Randomness Guide to London Menu

Restaurant/takeaway serving above-average Indian food, including a number of less-common dishes, near Borough Station.

Kake et al. have been ordering from here reasonably frequently for a couple of years (as of August 2008). We like the food quite a lot, and the only reason it's not higher on our list of choices is that they use proper ghee (i.e. made from butter), and Juliet is vegan. Note though that we do usually stick to the vegetable and fish options: a Chowhound poster says that the paneer kofte are not good at all, and that the meat dishes are perhaps less varied than they could be.

They have a good selection of interesting vegetarian options, all using different spices and herbs; it's not just X in gravy, Y in gravy, etc. One of the other things that makes them stand out is their attention to detail; their side salad isn't just plain lettuce, but lettuce, carrot, radish, etc, and has a proper dressing to finish it off.

Specific recommendations: Kake is fond of the Goan crab curry (£6.90) (though when ordered in September 2008 it had loads of little bits of shell in; not good), the baigan nariyal (a rich aubergine dish; £3.50 as side dish, £5.10 as main dish), the dal makhani (whole small lentils in a creamy sauce), and the lemon rice.

Disrecommendations: The okra dish that Kake ordered in July 2007 was rather tough and stringy; surprising given their usual quality, and it may be a one-off.

It's also worth noting that they offer tandoori lamb chops, which are not always easy to find as a takeaway delivery — Kake and Bob tried these in August 2008 and they were adequate if not brilliant; would order them again to satisfy a craving, but they were nowhere near as good as the ones we had from Maida a month or so previously.

A takeaway menu dated 2006 says that you're welcome to bring your own wine and beer if eating in; also, the Royal Oak across the road certainly used to let you buy a jug of beer there and take it across to the restaurant, but I don't know if this is still the case. I also don't know if they're licensed in their own right.

They do takeaway and delivery too, and you can order online via the CuisineNet link on their website. Note that CuisineNet doesn't let you pay online, so you'll need cash, and it also requires you to have your phone line free, since the restaurant confirms your order by phoning you up. If you prefer to pay online, you can also order from Just-Eat, or from Hungry House, or from Urbanbite.

See also:

• London-SE1 comments
• London Eating comments