Café Spice Namasté

Cyrus Todiwala’s inventive Anglo-Indian has long found favour with readers, who appreciate its ‘consistently excellent’ food, service ‘par excellence’ & ‘quirky’ setting in a Victorian block whose redbrick elevations are equal parts Mumbai & English provincial. The cooking draws from Todiwala’s Parsee heritage & makes use of seasonal British ingredients to distinctive effect. Start with beetroot & coconut samosas or the fiery squid ‘dynamite’ marinated in Goan piri-piri masala before tandoori bream kesari in a yoghurt-based sauce with saffron, cardamom, mandarin & lime zest, or opt instead for the Keralan duck tikka à la Mrs Matthew, cooked in Syrian-Christian style. Meat-free options & some unusual seasonal sides flesh out the menu, while the short, eclectic wine list rounds up a few sub-£20 bottles. Don’t miss the Ginger Garden at the back, an alfresco haven in fine weather.