Raj Mahal, Penton Street
Place: A bit "modern". ie. a big glass window, wooden floors and no carpet on the walls.
Atmos: Deserted. I was the only customer, except for a chav girl who came in for takeaway and who was almost comically unaware of just how rude she was being.
Prawn puri - bland orange prawn thing, insufficiently crispy puri
Lamb dhansak - bland orange dhansak, insufficient heat or meat
Plain rice - hard to go wrong
Chana masala - bland orange etc
Overall, a poor showing.
Parsee, Highgate Hill, Highgate
I had wanted to come here for ages. It seems to be fairly well regarded, and apparently (now?) owned by Cyrus Todiwala, who has a number of other fairly well regarded Indian restaurants in London.
I had a fried chicken liver thing to start (masala ma murghi hi kalaeji). The livers were pretty good, but came with a roti which was in fact a chapathi which had been in the fridge long enough to dry out. Madam Scoffer had the wholewheat pooris (poori nay papeto) which rather than the puffed-out crispy things which seem increasingly available in flash Indian restaurants were more like dried-out mini chapathis, and which had clearly also just come out of the fridge.
For mains, I had their dhaansaak, which was a lamb in an OK but not spicy red lentil gravy (not a thick thing like curry house dhansak) with rice and, for some reason, a tiny lamb meatball. It went down OK but the whole thing felt just a bit pointless. Mrs. S once more went for the mildest coconut-creamiest prawniest curry (leeli curry ma soandh). It was "OK" but it smelled a bit fishy to me.
The extra chapathis I ordered were just the same as the one which came with my starter. We were there early (a bit before 6.30pm) but there is no excuse for dried-out pre-made chapathis.
The place: Modern, but actually a bit shabby. It would probably be soulless even if it was full.
It might not have been such a disappointment had I not been wanting to go for over four years, but I had and it was. I can't see the point in trying any of Todiwala's other restaurants if this is as good as it gets.
Indian Khana, Farringdon Road
Mixed grill starter - excellent lamb, chicken, sheek kebab: crispy but still a bit moist. There was a king prawn too which I ate but didn't like. I think I have gone off prawns.
Duck biryani main. Not bad, but it would have been much better as duck tikka biryani really. They swappped the vegetable curry sauce for chana masala without problem, indeed almost with enthusiasm. The chana was OK, though maybe could have been a bit spicier.
Place: Modern — a bit too much so if you ask me. Slightly distracting telly with Bollywood-style music going on, but I was on my own trying to read and sitting right underneath it so maybe I just got unlucky.
Service: Pretty good. Quick, friendly, and the guy actually seemed to give a monkey's whether I had liked the food. Despite its out-of-the-way location between kebab shops and down the road from what seems to be a fetishwear shop, I think this is a pretty good find.
