Lombok

Exactly the sort of restaurant you want in your neighbourhood, Lombok has friendly, speedy service paired with a vast, fairly priced menu. Food is varied enough to cater for those wishing to indulge or to diet, to set their tongues on fire or have a soothing hearty supper. The small wood-panelled dining room has comfortable cushioned chairs, and lazy ceiling fans that create a relaxing atmosphere.

The owner, chef and most staff are Thai, and dishes from that country dominate the menu. A massaman chicken curry, listed under the specials, was indeed special. This traditional Muslim Thai curry featured a wealth of exotic spices – cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, cumin, cloves and nutmeg – all of which, with coconut milk and tamarind, lent fabulous flavour to the chicken thighs, carrots and potatoes cooked therein. Lombok’s rendering of pad thai was fresh and pleasing too.

Other South-east Asian dishes worth trying include a starter of Vietnamese chicken and coriander fritters with sambal oelek (a chilli-based condiment), fresh ginger and cinnamon. Pleasantly sponge-like in consistency, they’d have been tastier with peanut sauce (promised on the menu) instead of the sweet chilli sauce that came with all our starters. Still, for an easy and tasty night out, Lombok delivers.