Smart Indian at Piccadilly Circus

 Five of us ex-colleagues are having a "Whizzo Wheeze", looking to play bar billiards at the Glasshouse Stores on Brewer Street. Unfortunately, as on the last two occasions, the table is not operational - this time the cues have been stolen. It feels as if the table will be phased out soon. And there aren't many other places left  in London where you can still play bar billiards.

We stay for a couple of pints, then go in search of a curry. I had noticed on arriving at Piccadilly Circus that the fabulous Criterion, right by Eros, was now a branch of Masala Zone, so we head off there. Masala Zone took over the place just last year. The Criterion dates from 1873, and has more recently been home to Marco Pierre White, though it has a chequered financial history since. The decor is consistently opulent. 

Masala Zone has its own pedigree, though only back to 2001, and now has 4 branches in London. We really liked the Covent Garden branch, ideal for groups, with its Indian marionettes hanging from the ceiling. The Criterion Masala Zone is also large and ideal for impressing a group.  The decor now has Indian themes too making it even more dramatic. 

The menu isn't huge but takes a little while to get your head around, as it isn't a standard selection. We order drinks - beers, Kingfisher for me, though sadly only in the 33cl bottles. There's a good selection of "grazing small plates".  We decide to take the short cut of the five item, sharing grazing selection, just for two. The Bombay sprouted lentil bhel is a huge pillar with loads of flavour, crunchy and crispy with pomegranate seeds. There are two lamb sliders, not easy to divide between 5 so I opt out of those. Of the other 3 dishes, one in particular was a very dense dish with spicy sauce. 

We've eaten the starters before we get asked to order our mains. But that's not an issue as they arrive well within the time we'd expect.  Three of the group order thalis - prawn, lamb and chicken - which looked to be good sized portions including two vegetables, dhal, papad, rice or chapattis, with a raita option. P has the veggie "Undihiyo" of nine different veggies including banana, which he described as "Richly spiced, variety of vegetables. On dry side with rather more potatoes than I would have preferred". My choice was chicken mangalore, a 2 chilli option of chicken in thick sauce, which was indeed pretty hot, with chapattis and chana masala; a bit too much really. 

Service has been fine, though I did get twitchy waiting for my second beer. Total was around £250 including service. Probably would have been rather more with wine than just a few beers. The general view of the group was very positive, with some already planning to visit again.