Usually when I'm in Limehouse, I end up in the Grapes. And everyone should, it's one of the finest pubs in London (I'm working my way through them all just to prove this point). Sometimes I find myself in the Narrow. Which isn't a great pub, and people should stop insisting that it is. I definitely won't eat there out of choice (they think rosemary ciabatta goes with fish finger sandwiches AND burgers).
So, I was marched off to 'the Indian down the road'. My friend used to live this end of Limehouse, but hadn't been for a while and it was the perfect mix of busy, but you'd still be able to get a table.
Staff are friendly. Right from the start. I think had they been busier they'd have known what to do with themselves, but one minute we had no one serving us, the next week had three people come over within minutes (actually, this was consistent throughout the night and is actually the reason they're only getting four stars).
But the food was top notch. We shared a black tiger prawn starter, which was all char-grilled and succulent. We then had a chicken thingy (yep, technical foodie term, that) and a lamb and ginger thingy. I'm going to spend far too much time trying to recreate that lamb and ginger thingy at home. Mushroom rice was excellent, naan bread the same. Nothing was just 'a few bits with generic sauce' as is so obviously the case with a lot of Indian restaurants. Instead, it felt like each dish was thought about, and cooked well, and we really enjoyed out meal. Actually, we spent ages in here, drinking wine and gossiping. Their kulfi is shaped like daleks too. And that's always a bonus.
The bill came to around £56 for two with (perfectly drinkable, although not full bodied enough to stand up to the curry dishes we chose) house red. Slightly more than I'd usually spend, but I was happy to. I'd probably put Veranda at the top end of four stars, and I'll come back very soon. read more