Picture of India Club, WC2R 1JA

India Club, WC2R 1JA

  • 143 Strand, WC2R 1JA

The India Club was a long-standing Indian restaurant located on the second floor of the Strand Continental Hotel. It closed down in September 2023, with its website stating that new premises were being sought.

The information below is retained for historical purposes.

Indian restaurant located on the second floor of the Strand Continental Hotel. Founded in 1946, it was originally a private club.

It's fairly basic in decor, seating around 70 people on mismatched chairs lined up alongside formica-topped tables. Scuffed canary-yellow walls are adorned with Indian art along with portraits of Gandhi, Nehru, and other important Indian figures. A tiny bar in the centre has fonts for Cobra and Kingfisher lager, with the shelves behind bare aside from a few pint glasses and a stash of till rolls and other restaurant paraphernalia. A door left open next to the bar offers a glimpse into the kitchen.

Kake visited on a Friday lunchtime in April 2018. When I arrived just after their opening time of noon, there were two other customers, and by the time I left around 12:45 it had started filling up rapidly. No music was playing.

Egg curry (£5) photo consisted of two halved hard-boiled eggs in an indistinctly spiced sauce with slivers of undercooked green pepper and the occasional piece of underripe tomato. Puri (£2 for two) were doughy and greasy.

The hotel bar on the floor below is also open to non-residents, and according to Pubs Galore comments (linked below) as of December 2012 the staff will get you drinks from there if you like.

Kake's verdict: You'd come here for the history and nostalgia, not the food.

Accessibility: Two flights of stairs to get in, with a handrail on one side. Toilets are on the floor below. The cubicles in the ladies' are very narrow, but the doors open outwards.

See also:

Last visited by Kake, April 2018.
Last edited 2023-10-01 08:41:14 (version 13; diff). List all versions.