La Porte des Indes, Ragam and Deedar
ACCORDING to Peter Harden, whose invaluable guide, London Restaurants 1997, has just appeared, there are some 3,000 Indian restaurants in Greater London. This makes the subcontinent the leading catego- ry of London restaurant. Until recently there was but one kind of Indian restau- rant; in fact mainly Bangladeshi or Pak- istani, with flock wallpaper and serving cur- ries and tandooris. But the last decade or so has seen the appearance of two further types: the south Indian vegetarian, and the glamorous de luxe restaurant with themed menus and prices that match its European neighbours. I decided to try one of each.
I took Adrian George, the artist (in keep- ing with the Editor's request that, when it might interest readers, I name my accom- plice — I hate that phrase 'my companion') and a long-term aficionado of Indian cook- ing. Our first outing was to the latest luxury venue, La Porte des Indes. The style here is French-Creole Indian cuisine from Pondi- cherry, and a vast, 300-seat, two-level dining hall has been constructed around an atrium and foaming fountain. 'It's not like India at all,' reflected Adrian, as he gazed down on the frothing waters. 'You'd think you were at Miami Beach.' La Porte was far from full the night we went, but the service was friendly and helpful. You could give them full marks for trying, if not for cooking.
This is split between 'Les Indes frangais- es' in the first part of the menu, and 'Voy- age a travers des Indes' thereafter. I decid- ed to go for the French and Adrian went for the rest of India. But La Porte's cooking tasted uniformly bland from wherever it stemmed. My starter of Demoiselles de Pondicherry was two little scallops on the shell, in a creamy, nondescript sauce devoid of the curried saffron suggested on the menu. Adrian's Parsee fish, cooked in a banana leaf with coriander and mint, was distinctly better. Then I had Plateau des Indes frangaises (£16), a selection of mea- gre helpings of poultry, fish and vegetables, all, apart from a spicy aubergine dish, unex- citing. Adrian went for the Tandoori Selec- tion (£18), of which the same could be said. The wild riz de coco, with curry leaves and coconut was excellent, however. Adrian fin- ished with a pistachio kulfi (Indian ice- cream) which tasted factory- rather than home-made, and I had an underspiced and oversugared masala tea. With two flower- bedecked lassis and three halves of Indian lager at £3.50 a shot, the bill came to an astounding £86.34, including 121/2 per cent service. When my card slip was presented for signature the bottom line was left blank, `in case you want to add extra service,' sug- gested the hostess. I did not, nor did we feel we had had remotely decent value in these vulgarly decorated premises offering pretentious and undistinguished cooking.
Our next stop was Ragam South Indian Restaurant. It is a small, simply decorated place with quiet, friendly service and a menu that specialises in south Indian vege- tarian dishes, but also offers north Indian `standards'. We went there for lunch, when it was peaceful — Middlesex Hospital med- ical students tend to be noisily present in the evenings, We started with excellent masala dosai — pancakes filled with spiced potato and accompanied by sambar lentil sauce — and masala vadai, delicious but alarmingly cochineal-coloured lentil ris- soles served with coconut and special chut- neys. Then we had prawn bhuna and chick- en Malabar, both adequate if unexciting, accompanied by good plain rice, tasty spinach dal, and superb avial, a mixture of vegetables, headed by okra and aubergine, cooked with coconut and yoghurt. We ended with home-made mango kulfi on Adrian's part and impeccable masala tea on mine. With beers, lassis and 10 per cent service, the bill totalled a highly reasonable £31.60 for an altogether satisfying meal.
Our final port of call was the Deedar Indian. This Bengali establishment of 45 years' standing has been tended by two now elderly 'brother-cousins' for the last 35. The senior of these, `Mr Hari the manager', bel- lows at the chef in the basement and is surly to customers until he gets to know them. This quintessential early Indian was Adrian's 'local' for many years and he remembers when there was still flock on the walls. The paper has now come down and has been replaced by tobacco-stained emulsion, adorned with large photographs of ritual bathing, rickshaw rides and other Indian sights. The cooking is typically north Indian and impressive. We ran the gamut from chicken tikka masala, prawn dhansak, excellent garlicky tarka dal, vegetable kofta and bhindi (okra) tarkari, with good plain rice and paratha, through to pistachio and mango kulfis 'delivered from Southall'. The bill came to £27,25, without service, and we left with Adrian declaring that Deedar was still the finest Indian restaurant in London. Maybe he's right.
La Porte des Indes, 32 Blyanston Street, Lon- don Wl; tel: 0171 224 0055. Open all week. Ragam, 57 Cleveland Street, London Wl; tel: 0171 636 9098. Open all week.
Deedar, 12a Bathurst Street, London W2; tel: 0171 262 5603. Open all week.
David Fingleton
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