Bombay Palace

PLEASE NOTE: THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED FOR REFURBISHMENT UNTIL 20 JUNE 2012

Bombay Palace has eight branches around the world, & it’s hard to fathom the reasons for locating the London outpost beneath a hefty apartment block. The ground-floor space is cool, pale & plain, with carved screens & the odd piece of art almost disguising the fact that it’s ripe for a refurb. Nevertheless, staff are kindly & the food is the subject of much local affection. If you don’t have room for the popular Sunday lunch buffet, try BP’s regionally inclined food in a more stately fashion: perhaps chicken livers quick-fried with onion, tomatoes, cumin & coriander, a dish of smoky, spiced aubergine or – heading south – a Goan kingfish curry. Some readers bemoan sky-high prices for ‘very average food’; if that sounds like an issue, consider buying the cookbook.