Mughal

Opened in 1987, Mughal is one of the very few Indian restaurants in Kyoto. It is tucked away in a pretty little street that has a stream running alongside it, between the main river of the city and the Okura hotel. Mughal is signposted at street level, but is up one flight of stairs. In a quaint Japanese tradition, there is even a little plastic replica display of some of the food outside it, including very realistic looking naan bread. The tradition of having a little display case outside of your restaurant with replica food goes back a long way, first being seen in a restaurant in the Shirokiya department store in Tokyo in 1923. Sales duly soared, other places copied the idea, and there is now a thriving industry in replica food. The Kappabashi district in Tokyo has many shops selling only such items, which can be uncannily accurate.

Back to the real food, we started with vegetable pakora, assorted deep fried vegetables, which were OK but had somewhat flaccid batter (11/20). Much better was fish tikka, made from swordfish, which had excellent flavour and was carefully cooked in the tandoor (310). Tandoori prawns were also good, the prawns clearly of good quality, though cooked a fraction too long (12/20). Chilli chicken was a quarter chicken on the bone, marinated with a quite spicy red chilli sauce, and was cooked well (12/20). Channa aloo has tender chickpeas, though the potatoes were a little overcooked, the dish helped by a little ginger (/210). Naan bread was soft and supple (13/20). Finally some coconut ice cream, made from scratch in the kitchen rather than bought in, was very enjoyable, with good texture and plenty of coconut flavour (13/20).

Service was friendly, though be aware that dishes are brought out in sequence, Japanese style, rather than all together as they would be in India. The bill, at around £42 a head, was a little high by London standards, but it is a nice little restaurant.

Below are notes from a September 2010 meal.

Mughal is one of the very few Indian restaurants in Kyoto (there were just two when I last checked).  It is tucked away in a pretty little street that has a stream running alongside it, between the main river of the city and the Okura hotel.  Mughal is signposted at street level, but is up one flight of stairs.   In a quaint Japanese tradition, there is even a little plastic replica display of some of the food outside it, including very realistic looking naan bread.  The tradition of having a little display case outside of your restaurant with replica food goes back a long way, first being seen in a restaurant in the Shirokiya department store in Tokyo in 1923.  Sales duly soared, other places copied the idea, and there is now a thriving industry in replica food. The Kappabashi district in Tokyo has many shops selling only such items, which can be uncannily accurate.

Back to the real food, we started with vegetable pakora, assorted deep fried vegetables, which were OK but had somewhat flaccid batter (11/20).  Much better was fish tikka, made from swordfish, which had excellent flavour and was carefully cooked in the tandoor (310).  Tandoori prawns were also good, the prawns clearly of good quality, though cooked a fraction too long (12/20).  Chilli chicken was a quarter chicken on the bone, marinated with a quite spicy red chilli sauce, and was cooked well (12/20). Channa aloo had tender chickpeas, though the potatoes were a little overcooked, the dish helped by a little ginger (12/20).  Naan bread was soft and supple (13/20). Finally some coconut ice cream, made from scratch in the kitchen rather than bought in, was very enjoyable, with good texture and plenty of coconut flavour (13/20).  Service was friendly, though be aware that dishes are brought out in sequence, Japanese style, rather than all together as they would be in India. The bill, at around £42 a head, was a little high by London standards, but it is a nice little restaurant.

Further reviews: 16th Sep 2018 | 24th Apr 2016