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In a city where many of us still think of Indian food as an either/or situation (hottest thing on the menu lads/chicken korma wimps) it's a pleasure to eat in a restaurant where the special spice blends that go into our surrogate national cuisine are really allowed to sing. It's frankly a surprise to find it (after spending a considerable percentage of phone battery on trying to locate the bloody place) in Canary Wharf, where it takes a great deal to make us feel comfortable about parting with money. Once you're in you'll need to choose between eating in the Toddy Shop – the slightly less formal front section of the restaurant – where the menu is effectively Indian tapas, and the more traditional dining area at the back, where you can order three courses without confusing the staff.
The food at Chai Ki is clearly presented by someone who cares about flavour. Not every dish we tried was a knockout but where there were failings it was down to being overambitious rather than unskilled; succulent quail slightly overpowered by tangy pomegranate molasses, say. But most of the menu offers satisfying, moreish, complex dishes, the kind you always want from an Indian restaurant and so rarely get. Yes, we did order the butter chicken (wimps) and yes, its tandoori thigh meat, fenugreek sauce, crispy spinach, melon seeds and miso base combines to become something absolutely delicious.