Restaurants

There’s a pleasing bustle here, helped along by the troupe of tandoori chefs in the open kitchen, plentiful and efficient, prompt waiting staff, cool background beats from the sound system, colourful textile wall-hangings, and the location just off Cambridge Circus. Mela (‘festival’) attracts a youngish crowd of celebrants, enticed by its alluring menu of pan-Indian dishes. Tandoori food is well-represented, both in non-veg and vegetarian (paneer tikka, grilled with vegetables) form. Our meal began well with tuna ke paarchey (a piccata of tenderised tuna steak marinated in a highly savoury mix of lime, ginger, garlic, yoghurt, chilli and honey), and some crisp lesuni (garlic) whitebait served on a popadom with pickled vegetable and salad garnish. Next, khatta khargosh, rabbit in a thick tangy sauce of yoghurt and mango powder, was a mouth-watering treat. Less successful were the arhar dal kairi ki (supposedly raw mango with toor lentils, but barely discernible from mundane dhal) and a bland curry of watery soft-shell crabs. Variable, then, but the appealing buzz and several well-attended details (first-rate breads and rice) mean Mela merits consideration.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009