Restaurants

As soon as we arrived, we were whisked to a table, which was pulled away from the wall by a server so that we could easily seat ourselves and was promptly placed back. Napkins were immediately set down in our laps, and a bowl of poppadums with accompanying sundries in little containers was placed on the table, seemingly out of no where. (I really appreciated the small size of the sundry bowls, as it was obvious that they were not being recycled at subsequent diners' tables as soon as we were done with them, if you know what I mean . . .)
The menu was vast, and a specials menu accompanied it for good measure. As I considered my options, I looked around at my surroundings, which were markedly different from your run-of-the-mill Indian restaurant in London. Everything was modern, sleek, up-to-date. An unimposing bar sat nestled in a back corner, and some floor-to-ceiling mirrors on one wall gave the diminutive restaurant a much larger sense of space. The lighting was low and inviting, and individual candles topped each linen-clad table.
My husband ordered us some onion bhajis to start and the chicken tikka bhuna as a main. I opted for two vegetarian side dishes: sag paneer and bhindi dopiaza. We also got pilau rice and naan. The onion bhajis arrived promptly, two big balls of wonderful fried onion on a plate that was thoughtfully and modernly presented. Their taste was fantastic, light and obviously freshly home made. It was a great signifier of things to come. Our mains arrived in good time and tasted divine. I can't quite put into words how delightful every mouthful was. I realize now as I'm typing this that we ordered all traditional items, but the menu was full of more contemporary options that you don't see at your everyday curry house.
During the meal, we received attentive and sincere service, with almost all members of the wait staff coming to the table at one point or another to check on us. When we requested another glass of Diet Coke, as if by sorcery the server magicked it up in ten seconds.
And, get this, the manager actually came to our table while we ate to ask how everything was. And he was being sincere!
At the end of the meal once our plates had been cleared, a server came over with a napkin, which he laid over the table to cover the mess I had earlier made with my sag paneer all over the lovely table cloth, and set the dessert menu down along with individually wrapped warm cloth hand towels.
I was too stuffed from the main meal, although I would have liked to have tried some of the Indian desserts on the menu (rather than some uninspired Western ice cream and cake you so often see on Eastern dessert menus here)