the service was superb from beginning to end. We got a nice visit to the table from the manager and he was very interested to know how our experience was. You can tell all of the employees really care about this place and making sure the customers have an unforgettable experience. I would 100% recommend this restaurant to anyone looking to have their first Indian food experience in Break Lane, East London. I guarantee you won't need to go anywhere else because City spice has it all and then some. Their service, taste, mood, food, ambiance, everything is out of the world !!!!!!!!!! read more

Average to slightly below average. My lady and I were coerced into this restaurant by the offer of a free bottle of wine and 20% off the bill. Ambience is nice enough and the waiters are fine. Some of the dipping sauces that came with the appetizer were just rancid. Not spoiled or anything, mind you. I can appreciate how there's no accounting for taste; that said, the spicy, pickled sauce made me want to boot. The entrees were so so. Nothing special, not too flavorful or even spicy. The free wine was also so so, a bit dull and perhaps watery. (The bottle was open when the waiter brought it to our table and I really hope they didn't dilute it.) Average serving sizes, a factor that is important to those people who equate serving size with value. I'm not one of those people, per se, but when food quality is lacking I do think the restaurant should make up for it in quantity. When we got our bill the 20% had NOT been taken out; I informed the server of his oversight and he quickly corrected it. I don't have any real problems with City Spice, but I'll be trying out a new place the next time I go to Brick Lane. read more

City Spice - or Shampan II - not sure if it just changed the name or the owner. What a shame - the food was good, but the service was unacceptable. We went there with a group of seven people. We ordered drinks, and asked for some tab water as well. They refused to bring it and pointed to the mineral water bottles on the table - which are of course not free of charge. After a while we asked again, but they didn't react. And again. Finally they brought us a jug with WARM water. Many thanks for that. When we got the plates, I've got a dirty one. I've refused to take it, so the waiter just used a towel to wipe it "clean". I've refused again, he went away, and brought exactly the same plate again. Many thanks for that. The waiter was very rude in general. The food was good. read more

Very busy Bangladeshi restaurant on Brick Lane. Niaz was very helpful and polite staff, quick service, despite being very busy. Fabulous meal. Really enjoyed it all. The best ever lunch I have had so far At East London Thank you for a great meal. read more

After being hustled into the place by an employee, we were sat down with a round of free drinks (which were very small portions). We ordered our food, and it took more than 40 minutes for the food to come out, and the place wasn't even that busy! I ordered a quick little side, and after watching my friends eat their food, I questioned the waiter as to where my food was, he told me I never ordered it. My friends vouched for me and finally he brought it out. When I finally received it, the food was just disappointing. Not a good flavor. After we were done eating we were brought the check, and tried to figure out what we were charged for because there were random charges on a bill. One of the random charges was a service charge that we were never told we were getting. After the manager yelled at us, we left upset and I satisfied. Tip: Keep walking down Bricklane and bargain with other restaurants for better offers. read more

My food was fine if a little bland. The daal, and sag paneer were both really flavourless which is unusual for both dishes. On the evening I thought the service was fine, friendly and to the point. Though having realised on the way home I had foolishly left my umbrella behind and too late to call I set a reminder to do so the next day. On calling I was told there was no umbrella. Though I realise I left it behind and that they have no obligation to look after my discarded goods. This said it seems odd as it was definitely there and I can't have seen a random stranger taking it, from the back of the restaurant behind a door where the staff suggested I put it. For this reason alone I can only give it 2 stars. Otherwise it would have got a 3 or 4 . read more

Pretty sure this place is not closed, I went there a week ago, when I was visiting London. After walking down brick lane and trying to pick an Indian restaurant to eat at, we were overwhelmed and frankly annoyed. Brick lane is a street with pretty much only Indian restaurants and in front of each one is a hawker trying to get you to eat there. "Come in, free drinks, 20% your entire bill" "free bottle of wine 25% off, come in!", ahhhhhh, pretty much my worst nightmare. We walked to the end of the street to regroup and saw some people walking by and decided to ask them if they had a recommendation on a restaurant. They said they had just come from City Spice and said that it was really good, so we decided to go. The place was packed, so we figured we had made a good choice. We were seated in the basement where there were a lot of people, we decided to order Samosa, Chicken Tikka Kabob, Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan, a lentil dish & Some spicy chili chicken, we figured it would be enough food for all of us. The service was super slow and this one server kept dropping glasses and screwing up, he also was the one that took our order and spoke horrible English. We waited forever for our food and finally when it came, there wasn't much of it. Everything was greasy, they brought us the wrong dish for the somosa and overall we were disappointed. The only thing that was good was the Naan (it was really good and came out hot), which we ended up ordering 3 more orders of. Overall, not cheap, not good and bad service, I would not recommend! read more

Well then! This was a surprise. Spending the day in Shoreditch and had an underwhelming breakfast. Was still hungry and got the smell of sweet sweet Indian Food. City Spice. Looked like there was some work going on to the front of the restaurant but it looked well and quite sleek. Met by a lovely gentleman at the door and ordered was taken within minutes. Atmosphere was really fresh and lively. Lamb Tikka was Devine and my girlfriend got the pakora. Flavour was authentic. I asked for my Masala a little hotter and in packed a punch. Really Nice experience and the service was very polite and welcoming. So after a nightmare in the previous restaurant on Brick Lane which lead to me and work colleagues walking out of the door. I led them to City Spice where I was last week. Greater warmly and they remembered me which I absolutely love. The food was great and we got a bottle of wine for free as we got so much food. City Spice is now my go to on Shoreditch. read more

This food is way too expensive compared to what you get. The staff don't understand what we want, and the experience is one big let down - don't go here! read more

We had a fantastic meal here today. The lamb shank was falling off the bone tender and the spicing was spot on. Great service by the staff and the restaurant was nicely decorated as well. Would definitely eat here again. Also tried the lamb jalfrazi curry which was very tasty. read more

Very nice! The food has a very sweet spicy flavor. Coconut hints and much more. Great find!

There are a number of places on Brick Lane and it can be a little overwhelming to choose. I randomly picked City Spice and order the fish thali plate. The portions were nice and it is a great choice if you want to taste a number of flavors. The fish and prawns were fresh and I enjoyed trying something I've never had before! Service was also friendly and attentive. read more