Restaurants

This airy, high-ceilinged café, with slate-grey walls and an ornate fireplace, is located inside Asia House, which promotes the art and literature of different Asian cultures. It's operated by Cyrus Todiwala, the chef-proprietor of Café Spice Namaste. The food is cooked in Café Spice's kitchen and finished here. The pan-Asian menu encompasses sandwiches, snacks, salads, Vietnamese and Burmese noodles, Chinese dishes, and Indian, Thai and Malaysian curries. We enjoyed beetroot and coconut samosa, and parsee dhansak. There's an excellent selection of teas, including the fragrant jasmine flower, and rarely-seen varieties like ‘kashmir ruby leaf'. A bespoke bento box, which includes a starter, main course, vegetable, rice and salad, costs only £13.95.

Time Out Cheap Eats in London Guide 2007