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Reviews
GANDHI'S - SE11
17 October 2008
Gandhi’s347a Kennington Road
Kennington
SE11 4QE
Tel: 020 7735 9015
www.gandhis.co.uk
Superior dishes make this curry house No. 10’s choice
WITHOUT WISHING to sound arrogant, it is rare indeed for your average Southwark News reporter to be behind the eight ball when it comes to keeping up with the news agenda. So it was with a degree of surprise that halfway through our visit to this superior Kennington curry house we found out that Gandhi's has been making its fair share of headlines in recent days, writes Gavriel Hollander...
Always a popular haunt for politicians, it now seems that last week's bank bail out package was fuelled by a hefty takeaway order from Westminster's favourite balti restaurant.
The pictures proudly displayed in the window and kind words of praise on the menu from the political vanguard old and new offer encouragement that this will be a culinary experience far removed from your bog standard high street rogan josh.
Now, despite my ignorance of Ghandi's role in rescuing the global economy (my friend, a fellow hack, was also blissfully unaware, thankfully) I did know that John Major was a fan, the restaurant being within six-hitting distance of his spiritual home at The Oval.What I did not know was quite how many of his friends and foes from the Commons shared his tastes. Paddy Ashdown, Ken Clarke, Jack Straw, Alistair Darling and, of course, Gordon Brown have all waxed lyrical about the flavoursome Bangladeshi fare on offer.
The personable owner Mr Uddin is obviously proud of such celebrity endorsement, but tactfully keeps his political allegiances close to his chest. "They told me I should paint one half of the restaurant blue and the other red," he joked.
He described Mr Brown as "a nice man" and Mr Major as "a very nice man." Read what you want into that stray adverb, but I would not want to jeopardise his trade with the current administration by suggesting he plays favourites, or should I say, curry favour.
Putting aside such idle speculation, such cross-party support meant I was confident of enjoying a pretty special meal. After all, who are we mere mortals to argue with the taste buds of our Whitehall overlords?
But wait a second, I thought. I would never dream of advising Messrs Brown and Darling on how to handle delicate economic negotiations with the IMF, so why should they tell me where to go for a curry in south London?
Suddenly indignant, I was sharpening my pencil in preparation for a scathing critique of everything from the pupadums downwards.
But with our Kingfishers simultaneously slaking thirsts and dousing the fire of my rage, I was in a more mellow mood by the time our starters arrived.
Normally I overlook the first course when I eat Indian food, so that my waistband can more comfortably accommodate the main attraction. However, the light simplicity of our onion bhaji and murg chat - accurately described by my friend as a pre-curry curry - merely whetted our appetites.
I have a mate who tells me that the litmus test of a curry house is their lamb jalfrezi. As I tend to believe everything I am told I judged Gandhi's on this basis and it passed with flying colours.
The strips of lamb were tender to the point were they almost melted into the abundant sauce while the green chillies complemented rather than overpowered the dish, as they can often do.
Despite years of encouraging him towards a more adventurous lifestyle, my friend refused to budge from his chicken tikka obsession. Now, to me, a chicken tikka is a chicken tikka but he assured me that this was better than the average. Given the quality of the rest of the food, I took him at his word.
The most impressive thing was that we managed to leave feeling satisfied but not bloated, in spite of the generous portions on offer.
Add in the friendly staff and pleasant, unpretentious atmosphere and Gandhi's is more than worthy of its status as No.10's favourite curry house.
THE DAMAGE
Pupadums £0.50
Murg chat £3.25
Onion bhaji £2.95
Lamb jalfrezi £7.25
Chicken tikka £6.50
2 x Pialo rice £4.50
Nan bread £1.95
2 x Kingfisher £7.90
Total £40.80
FOOD (1-5) 4.5
AMBIENCE (1-5) 4.5
PRICE VALUE (1-5) 4
DISABLED ACCESS YES
DISABLED TOILET YES
PRE-BOOKING RECOMMENDED
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