A small and reasonably authentic south Indian vegetarian restaurant in the heart of theatre-land, and just a stone's throw from Piccadilly Circus. It's a small place, down a few steps. It's funny how your memory plays tricks as I remember it as larger, but maybe that's because it was s very long time ago! The menu is dominated by Thalia and dosas, which come in all shapes and sizes; some are flat and filled, others (the classic paper masala dosa) are rolled liked scrolls. Most have a choice of two or three fillings. But the menu has a variety of Indian street food items, so you can mix and match a bit. There are quite a number of vegan items, so it can cover quite a lot of bases. The dishes avoid the heavy Ghee and creamy sauces of other Indian restaurants so it makes for a healthier, lighter meal. Bear in mind South Indian cuisine can be spicy - so treat items with the chilli symbol with caution, unless you like very spicy food. The starters include lovely Malabar Pepper Menu Vada - essentially lentil doughnuts served with Samar and coconut chutney, and Chaat bombs - little hollow baskets of puffed wheat, filled with vegetables and served with yogurt and chutney. There's a decent drinks menu - fruit lassis, high-end sodas, a small but good wine list and beers - Cobra, Kingfisher and the stunningly gorgeous Vedett IPA. Depending on your choice, expect to pay around £20-£30 a head. On my recent visit two starters, two dosas and a beer each came to £25 with service. That's rather more than you'd pay around Euston for similar food, but then it's about as central as you can get. The only downer was the tediously slow and indifferent service, so they've lost a star (nearly two) for that. read more

Let me start off by saying the food itself was OK-to-Good. But the rest left a lot to be desired. We booked an early table for a pre-theatre dinner before a show at The Harold Pinter Theatre which is directly opposite the restaurant. We were first sat by the door - standard practice for an empty restaurant to look busier than it is - but there was an almighty draft and we asked to be moved down. The manager on the evening begrudgingly let us move further in, mumbled and pointed all evening. Never broke a smile or asked how our meal was throughout the entire evening. There are a lot of options including a vegan menu which is great, but everything is a little bit pricey - even for it's location. £6 for some bhaji and similar for rice is a little on the steep side. We ended up ordering the London Thali which came with a small Masala Dosa. The offering of the Thali was really good and full of a nice mix of South Indian goodies, Okra, Sambar, Dhal, rice etc. At £21 however it's extremely expensive. Ok, I'm spoilt. I've had South Indian meals across Southall and Tooting which offers much tastier food and a fraction of the price so it might be a bit of a stretch to compare against the overheads of a Central London restaurant but still - there's much better out there. We're glad we booked early because the food took an age to arrive. Once it did we enjoyed our meal, but it also took a long time to get the attention of anyone for drinks or the bill. I think the final straw was they had run out of coffee.... They had expresso but were lacking in offering an alternative or compromise?! Overall the food was pleasant but an awful customer service experience and not worth the price. Be prepared to wait for your food. read more

Woodlands Restaurant - London Thali. Nice enough but a little pricey at £21. - Indian Near Me - London, XGL

Ordered the mysore masala dosa, uttapum and samosa chaat. Everything was fresh and delicious. The samosa chaat was a rather small portion (1 samosa) but tasted good. Service was 3.5*. Would recommend. read more

Woodlands Restaurant - Mysore Masala Dosa - Indian Near Me - London, XGL

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Came here for lunch earlier this week because our dining companion wanted a vegetarian option. The menu had some standard S. Indian options but some unexpected options as well. Had the poppadums & chutney, medu vada, tandoori cauliflower, saag paneer, dal malkhani, lemon rice, zeera rice, poori and chapati. on the plus side: the medu vada, saag, and breads were all very good. on the negative side, the cauliflower was too heavily spiced, the dal was too soupy, and the portions were very small (particularly the rice), and the service was slow. It was also particularly expensive for Indian food, especially since it was vegetarian. I would not return here. read more

Came here on a friend's recommendation. While it was a bit pricey (considering you're not even paying for meat!), the food was delicious. This place serves up South Indian-style vegetarian food. We had some paneer tikka, dosas, and baingan ka bartha (eggplant, ahem, aubergine, cooked with onions and tomatoes). Everything was spiced really well, and definitely more similar to the Indian food I've had in India -- a far cry from the dumbed down Indian food I've been having in the U.S. The atmosphere of the restaurant is pretty laid back, although everyone still talked in a hushed voice (note to self: don't be that loud tourist). Service was a bit lacking at times, but I sort of expected it. It is in a convenient location though, being walkable from Picadilly circus -- probably explains the price? read more

Craving South Indian food? Try this out! It less than 5 mins walking from Piccadilly Circus station. I went in around 8:00pm Sunday and it was quite empty. Just a few families dining. Didn't worry me because it meant I wouldn't have to wait too long for my food. :) Its a nice and cozy place filled with old Bollywood music and aroma of Indian spices in the air. I was impressed with the flexibility they had on the menu. Lots of options and you can mix and match and get your Dosa (or crepe) just the way you want it. I ordered the Dahi Wada (lentil donuts in yogurt with tangy/sweet/spicy sauced, yes it's a total burst of flavor) and Paneer (cottage cheese-ey)-stuffed Dosa. Service was quick and food was delicious. Only thing I wished they had was the tangy tomato chutney with my Dosa. Anyways, it made me a bit nostalgic and I left this place content and happy! read more

My boyfriend and I came here on a Nectar voucher deal, so I wasn't totally sure what to expect. But WOW, the food here is good. I was really happy to find a totally veggie restaurant as it meant more choice than usual, and I was impressed to see that they even label which wines are vegan! The deal we had was a set menu so we just sat back and let the food roll in... and roll in it did. Standard poppadoms to start, followed by the tandoori platter - a large plate of the most delicious tandoori vegetables and paneer. So flavoursome, I could happily have eaten that again for mains! Then came a selection of curries (daal, some kind of creamy okra curry and paneer masala), potato-stuffed dosa, lemon rice and hot fresh wholemeal puri (I think?). The curries were all delicious and the dosa was amazing. Never had it before but I definitely want to again. Just when we thought there was no way we could eat any more, they brought us dessert. It was quite small, but that was a blessing really. I'm not sure what it was called, but it was sort of like carrot rice pudding. That sounds weird I know, but it was really lovely. The service was perhaps a tiny bit off - prompt enough, but the waiter had this weird thing where he sort of repeated everything we said back in mildly incredulous tones. But the food was so delicious, I just don't care. This was last week, and I'm going back tomorrow! read more

Wonderful. Was it veg? I didn't notice. Great food and service but it seemed they were rushing us out of there. Highly appreciated the attention to detail on the chaat. Bathrooms need a bit of help. Worth a visit, but reserve a table. read more

Went here because of Yelp reviews. Food was wonderful, service was really good. Didn't even realIze it was vegetarian until we got there (which I'm ok with) and hubby decided to give it a shot anyway. We were both pretty impressed. Would definitely go there again. read more

A friend chose this place as it is located across the street from the Harold Pinter theatre, where we due to watch a play. The all vegetarian menu was simple, tasty and well presented. I found it a touch expensive, but then I do generally eat Indian in Tooting, where it's delicious and cheap. I did inform staff at the beginning of the meal that we had tickets for the theatre, and though it's a small restaurant, I was reduced to standing up with my coat before staff noticed us. Apart from that I was happy with my meal, but convenient, rather than memorable. read more

Superlative meal of various veggie dishes. We did not have dessert, but what we had was the best Indian veggie meal, perhaps ever. A noisy party of five left soon after we arrived, which was lucky. Good service. read more

Flavors and diversity of dosa types were pretty good. They are also very vegan friendly and conscious. I wish the dosa fillings were spicier, they should use spicy peppers instead of sweet. As a connoisseur of dosa, I can say that they put way too much oil on or in these. read more

Lovely food and good service, watch out when it comes to paying the bill, they are one of those places that may add an automatic tip and have the credit card machine asking you for another, I wasn't paying attention and ended up tipping twice. The place itself has nice decor and is well place for access from leciester square, trafalger square and picadilly circus read more

Good Indian vegetarian place serving varied dishes which one won't get in regular tandoori joints. We had a platter of tandoor roasted vegetables and paneer to start with which was a nice change; then a creamy coconutty veg curry and masala mushrooms dosa to follow. All freshly made and the dosa pancake was crispy and chewy. It came to £50 for two including sundries (nan, poppadoms, mango lassi, mineral water and 12.5% service charge). A little pricey but the location is too. Was not prompted to tip again on credit card machine so that was encouraging. Recommend this place for a great vegetarian meal out. read more

With so much on offer in the centre of London...this place had better pull its socks up. I'm vegetarian and very keen on South Indian food. I have been considerably underwhelmed by the standard of food here. And by the service. I hope it has improved, but I won't be going back...far too many good places worth frequenting. I'd rather eat at The Stockpot than at this place. Or, if I want to eat South Indian, venture to one of the two really decent places off Oxford Street. read more

I had the vegetable samosas and masala dosa, both of which were fine. They had a separate vegan menu which was nice. Overall, not the most exciting dining experience but it gets the job done. read more

My family and I just came back from having lunch here. The service was exceptionally slow. The place wasnt packed when we sat down at 115pm on a Thursday. The bhelpuri was good. Then we had a variety of Dosas, vada etc. They were all pretty average. May be my bar for south indian food is high. The sambar was a disappointment. Also we felt this place was a bit pricey. A thali meal should not be 19 GBP. read more

The food was very good and not too spicy. The place is nice and quiet. Some of the plates were not clean enough, but they switched them for us. Bottom line, the food was nice. read more

Woodlands Restaurant - Indian Near Me - London, XGL

Tucked away in an inconspicuous alleyway off Leicester Square, its outward appearance might convey that this a tourist trap of the worst kind. Woodlands is actually part of an international restaurant chain which originated in India, so its authenticity is genuine. Thankfully for me, that means it's also purely vegetarian. My family has been going to Woodlands for years, it was the first place my parents and then later on I had a dosa and sampled dishes such as the dahi vada (savoury lentil and rice doughnuts submerged in yoghurt with spices). Woodlands offers South and North Indian cuisine. The dosas are good (though could do with more chutney offerings) and the North Indian curries are very flavoursome; the paneer tikka masala was amazing. The mango lassis are not as overly sweet as is the case in many places. I haven't tried the thalis but they look amazing. Service is fast and friendly; though not the place with the most ambiance, this is definitely a great place to eat real Indian food. read more

If I could give this no stars I would.. During our first trip to London as Vegans we decided to give this restaurant a shot based on the ratings. Although the food was decent (Far from good) The customer service was HORRIBLE!!! When we first arrived we ordered 2 appetizers....30 minutes later we were still waiting for it to arrive. When we asked 1 of the wait staff she stated "5 more minutes" 10 minutes later we inquired again and our server he was very passive aggressive and stated "I thought you said you wanted all of your food at the same time" when I said "I didn't say that" he had an attitude and decided to argue with me about the conversation....WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I WANT MY APPETIZER AND ENTRE AT THE SAME TIME.. Not once did he refill our drinks asked if we need anything else or even cared about our experience. As I'm typing this I'm starting to annoyed again about the entire experience.... Bottom Line.....I WILL NEVER VISIT THIS RESTAURANT AGAIN AND I WILL ENSURE NONE OF MY FRIENDS VISIT THIS HOLE IN THE WALL EITHER!! read more

I'm not sure how credible the other reviews are or if they are fake but I took a chance at this place and I'm picky about my food being Latino and coming from Calfornia. I gotta tell you this was the best Indian food I have ever had and is exactly what I was looking for in taste. Every bite was full of multiple but not over powering flavors that felt like they danced in my mouth with the perfect amount of spiciness that activated my palate. Simply amazing..... I am definitely coming back and would recommend this place to anyone who is looking for amazing Indian food. I had Nizami paneer tikka and Rogan josh and Rasmalai for dessert. I promise you wont be disappointed. read more

Umm... wow... all vegetarian menu which was a surprise when we sat down. I booked the table with Top Table and there was no mention of this which I found odd. Had I done a little web search and looked at their website I would have known but that's ok. Everything we had was good, actually very good. Given the restaurants close proximity to "touristy" places I was a bit skeptical and pleasantly surprised by the quality. We took a friend who was staying nearby. Our order consisted of TANDOORI CAULIFLOWER and MUSHROOM TIKKA starters. Both were quite spicy but nice. I ordered a MUSHROOM MASALA DOSA and enjoyed it quite a bit. Another person at the table got the PANEER TIKKA MASALA which I tasted and immediately added to my "must order next time" list. They have a wine list which is ok and the space is decently decorated. One of my peeves is light fixtures with burned out lightbulbs... there were way too many lights that were burned out. Yes, I'm being picky however attention to detail is important when you entertain guests. If you invite guests to your home you clean and make sure everything is in proper working order, right? So to recap, it's a good restaurant with some pretty darn good food. The interior is okay but they just need to do some simple maintenance like change bulbs. Oh and the washrooms were "ok" - sort of clean and tiny. Nothing to keep me from returning because this American Southerner wants to try the Paneer Tikka Masala again, it was damn tasty y'all. read more

Very good food, but they don't turn their air conditioners even after requesting them to! It is 30 degrees outside in London right now and it feels like 35 degrees centigrades in here and they don't care. They are understaffed too. read more

I have been here before, but was totally disappointed this time. The Malabar paratha was nothing but store bought frozen stuff. The Hyderabadi Aubergine did not taste like any salaan. The Medu Vada was shrivelled and soggy. Bad experience. Something has changed here ! read more

I love the woodland chain, even went there on a trip to Oman. The food is more traditional and the restaurants are often a bit more special. The one near Leicester Square doesn't have a fantastic atmosphere though but the food is amazing regardless read more

Very pleasant place for a delicious Indian lunch. We had two thali platters which were just perfect and the mango lassi was a perfect match. Super place and great service right near the theater district too. read more

Small vegetarian Indian restaurant in the heart of London. They squeezed us in without a booking. The menu is quite extensive and varied, and not the usual run of the mill anglicised Indian. Service was quick and excluding the wine three of us ate for £51, including starters. I thought it was good value especially for its location and would definitely return. read more

What a shame! Woodlands used to be my favourite S.Indian restaurant outside of S. India. I went there recently for lunch and ordered the thali selection, which contains various standard items from S.Indian cuisine. Sadly, the ootapam and masala dosa, which should have a slightly sour flavour, tasted seriously over-fermented. The waiter tasted both and agreed with me and brought a rava dosa instead, explaining this was thinner and cooked at a higher temperature and thus should not taste fermented. He was right. Unfortunately, the potato filling tasted as badly fermented as the previous offering. The portions in the thali were excessively small and over-filled up with the sambar (sauce) and coconut chutney. Sad that they should rely on their excellent reputation and cut corners to lose at least this person's custom. read more

I was very pleased with the good and the service. I would regularly patronize if this were at home in the US.

South India food is subtle in its flavouring and gentle on the tummy. We had dhosas and a tandoori platter to share, and I had a tandoori pineapple for dessert with coconut ice cream. Lovely! All politely and discreetly served and modestly priced. £61 for two including a bottle of wine excellent value for central London. read more