London Time Out - September 4 - 11, 2002

We kicked off dinner with makhani chicken. The waitress told us that it was actually a chicken tikka masala, rather than a more authentic version of Punjab's bestknown saucy bird. But it was spot on, with tender, well-marinated chicken fikka dunked in a tomato, cream and butter sauce.

Dum biryani from Hyderabad came to our table in the cooking pot, its lid sealed with dough in the traditional way. Every gram of basmati rice was cloaked in delicate spice and ours came with the only acceptable accompaniment to a genuine biryani - a simple cucumber raita. No rip-off short cuts here, this biryani was carefully blended with light cardamom and mace flavours complementing meltingly soft chunks of lamb. Tinda masala was a scoop too, these little round marrows were chopped and fried Punjabi-style with ginger, garlic and onions, and very nice too.

Service is as enthusiastic as you might expect from a newish restaurant. If the kitchen keeps its spice box in order they might end up pinching custom from cheek-to-cheek neighbours, such as the better-known but occasionally disappointing Star of India. Roopa Gulati