Ram's

Time Out says

Thu Oct 25 2012

Surti vegetarian cuisine forms a highly cherished sub-section of Gujarati food, and Ram’s has always been a prime exponent of this cooking style (along with sidelines in meat-free Punjabi and South Indian dishes). So it was a pity our meal failed to reach the exalted level of previous visits.

Behind its plate-glass frontage (offering unparalleled views of the A4006 traffic), the restaurant has tiled flooring and high-backed leather chairs; proceedings are jazzed up by electric-blue fairy lights and two TVs playing Bollywood hits. Next door is a takeaway and sweet counter.

Crispy snacks and street food dominate the starters, and kand (four slices of purple-hued potato in a spicy batter) arrived freshly fried with three small pots of chutney: fine, if a little dull. Next, Surti undhiyu was an interesting mix of bananas, three types of potatoes and beans – but dry to the point of aridity. Better was the khichadi, a nicely nutty mix of rice and mung beans, served, thankfully, with a pot of yoghurty kadhi gravy.

Service, pleasant at first, disintegrated later with staff chatting among themselves and ignoring us. At least the own-made kulfi (try the toasted cashew and almond version) provided a sweet finale.