I don’t quite remember how I became aware of Temper, but I’ve known about the restaurant for a while. Temper is a BBQ and open fire pit restaurant from Neil Rankin, a chef famous for his BBQ mastery. I’d looked at Temper Soho menu a few times, and decided to go with friends, as the menu seemed ideal for group dining. Then I became aware that Temper had a City restaurant, which focused on Indian tandoor cuisine. Shiima and I love Indian cuisine, so I booked dinner ASAP and we set off excited.
Temper City is about five minutes walk from Bank Station. The restaurant is large and really striking. The kitchen with the tandoor oven and open fire grill is in the centre of the room surrounded with bar seating. We were offered a seat at the bar, but instead opted for a table seat. We went at 7:30 last Thursday and the restaurant was very busy, with a good amount of city workers.
The menu is split into starters, curry/thali plates, grill & tandoor, in-house butchered steaks, and side & extras. I should add here that is very evident from the menu and other diners that Temper City is keenly focused on their wines, cocktails, and beers. Shiima and I have no care for these as we don’t drink, but you probably will if you drink.
What we ordered
For starters I ordered mutton roll and octopus, dahl, chipotle & black vinegar. Shiima ordered squid & samphire pakora. She ordered the dashi chip shop chicken thali plate for her main. I ordered the dry goat curry and pork rib with xo glaze.
Review of the Food
Starters
I didn’t particularly like any of the starters. Shiima didn’t like her squid & samphire pakora either, and honestly there wasn’t much squid in the dish. There was a lot more samphire, onions, and other vegetables. The octopus, dahl, chipotle & black vinegar was too sharp, and the octopus was a tad tough. The mutton roll simply lacked flavour.
Mains
I didn’t get the Shiima’s thali plate. But first, her paratha was underdone. It was still doughy. She contemplated returning it, but we just can’t do that lol. But then two separate tables beside us had their parathas underdone and they returned theirs without hesitation. The reason for doughy parathas and the very slow service is obvious – the restaurant is too big for the kitchen.
Back to the thali plate, which seemed all over the place. Temper mix? Shrug. Turmeric pickles? Shrug. Yoghurt & tamarind sauce? Shrug. Peshwari dust? Shrug. And the fresh herbs? How about a few whole pieces of chilli pepper Even worse, the chicken curry was weak.
My dry goat was just odd. Couldn’t decide if I liked it or not, but I know I would’ve preferred it spicier. I added some peshwari dust from Shiima’s thali plate and it made the dish better.
I loved the pork rib. It was fantastic; very well cooked and not overly sweet.
Dessert?
We didn’t bother looking at the menu.
Verdict
As you’d expect, we didn’t enjoy Temper City. We didn’t like the food and the service was too slow. Our waitress was really nice though, and the restaurant is beautiful. Plus, I’m sure it’ll be a really good spot for drinks.
Cuisine: Indian and tandoor BBQ
Dress Code: Casual
Amen’s Star Dish: Pork Rib with xo glaze.
Price: £30 each (excluding alcohol)
Rating: 2.4 out of 5
Temper City
temperrestaurant.com/city-menus/
2 Angel Court
30 Throgmorton Street
London EC2R 7HJ
Book through OpenTable or call 0203 004 6984
Such a shame you didn’t stick with your original plan… we absolutely loved Temper Soho – we had a very meat-sweaty date night at the bbq pass and it was fantastic. We loved it so much we paid for friends to have a birthday dinner there! And yes, no excuse for doughy paratha!
Oh cool. We still plan to go Temper Soho though, but now based on your experience we’ll go very soon!