A Sophisticated Soho Spot Serving Regional Indian Comfort Food With Warm Hospitality And Vibrant Flavours
Masala Zone Soho delivers authentic regional Indian cuisine in an elegant setting, with standout thalis, delicate chicken tikka, vibrant street snacks, and a nostalgic carrot dessert worth revisiting repeatedly.
F ounded in 2001, Masala Zone Soho was a passion project started by the creators of fine dining’s Chutney Mary and Veeraswamy in an effort to share everyday Indian cuisine with the London crowd. Their goal is to serve truly authentic Indian food, achieved by hiring chefs from various regions of India who are encouraged to cook dishes from their respective homes.
Masala Zone Soho welcomes you in from the bustle of Carnaby Street with its rich and sleek interiors, low lighting, and calming music. We were immediately greeted by staff and given an informative tour of their menu, specifically highlighting their new ‘Grand Trunk Road’ inspired items. This road is one of Asia’s longest and oldest, connecting India to the rest of Central Asia. Formerly used as a key route for armies, traders, pilgrims, and cultural exchange, the modern road now stretches over 2,500 kilometres and is known for having great food stops along the way.
We requested a sampling of the restaurant’s best sellers and our waitress Akhila’s favourite items. Suddenly every inch of our table was covered with colourful, fragrant courses of all shapes and sizes, such as samosas, raita, fiery red chicken strips, a whole chicken leg, two kinds of biryani, and the star of it all: the thali platter.
Masala Zone Soho balances authenticity, atmosphere, and generosity beautifully, offering vibrant regional Indian dishes in an effortlessly welcoming setting.
Thali, which means ‘plate’ or ‘tray’ in Hindi, is a large metal platter overflowing with small bowls called ‘katoris’ that are filled with curries, lentils, vegetables, and accompaniments. Akhila shared that thali is what her lunch looked like every day when she lived in India. In fact, her mom would take her phone away until she finished the entire plate—and let me tell you, this is no small feat. A thali is designed to offer every flavour profile all on one tray, and Masala Zone has indeed fulfilled this design. Though it will set you back £22, this dish provides more than enough food to take home for at least one leftover meal. If you want a true taste of what this restaurant has to offer, thali is the best way to go; they rotate their rice infusions, vegetables, and daal (stewed lentils, peas, or beans) weekly—so you can never tire of revisiting.
Highlights
- Inspired by the historic Grand Trunk Road culinary route
- Authentic regional Indian cooking from chefs across India
- The thali platter delivers every flavour profile in one meal
- Weekly rotating rice, vegetable, and daal selections
- Lucknow dahi puri balances crunch, sweetness, and tang beautifully
- Malai chicken tikka described as tender enough to cut with a spoon
- Gajjar halwa compared to a comforting Thanksgiving sweet potato pie
- Sophisticated Soho atmosphere with cocktails and sleek interiors
- Generous portions designed for sharing and leftovers
- Warm, knowledgeable service from staff member Akhila
Though a thali is more than enough to stuff your stomach, I’d be remiss not to recommend my other two favourite bites of the night: the Lucknow dahi puri and the Malai chicken tikka. Akhila did lovingly expose me when she asked if these were my top picks simply because they weren’t too spicy for my pathetic heat tolerance. She may not have been wrong, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t delicious.
Inspired from the city of Lucknow in northern India, dahi puri are small, deep-fried, whole-wheat shells filled with potato mash, yoghurt, and sweet tamarind. Are they dessert masquerading as an appetiser? Who’s to say for sure. But I’m thrilled to call it an app if it means I don’t have to wait for the entire meal to pass by before I get to devour six of them for £8 (or maybe 12 of them for £16…if you bring non-judgmental friends). The crunchy outside mixes with the tangy, fruity centre to create a truly delectable bite.
The Malai chicken tikka, marinated in cardamom, fresh coriander stems, and cashew nuts, can be cut with a spoon. It’s tender inside with a crispy, charred outside from the tandoor (clay oven), brightened by a squeeze of lemon and a zingy, herbaceous yoghurt sauce.
If you can find room, the cherry on top of this stellar meal was the gajjar halwa. I’ll be honest, this dessert looked and sounded quite unassuming, especially as I am someone who refuses to endorse the whole vegetables-in-dessert phenomenon. Gajjar halwa is made by stewing grated carrots in a pot with water, milk, sugar, cardamom, and ghee. But believe it or not, it’s impossible to discern that this dish is made of carrots—despite looking like a literal pile of grated carrots. When you initially dig in, you’re greeted with a deep warmth that makes you nostalgic for a breezy autumn evening. At the bottom you’ll find a crumbly, buttery crust that makes the entire dessert reminiscent of a Thanksgiving sweet potato pie (and yes, I am American). The earthy, nutty pudding is complemented by a sweet sauce of condensed milk dotted with a berry reduction. I’m not even a dessert person, but I’d return for this recipe alone. And at £8, it’s a steal.
Everyone knows that London is a hub for amazing Indian food. Might you be able to find less expensive, still-authentic-and-scrumptious Indian meals elsewhere in the city? Absolutely. But for Masala Zone’s super-central locations, their prices are very fair, and they provide a sophisticated atmosphere along with a full bar and signature cocktail menu that many cheaper places outside of zone 1 are less likely to offer.
