Food: Roti Chai

For most in London the faddy Indian cafe scene pretty much amounts to one choice: Dishoom, a place that serves good food at a decent price, but also a place that is not without the flaws that come with manufactured trendiness (in short, bad service and a certain clientèle). It's a shame because apart from these almost dealbreakers Dishoom could be a great place.

But it turns out that there are alternatives: Roti Chai is a little more underground, a lot more classy and overall a lot better for it. You get to keep the great food, swap out the stressed service and enjoy a meal in a more chilled out atmosphere. To qualify, we stuck with the upstairs - the "street cafe" as opposed to the the main dining downstairs so the vibe may have had a lot to do with that. It's also worth noting that a new branch has opened in Canary Wharf... so yeh.

Speaking of food, we kind of had a scattergun approach to ordering - highlights included the buns (chicken beat kebab), the chicken lollipops and lamb curry, all deceptively portioned but ultimately generous. The bill came to a slightly expensive £17 per head, but I guess that's the price to pay for avoiding the lah lahs.