Spice Island

In my old job I used to walk past this unassuming restaurant every day on my way home. Transported for a few brief moments by a heavenly smell that hinted of warmer countries, divine flavours and took the chill out of the winter air, but I never had the courage to go in.
Finally, the other day, I ventured fourth. The autumnal air had a chill in it, and I wasn’t quite sure what I fancied to eat. Down Kingsland road I walked, battling the wind, my friend by my side dithering, until a sharp chill hit my bones and I knew I needed a curry. My friend was not best pleased to be leaving the safety of the main road, dodging down side streets until I re-​found this tiny, single story addition to the street. From the outside it looks as though someone has very quickly and cheaply put up a shed, but the smell that wafts out through the partially open windows… even the memory of the smell makes my mouth water.
Despite the smell I hesitated, still unsure, despite years of walking past the place, that this was a real restaurant. My friend, emboldened by the smell, took my hand and led me through the door. Inside there are only two or three tables, and if you are more than four people you will be unlikely able to sit in. However the food is great.
I am not much of a fan or connoisseur of Indian food so I cannot say if it was good or bad for its genre. However it was really good and I would go back or even order take-​away. They very proudly said that they will deliver anywhere in London. They currently have customers who order take-​away from as far afield as Leyton or Crouch Hill so I would assume that these people know more about curry than I do and think it’s pretty special. The staff were really friendly and attentive, chatting with us about the youtube videos they were playing to pass the time. All the people who came in to order or collect take-​away were also friendly, the whole place has a family vibe to it.
However I will say that if you don’t like talking to people this is not the place for you. Conversely, if you are looking for a great place to eat, even if you are dining alone I would recommend Spice Island.

Really 3.5 stars, but I’m rounding up because the staff were friendly.
Ordered takeaway recently and biked up to get it, which granted a 10% discount off their already reasonable prices. When the guy at the counter saw me hovering by the door to keep an eye on my bike, he told me to just bring it inside so I wouldn’t worry. Nice!
We tried the Lamb Korma, Spice Island Chicken Murgh, veggie samosas, and some regular and peshawari naan. The korma was really sweet and gloopy — I wouldn’t order it again — but everything else was pretty good. There was a lot of oil floating on top of the chicken dish, but once we spooned that off, it was quite good with the naan, with a good balance of savory and spicy. The veggie samosas were decent, less greasy than most, and the naan was fine but very doughy, without much of the crisp outer texture that a good hot Tandoori oven produces.
Overall, not phenomenal, but better than most of the local Indian takeaways we’ve tried, so we’ll be giving them another shot.
Oh, in case you’re tempted to visit in person, I wouldn’t recommend it — the shop is basically a takeaway with two incidental tables, and the ambience is not exactly romantic, with delivery guys shuttling in and out every few minutes.

Not Italian. Pretty lame Indian and overpriced for takeaway. 2.50 for naan as well as extra for rice? The main protein was merely OK and scarce.

Freshly cooked tasty indian food, couple of seats inside or take away. Nailed the Hara Chicken Bhuna and honey Luxcheese, big old portions and friendly staff. Tasted good next day too.

Got take out from here once (through ‘My Salivation delivers’)
Food very heavy and oily, so the flavours did not come through. Poppadoms were burnt.
They brought a Lamb curry when we had ordered chicken.
On a better note, they gave us a free 1litre of orange juice and the delivery was super quick.

Ordered from here last night for the first time through Just-​Eat.
It was good value, coming to just under £20 for two mains, two rice, two sides and a naan. It was delivered quickly, and was piping hot when it arrived (something we’ve had issues with at other takeaways in the past).
And the food itself was extremely tasty, and seemed to be fresh and free from too many luminous colourings! We will definitely be ordering again.