HomeReviews - UKGood start for Paro Indian eatery in London’s Lyceum Theatre
Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Good start for Paro Indian eatery in London’s Lyceum Theatre

HALAL STATUS Fully Halal food menu • Alcohol served

Indian restaurant Paro in central London has been receiving quite some attention from food bloggers and influencers since opening last year.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Lyceum Theatre on Wellington Street

But what attracted our attention wasn’t the attention of others, but the fact that not only is their a fancy venue in Covent Garden run by a Muslim chef, but one who’s only 24-years-old.

Located just off the Strand on Wellington Street, this West End venue is situated within the Lyceum Theatre; a building said to have been built on one of the oldest sites in the capital dating back to 1765.

The restaurant itself is a large and spacious one that’s defined by an elaborate sequence of colourfully-designed wall murals revolving around the Bengal tiger.

And though it does house an alcohol bar, this is situated entirely separately from the main dining room, which itself boasts plenty of hanging green foliage that contrasts beautifully against the dark, mahogany-coloured tables and upholstery.

It was obvious that Paro’s Executive Chef, Niaz Caan, meant business, with a menu that’s been inspired by the bazaars and streets of the city of Calcutta.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Paro is situated within the West End’s Lyceum Theatre

During the course of the interview (see video above), an articulate Niaz highlighted how Paro’s curries were defined by 48 Calcuttan-sourced spices which were described on its website as “a guarded secret”.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

24-year-old chef & owner of Paro, Niaz Caan!

Having been brought up in a “family of restaurateurs”, Niaz’s culinary experience started at the early age of 13, before eventually helping to run the award-winning Indian restaurant City Spice in east London’s vibrant Brick Lane.

During that time, not only has he had the opportunity of showcasing his skills on national television, but also published his first cookbook Vegan – An Indian Cookbook last year.

With Paro already having attracted a number of well-known faces from the entertainment industry, Niaz has put together both a 2-course and 3-course ‘Pre-Theatre menu’.

DRINKS

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Bengal No Gin Sling, £10.00; Chandramukhi, £8.00; Apple Tiny, £9.00

It was a close call between the zingy, sugar-rimmed Apple Tiny, and the well-balanced Bengal No Gin Sling. But it was the latter, on account of how this mellow, candy-flavoured concoction ended on a subtle sour note, which we preferred.

As for the Chandramukhi, then aside from the sweetness of the grenadine syrup, this was passable.

SMALL PLATES

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Lamb Samosa – Calcuttan filo pastry, Welsh grass-fed lamb mince, Paro’s 48 spice-mix, £5.95

RECOMMENDED

An inhouse Lamb Samosa whose crispy-cum-crunchy exterior gave way to a delicately-grounded lamb mince filling, which was wonderfully fragrant without being very spicious, and was enhanced by the touch of zesty-sweetness from the accompanying sauce. Good start.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Cottage Cheese Roll – Stuffed pastry, sweet-spiced cottage cheese, spinach, £5.95

This Cottage Cheese Roll, on the other hand, while being just as satisfyingly crunchy, didn’t quite live up to the standard of its samosa counterpart.

While the cottage cheese filling was tender and creamy, the bulk of the flavour profile came from the aforesaid sauce.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Bang Bang Chicken – Grilled chicken cutlets, cream & plum sauce, £5.95

Despite appearances, the lightly-spiced, onion-based curry in this Bang Bang Chicken was a flavourous one that pleasantly contrasted against chunks of marinated, grilled chicken, which weren’t quite as tender as we’d have preferred.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Toddy Shop Tiger Prawns – Paro’s 48 spice-mix, plum tomato blend, Paro sauce, £9.95

RECOMMENDED

These Toddy Shop Tiger Prawns were the pick of the starters, with plump pieces of gorgeously grilled crustaceans still retaining some good bite.

The star of the show was the caramelised onion base whose smoky-sweetness married superbly against the lightly spiced marination of the prawns. In fact, this was our dish of the review!

MAINS

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Lamb Shank – Slow-roasted lamb-leg shank, Paro’s 48 spice-mix, chilli flakes, charred-garlic, £21.95

Onions also featured in this Lamb Shank, with a leg of lamb shank that could have been “slow-roasted” for longer.

As such, although the textured onion curry was nicely spiced, the lamb itself didn’t quite fall apart in the manner in which we were expecting.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Paro Butter Chicken – Cream, plum tomatoes, emulsified butter, £15.95

This signature Paro Butter Chicken is Chef Niaz’s great-grandfather’s recipe, and one which was made Bengali-style rather than Calcuttan.

This might explain why the curry sauce, while certainly full-bodied and decent enough, was neither infused with the aroma of cardamom, nor delivered the buttery richness and distinct piquancy of tomato in some other versions we’ve had in the past. As for chicken pieces therein, then these erred on the chewy side.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Nani-Jaan Chicken – Tenga curry leaves, Paro’s 48 spice-mix, lemon, demerara sugar, mint, tamarind reduction, £14.95

The same shortcomings with the chicken in the above dish were true for this bowl of Nani-Jaan Chicken.

This was unfortunate, since the complexity of flavours in this curry turned out to be surprisingly good. What we had here was a sweet and sour affair with just enough heat to satisfy.

SIDES

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Spinach and Cheese– Salted spinach, cottage cheese, saffron butter, £4.95

RECOMMENDED

This Spinach and Cheese side was a good one, with the subtly-spiced spinach delivering on that earthy taste, and the paneer turning out soft and delicate.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Bengali Daal – Lentil medley, tadka, £4.95

This watery-based Bengali Daal, which is said to have been “slow-cooked over 12 hours”, was deliciously good for two reviewers, with the remaining one not quite as convinced.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Naan (Garlic) – Nigella seeds, refined flour bread, £4.95

This garlic naan was perfectly made, being presented crispy and fluffy, with the garlic coming through gently.

Paro Indian Covent Garden Fine Dinging Halal theatre restaurant

Pilau Rice, £4.50

As for this pilau rice, then it was closer to plain rice than pilau. What’s more, the rice was a combination of broken and unbroken.

THE ROAR
Paro
3.5 FTL's Roar
1.8 Pride's Roar (3 Roars)
Alcohol/ Pork?
  • YES/ NO
FSA HYGIENE RATING
Last Checked: 23/02/2024
Facilities
  • CHILD SEATING
Summary
If first impressions counts for anything, then Paro certainly creates a favourable one with its elaborate decorative artwork and layout.

But if one takes into consideration that this restaurant has been established by a Muslim chef who's just 24-years-old at that, then that fact alone is impressive enough.

Having only just recently been launched, there were a number of dishes we had which strongly point to Paro's promise. And, while there's certainly room for improvement in other areas, this place is definitely worth the visit for its competitive prices and an ambitious menu with plenty of scope for variety.

Menu Recommendation

Drink - Bengal No Gin Sling

Starter - Toddy Shop Tiger Prawns

Main - Nani-Jaan Chicken

Side - Spinach and Cheese

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Paro
Lyceum Theatre, 21 Wellington St, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7DN.

T: +44 (0)20 3722 0951 | W: paroindian.com | E: [email protected]

Opening Hours: Mon-Tue 15:00-23:00 | Wed-Sun 11:45-23:00

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