Food fiend's review of Chutney Mary

Chutney Mary is quite lovely inside. The best place to sit is in the conservatory, where you can sit under a big tree, on lots of pretty cushions, and feel somewhat enlightened as you tuck into your chicken tikka. Our starters ranged from veggie street food to duck kebabs and all were quite delicious, yes, EVEN the veggie ones. For mains, we asked if they did any biriyanis, which themselves weren't on the menu. The waiter kindly said it should be possible to make some so we ordered several of these, plus some sort of chicken dish for one of our group. Actually, this is the second time i've ordered something which was ‘off menu’ (pomegranete raita) and both times, the waiters were happy to oblige. Biriyanis were delicious, with a similar pastry crust as Zaika introduced, but not as nice, but the content was certainly mouthwatering, as you might expect! We had a number of standard sides but all in all, a very comforting good indian meal. Our bill came to £100 approx for 4 people, and that was with the discount. Which does mean that without a discount, you'd be looking at £40 a head without alcoholic drinks, which is quite hefty given the array of indian restaurants in London. But then we are in Chelsea…

The thing with Chutney Mary is, i feel, the food is not quite outstanding, as i'd say Zaika is, but on the flip side, it's been around so long that there has to be something special about it, maybe the out of the way oasis location, or the excellent service, or just the lovely decor. Worth trying after you've tried Zaika and Veeraswamy and the Painted Heron…