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Lomri at Foxhills: An Elevated Indian Dining Experience
There is something very easy to get wrong about hotel restaurants. They can feel like an afterthought, somewhere convenient to eat because you happen to be staying there, rather than somewhere you would actively choose to visit.
Lomri (we love the little play on words, as it means Fox in Hindi) at Foxhills is very much the latter.
Led by Executive Chef Achal Aggarwal, whose 28 years of international culinary experience span India, New York, Switzerland, Japan and London, the restaurant brings a thoughtful, modern approach to Indian cooking. Drawing on regional dishes, traditional techniques and the depth of India’s culinary heritage, Aggarwal’s menu feels both rooted and contemporary, and, importantly, like somewhere you would genuinely choose to dine, rather than simply eat because you happen to be staying at the hotel.
Set within the Surrey countryside, Lomri has created an experience that feels deliberate from the moment you walk in. The interiors are luxe but intimate, with a striking mural depicting ancient Indian and Asian art stretching across the entirety of one of the walls, giving the restaurant a sense of character and history. It feels sophisticated without being overly formal, and importantly, it feels like a destination in its own right.
However, it is the food that really sets Lomri apart.
More than a curry house
Lomri takes its inspiration from across India, drawing on regional cooking, royal kitchens and street food traditions. But what stood out to us was that it never felt like the menu was simply trying to deliver increasingly spicy versions of familiar dishes.
Instead, there is a real emphasis on balance. Spice is used to build flavour rather than simply create heat, with herbs, aromatics, chilli and seasoning working together instead of competing for attention.
This was something we noticed throughout our meal. There wasn’t a single dish we wouldn’t happily order again, and the menu had enough variety to make choosing what to eat genuinely difficult — which is exactly where our server Sara came in.
Let Sara order for you
Our experience was made even better by Sara, who was fantastic from start to finish.
Rather than simply taking our order, she talked us through the menu, explaining what each dish was, what would pair well together and, most importantly, what we really shouldn’t leave without trying. She helped curate our meal so that we got a proper taste of what Lomri has to offer, introducing us to dishes we might not necessarily have chosen ourselves.
Her guidance made a real difference. Indian cuisine encompasses such an enormous range of flavours and regional specialities that having someone who genuinely knows the menu and can confidently guide you through it turns dinner into much more of an experience.
A table full of flavour
We started with the Chicken 65, one of India’s most famous fried chicken dishes. Crispy, spicy and packed with curry leaf and green chilli, it was exactly the kind of dish that disappears from the table far too quickly.
The Prawn Bhajia, served with lime chutney, was another standout, crisp, light and full of flavour, while the Lamb Chops, finished with Mathania chilli paste and garlic chutney, brought a deeper, more intense flavour to the table.
One of the biggest surprises for us, though, was the Masala Okra.
Okra wasn’t necessarily the dish we expected to become one of our favourites, but the combination of onion, tomato, green chilli and dry mango powder completely won us over. It was delicious and a perfect example of what makes the menu so enjoyable: sometimes the dishes you are least expecting are the ones you end up talking about afterwards.
For the main course, the Kashmiri Lamb Kofta was a standout. The lamb dumplings are simmered in saffron, aromatic spices and yoghurt gravy, drawing on a traditional Kashmiri dish with a rich history. Alongside it, we had the Norfolk Chicken Tawa Biryani, with tender tandoori chicken and fragrant basmati rice, as well as naan to bring everything together.
The biryani was aromatic and comforting, while the kofta had that depth of flavour you want from a dish like this without becoming overwhelmingly rich.
And this was perhaps the biggest compliment we could give the meal: there wasn’t a bad dish on the table.
Don’t skip dessert
If we thought we had finished with the savoury dishes, the desserts gave us another reason to keep eating.
The Carrot Halwa Cake was a particularly memorable way to finish, taking the traditional flavours of carrot halwa, carrot, milk and cardamom, and turning them into something altogether more indulgent, topped with reduced milk and honeycomb.
The Chocolate Berry Pot, combining chocolate mousse with wild berries, mint compote and chocolate soil, was equally delicious and offered a richer, more decadent finish.
Both were excellent, and neither felt like an afterthought. They brought the same level of thoughtfulness to the end of the meal as the savoury menu had at the beginning.
A restaurant worth returning for
What we loved about Lomri was that it never felt like it was trying too hard to impress.
The room is beautiful, the food is carefully considered and the service is warm and knowledgeable, but the whole experience remains relaxed. All of the staff we encountered were friendly, and Sara in particular made the evening feel personal, guiding us through the menu and ensuring we experienced some of the restaurant’s best dishes.
Most importantly, we would genuinely go back.
Even if we weren’t staying at Foxhills, Lomri is the kind of restaurant we would happily make a trip for. It takes the familiarity of Indian food and gives it more depth, celebrating different regions, techniques and flavours without making the experience feel complicated or inaccessible.
For us, that is what makes Lomri so successful. It isn’t simply about chilli, spice or recreating the idea of a traditional curry house. It is about understanding how those flavours work together and allowing each ingredient to have its moment.
Add in the intimate interiors, the beautiful mural, the warm service and the setting within Foxhills, and you have a restaurant that feels genuinely special.
Lomri is not just somewhere to eat while staying at Foxhills. It is one of the reasons to go.
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