Indian Essence in Bromley

Great Indian food 5 star, slow service due to the restaurant being so busy and a queue of people waiting for takeaways. The restaurant needs some acoustic bafflers add to help keep the noise at a reasonable level.

Enjoyed my 2nd visit. Some paps for starters & then an excellent goat curry, off menu korma, bhindi and pillau rice. Nice non alcoholic cocktail as was driving and great service too Excellent 1st visit really enjoyed the lunch menu... Nice attentive service... Will be back

My new favorite local restaurant. I had such an exquisite experience overall. A 5 star service throughout all stay. I felt like a queen. The food from a set menu was above and beyond. It all tasted wonderfully and each food was a peace of art on a plate. On Monday we also had live music playing for a romantic atmosphere. They play it on Thursdays as well apparently. Highly recommending this place for an exclusive experience with a set menu and live music. For a romantic date experience or simply meeting woth family or friends for some really delicious, great quality food. I have already booked my second visit for my birthday dinner with family. Looking forward to try more of variety from the regular menu as well.

Amazing food and very good service.

Very tasty food great presentation and amazing customer service! Expected from a chef who earned 2 Michelin star. Well done 😃

Amazing food, friendly and efficient service.

We were very excited about going to this restaurant (my husband loves Atul) and were not disappointed! I had the pescatarian taster and my husband the vegetarian. Wow. Every course was divine and my only complaint is that once we got to the main course (monkfish) I had eaten so much before that I was not able to enjoy the piece de a resistance as I was too full! Staff were amazing and the food could not have been better. Absolute hit!

Great food and experience again... as usual 🙂

Our second time here. Our 15th anniversary and were as blown away by the food as previous visit in March. Busy but relaxed. Even the chutneys with the poppadoms to start had us fighting over them. The sort of food that makes you roll your eyes and at £50 a head an absolute snip for this quality. I had the Railway Curry, which is nowhere near as basic as it sounds. Wife had Tandoori Prawns.

Having tried Sindhu on holiday we thought we would give Indian Essence a go as only half an hour drive away. We booked for lunch and had the weekday menu where there was a choice of four starters, mains and desserts, three courses for £22. This is excellent value and the food was bursting with flavour, tender lamb, delicate fish, succulent chicken, light and fluffy naan bread. Desserts were a delicious fusion of Indian spice and sweetness and the staff even surprised us with a sweet treat and a decorated plate wishing us a happy anniversary. Definitely recommend this restaurant if you want something far superior to the average high street Indian restaurant. As said in the previous review best Indian restaurant by far. We will definitely be going back.

Latest visit was on a Tuesday evening and as usual, it didn’t disappoint. The food was superb, service excellent and very good ambiance, even though it was midweek. This really is the best restaurant for miles. WELL DONE INDIAN ESSENCE!

Excellent food but experience spoiled at the end. We went for a meal Saturday evening, to celebrate my wife's birthday, the first meal out just us two in over a year since becoming parents. We thought we'd go back to Indian essence as had lovely meals there before. Food was exceptional as expected although having just finished our meals we were asked to leave as they said there was a table waiting. We both had nearly a full glass of wine left each which we had to finish quickly. What made it difficult to understand was there were two empty tables of two either side of us and multiple other tables empty in the restaurant. If we had been asked to move to the bar to finish our drinks that would have been different but to be asked to leave wasn't acceptable. Such a shame.

Visited the restaurant based on word of mouth. Ordered a few different dishes. Lamb Rogan Josh, Pilau rice, Chicken Makhani, Khali (black) Daal, bread basket (different naans and parathas), Raita. The food was quick and each dish tasted different. The spices in each were very intense, no real chilli but just way too much of one masala or powder. The lamb in particular. The daal had ginger and that was very overpowering. Too much ginger. The variety of naan was good, rice was good. The chicken was the best of a bad bunch - it was tangy but again quite overpowering with the powders they used. Got to say that I was left disappointed with the overall meal. The amount we paid and the hype surrounding Atul Kochhar is unjustified. I'm sure he knows what he's doing but the chefs here are probably going off book and not following the recipes as they should. Didn't stay for dessert/coffee as we couldn't finish it all. I asked for all the food to be packed up and they forgot to include the raita. Realised this when I got home. I wasn't happy. My advise - don't bother. Make your own, cheaper and it'll taste a lot nicer.

As ever an absolute enjoyable visit. The staff are friendly and attentive, good selection of dishes and an extensive wine list. The Railway lamb curry is to die for. tender lamb in rich curry sauce. looking forward to another visit soon.

Always a lovely time and well looked after! Thank you!

We tried the new tasting menu available on Monday and Thursday nights and it was delicious. Next time we’ll try with the wine flight!

Second time coming - serving one of the best butter chicken I have ever had. Other dishes were well executed, just a bit too salty.

Another fantastic evening , celebrating my Wife’s 60th birthday. Food great, Service even better !

Very disappointed with the quality of the food and how tasteless the food is. The lamb biryani with egg and potato was Very bland and had no taste, the lamb was dry and horrible. Seems like it not a Atul Kochhar anymore, but a basic Indian restaurant. I would recommend you don’t go here unless you’re drunk and you won’t notice how bad the food really is. It is also expensive and really not a great value for money. No spices or anything. Disappointment service on a plate.

Excellent sevice and food. A very positive experience.

Very disappointed with the quality of the food and how tasteless the food is. The lamb biryani with egg and potato was Very bland and had no taste, the lamb was dry and horrible. Seems like it not a Atul Kochhar anymore, but a basic Indian restaurant. I would recommend you don’t go here unless you’re drunk and you won’t notice how bad the food really is. It is also expensive and really not a great value for money. No spices or anything. Disappointment service on a plate.

Fantastic food and service, very friendly and helpful staff. The monkfish was to die for , food was exceptional standard (ohhh and thank you for helping mending my wife’s wheelchair )

This was my first visit to an AK restaurant outside London. Couldn't have expected it to be like the others, but loved the food. Good selection of Indian liquors. Would be nicer to have more veggie options with a taster menu.

Super, authentic Indian cuisine, beautifully cooked and presented. Excellent service with attentive staff, who were knowledgeable and committed. Good value for money, especially with the lunch set meal offer. Wine however was a little overpriced at £15 per 250 CL.

By far the best Indian restaurant I've ever visited 👌

This place is special because their offering is not like most Indian restaurants. The food is good. Couldn't see any non alcoholic lagers on their offering. For me that is a serious omission.

We had lunch for my husband’s birthday. Food was exceptional so this made our visit even better as it was for a special occasion. The staff were attentive without being overbearing. We will definitely visit again.

Great Monday Night! It was my partners birthday and they were really kind, great service and great music. For a Monday night busy which is nice to see.

Fabulous food and great staff. Splashed out on 2 lovely bottles of wine , reccomended by the main man. Complemented the food perfectly .

Indian Essence is a fabulous restaurant offering authentic and delicious Indian food . The staff are exceptionally friendly and enjoy engaging with their customers. This restaurant is understandably hugely popular due to the outstanding quality of their food and overall experience.

We had the taster menu today, and it was just amazing. The quality of the food and the flavours were the best. There wasn't one thing we didn't enjoy. Great service, friendly staff. Will certainly visit again.

Thank you Indian Essence for this evening .. Amazing staff and superb food .. I highly recommend you and we will definitely be back soon ..

Fantastic staff, they will look after you. Food is great!

Good quality food. Exceptional service from Mohit and the rest of the staff. I would definitely return. I also appreciate the special requests to adjust the dishes for our own pallet. Justin

Although the food was delicious and well-prepared, the service was quite slow, and I found that some of the portion sizes were smaller in comparison to the price paid.

Great food and service. Drinks reasonably priced.

Excellent food and excellent service. Light music would have been welcome. For afternoon business lunch a better pricing would have me brining my clients few times every month.

Delicious food - just that bit more special than our favourite Indian restaurant. Great service from all involved. Subtle live music - great singer. Overall a wonderful evening celebrating my husband’s birthday

Birthday lunch. Had the set menu with three friends. Lovely food as always and a nice bottle of Pinot Noir after some bubbles. Their lamb curry (roast lamb) is my favourite, with the dosa on top. All served with rice and vegetable curry as part of the set menu. Fantastic value, especially with the cost of living hikes. They served me a lovely chocolate square and four spoons as it was my birthday.

Absolutely loved our lunch at the weekend, the food was delicious and I'd like a jar of the pineapple chutney. Also a shout out to the sommelier. The sparkling wine I ordered on arrival was dry and really excellent. We went with a bottle of Atul's recommended Sauvignon blanc to follow, I wasn't keen on my first sip, as I found the after taste a bit odd, but as soon as I tried it with food, it was a perfect complement. My only regret was not ordering the lamb sukka, as it was better than my biriyani. Next time!! Only things that could have improved our visit (aside from not going home and staying for dinner) would be for the floors to be less slippy, we both skidded on them, and maybe for less staff to come and ask if we were enjoying our food. It got a bit much.

We have ordered take away on weekend.the food was delicious . The best authentic Indian in south east .highly recommended.

I always make a point of dining here everytime I visit family nearby. We are never disappointed and will definitely come again

Really wasn’t great . The railway lamb curry was so dry and fatty. Really not worth the money

We usually have a good time at Indian Essence but last night was pretty poor service. We waited 25 mins for our table to be ready (8.30 reservation and sat down at 8.55). We had to chase for our food on multiple occasions through the evening and didn’t end up leaving until nearly midnight. We didn’t eat the first course until 10pm. That was a lot longer than we anticipated and tarnished the evening as we were worried about getting back for our babysitters.

Food is fantastic, a different twist to Indian cuisine 😋 highly recommend!

Interesting and varied menu including some unusual starters ( chicken tikka pie) and delicious main courses. All served with yummy cocktails and desserts. We didn’t have wine but believe they have a varied selection. The service is excellent, all of the staff are professional but also incredibly warm welcoming and friendly. All in all this restaurant is a real treat and highly recommended!

Very very Disappointed to say the quality has degraded to cheap local pub food with overload of oil. Update: Jun 12, 2022 Ordered 2 Biryanis (Lucknowi & Kolkata) through Deliveroo for £41.48 (quantity is same 400 ml takeaway box. Food was Too oily that we felt guilty to eat. Both tasted the same. Looked like riced mixed with same base gravy and sprinkled with garnish. Only difference was Kolkata biryani had potato and an egg. The side gravy is sunken under 1 cm layer of oil. On May 29th, we ordered aloo Gobi and dal makhani. Both were good except for the issue that found a small piece of chicken in the Dal makhani. Would have been an embarrassment had we served it to our vegetarian guests. On May 18th, ordered lamb and aloo Gobi, both turned out to be more on redder shade and super spicy even for our Indian taste buds. Didn’t want to complain as we love the food but thought of giving feedback. Seemed to have lost the balance of spices. Not sure if chef / kitchen staff has changed.. Hope someone will look into these and ensure the quality is not compromised. Thanks

Amazing food. The last one buster was off the chart. Best Indian food I have ever eaten. Top draw

As always - very good value, with a lovely set menu.

Highly recommend - great food and amazing service

Fantastic! Food was delicious, service nice and atmosphere relaxed. Thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.

Excellent meal as always. Tried the latest tasting menu which is very cleverly constructed. It took us on a bold but well ballanced and interesting journey through the fantastic spices, textures and flavours of Indian cuisine, with a flourish and technical know how unique to Atul's style.

The food and the service was absolutely outstanding. The tasting menu was amazing, really well thought out with the perfect timing between courses. My only gripe was the noise, it’s a small busy restaurant so it’s luck of the draw whether or not your fellow diners are constantly shouting at each other …unfortunately for us that was the case this time. But I’ll definitely be back and would highly recommend.

Outstanding food and beautiful service, would highly reccomend

Been twice now, what’s not to like? Fabulous it’s very good

A wonderful experience for a 70th birthday. Fantastic hospitality and delicious taster menu with paired wines. Singer was excellent too. £650 is a lot for 4 people but worth it for a special occasion.

Lovely food and great service. We tried the 7 course taster menu and would highly recommend it. The spiced Kir Royale was amazing . Will be going back !

Simply outstanding! I’ve eaten at a lot of London’s top restaurants but this restaurant with its quality of food and fantastic flavours as well as the exemplary service sets it apart from many of them. An amazing hidden gem with its unassuming exterior leading into a paradise of white linen, subtle nods to Indian heritage with beautiful artwork adorning the walls. If you want to experience proper Indian cuisine this is the place to go. We met the chef who was wonderful and pleased by our obvious admiration with our clean plates. I would also add that although you might expect to pay through the nose you don’t, the prices are very reasonable. Enjoy! Ps. Only remembered to take a photo right at the end of our three courses and that orange ice cream illicitly a little chair dance from me. If only I could buy it elsewhere.

Went for a birthday. Service was good. Food was amazing with large portions. Unusual flavour combinations that worked well. Large drinks menu. Enjoyable evening. Picked this one as opposed to the London restaurants due to the reviews. Would definitely recommend

Really did love the food but I did this it was so much more pricy than it should be in all honesty ! I like that the food arrive super hot and served with care and explanation if you wanted it

Indian Essence is without doubt the best restaurant in our area and we always feel so lucky to have London quality here in Petts Wood . The staff are warm and dedicated and we really enjoyed celebrating my partner’s birthday this evening . The food is outstanding and so full of flavour . Delicious !

Amazing food and service, we did the tasting menu and I couldn’t even finish some of the dishes as there was so much food! Will definitely be back

Visited with the Virgin Experience 3 course meal voucher for two. It was an excellent way to spend the voucher as the food, service and atmosphere was superb. You’ll be asked if you want to start with some papadoms (charged at £4.45). Say YES to this because you won’t want to miss the varieties of papadoms and the in-house prepared chutneys. I assume they are made in-house because they’re delicious, especially the pineapple one. We enjoyed all of the dishes we ordered, especially the desserts. I highly recommend the fig and ginger cheesecake. If you don’t have a Virgin Experience voucher expect to pay £22 per head for the 3 course lunch. You’ll leave feeling like you got a great value meal with top tier service.

It's all about the food! Everything we tried was beyond expectation! Of course, we expected excellence - that's why we booked to have our Anniversary lunch here, but from the papadum to the complimentary "Happy Anniversary" Brownie thefood was just great. The few morsels we left were simply a reflection of how full we were. Add to this service with a smile form everyone we encountered and you have an experieence that we whole heartedly recommend.

Top notch! Certainly the best Indian in and around our area. Superb, quality dishes with Atuls signature inspiration. Highly recommend the murg makani, tandoori jhinga and lobster awesome. Plus off menu gulab jamun. Very friendly and helpful staff and a nice atmosphere to sit in. Highly suggest

Love that this is local to us and is such a lovely restaurant for a special occasion. The food is delicious and the service is excellent.

Absolutely amazing food! The presentation and taste was out of this world. Staff could not do enough to accommodate us. Great experience and would highly recommend.

Food was extremely good. Live music was a nice touch and at the end we had a nice surprise from the manager as they gave a dessert on the house as it was my 5th anniversary. We went again for our 10th anniversary and I can say for sure, everything looked the same, classy and most importantly great food.

Drinks were nice. We ordered 3 different curries, and all 3 the texture of the meat wasn't right. We had a lamb, chicken and a monkfish dish and all 3 the texture just wasn't right I fear it was not fresh but frozen reheated. We ordered a chilli pakora it was terrible with far too much batter and not fresh juicy chilli we did complain and got refunded for it but I felt guilty after complaining. The very expensive food we paid for I really should have told them what I thought of their food. The Peshwari naan was terrible so thin with hardly any coconut, the rice we were told to buy 2 portions which was mis sold as my dish came with enough carbs the server told me the monkfish had a tiny amount of vermecelli noodle (not true) Overall I couldn't wait to leave but paid £110 for 3 curries, 2 rice, 1 bread, 3 drinks, starter was refunded or it wouldve been £116. Service was good ambience was not great but it was 1pm.

We’ve visited this restaurant half a dozen times and never disappointed. The flavours are full on but not overwhelming. Everything taste freshly cooked. Portions are generous too

Disturbed by a very noisy group. Onion Bhaji lukewarm. Proper glasses needed for draught lager. The glasses used are very nice, but most draught beers that are served in a pub/bar are served in a glass which has a widget at the bottom. The lager goes flat very quickly when a normal glass is used. Check out San Miguel, Morreti, Peroni glasses.

No doubt a special restaurant on the suburbs. Having visited Kanishka and Mathura by Atul Kochhar, this was the most dated and least special restaurant of the 3. Mathura has since closed, so Kanishka is our favourite although Indian essence is more local. I couldn’t help but think the chicken pie looked like a Greg’s pasty! Please go back to the circular design! Service great, food was good and restaurant popular. Around £110 for 3 courses with one on alcohol and one without. The taster menu is worth a try at all Atul Restaurants when available.

I really enjoyed dining at Atul Kochhar. Food was tasty, staff were friendly and polite. Food presentation was excellent. I will definitely come again.

The food was excellent and the staff are very welcoming too

Great food and service, as usual Lobster, wonderful and house champers really good value

Stylish restaurant, great location near Petts Wood station, and food & service were excellent. Very attentive and knowledgeable team and they accommodated me being veggie very well. Recommend the paratha and masala chai!

Great tasting menu with excellent service! Highly recommend and will be back

This is my third time here. It’s superb. I can’t fault any of it. Thanks to all the team for making each visit so special. The food is glorious, the staff amazing & to be remembered as well made it that more personal. Thanks also for the Manhattan cocktail 🍸 that was off menu. Personal Touches always count & from the first visit this is what we have had. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Lovely Indian food with a difference. Tasty and unusual combinations which made for a very pleasant meal and drinks. Would recommend. Another visit food excellent again with some absolutely delicious combinations. Definitely not your traditional Indian restaurant. On the expensive side, especially if you want to drink with your meal, but great for that special occasion snd would visit again.

We had the 7 course taster menu, it was 5 star, the flavours were exquisite

Great experience, wonderful staff with exquisite food.

Superb food, outstanding service, what more can be said, eat here it is fantastic.

This a regular place for us to get good quality Indian food with friendly, attentive service It’s a mix of authentic cuisine with modern interpretations. Daal makhani, parathas, keema naan (best I’ve ever had), ghost, chili pakoras, biryani, raj kachori are all excellent. However, not all dishes on the a la carte menu are great but they seem to have taken these off the menu but please return to the original Bapa doi recipe - it was simply amazing. Drinks are expensive and on the whole this is a pricier place than other local options but deifinetely worth trying.

Always a wonderful experience! We never get bored coming here time and time again! Our absolute favourite restaurant 😍

The staff were very attentive, and we was celebrating an anniversary which they bought us desserts and an anniversary plate out which was lovely of them🙂. The food was really good and an all round good experience! Thank you

Had a lovely Sunday lunch here for my Mums birthday. We had a toddler in tow and staff were very accommodating and friendly. The set weekend lunch is brilliant value too.

Outstanding service, good food, good ambience. Thank you.

Very attentive and family friendly with great quality food

Excellent food and very accommodating staff with food allergies.

Absolutely LOVED our take away today. We have a poorly daughter and needed something to cheer us up, and this certainly did the job! Best Indian we have EVER had. Thank you!

Had four of the tasting menus. We upgraded to lobster for £18 and would highly recommend it. Chicken and lamb was fantastic courses too. Staff were slightly slow with the courses, refilling drinks/water. And also we think we were missing 3 bowls of rice that came with the main course as we had a one small bowl to share between four. On the plus side we wanted to try a Dahl which they provided complimentary for us.

We decided on the Tasting Menu of 7 courses which was superb, even accommodating by changing the lamb course to paneer. Highly recommended for special occasions.

We have always loved Indian Essence . We brought some friends last night and they were blown away with the wonderful food - the fantastic favours and delicious dishes . Everything was superb . Good value too with the mid week set menu. The black dhal and the bread basket too are firm favourites. Lovely staff too . Thanks for a fab evening 😊

The service provided by the staff, and the incredible dishes they produce, never fail to satisfy the palate. I had the taster menu with the Lobster, again. We've visited this restaurant numerous times and will continue to go back.

Honestly the food here was lovely, we had the tasting menu. My only tincy remark is the semi-freddo style desert was quite grainy. But everything else and I mean everything was incredible. Perfectly cooked and very tasty. Service so nice as well - celebrated a birthday here and it was honestly lovely.

Ridiculously noisy,and way too many staff which means it is far from a relaxing evening it is like a rush hour with people constantly rushing about and customers at full decibel level,food was good though but very overpriced for what claims to be top end,wouldn’t go again as other restaurants nearby look a lot calmer and quieter

Excellent food and service. We had the lunch menu and the choices were superb. Try the cocktails too... Really tasty.

Great quality food at a reasonable price with the lunch meal deal.

Staff are attentive and friendly. Food is delicious and well presented.

Innovatively presented and well spiced food. Portion sizes for the main course were 'scroogy'. Decor and setting were pleasant. Service attempts to be high-end but feels disjointed, I presume because it's new and things haven't quite coordinated yet. Might be tempted to revisit one more time but needs to improve. Booking was confused and felt taken advantage of by not being offered plain water rather than assuming I'd wanted a £5 bottle of mineral water. This sneaky ethos works against retaining custom. Not a bad experience but actually enjoyed a £7 curry canteen in Maidstone slightly more.