Head north for a taste of the east
This review was published in March 2002
Having eaten at BOMBAY SPICE, I wish it were a little nearer to where I live, rather than located in Palmers Green on the seemingly never-ending Green Lanes.
The owner met the chef SK Verma when they were both working at Bombay Brasserie in South Kensington. Mr Verma had also cooked for some time at Viceroy of India near Baker Street, which is now the excellent Chinese restaurant, Phoenix Palace . They are both keen to emphasise that they produce authentic Indian food as opposed to the "three-pot" formulaic cooking obtainable at the majority of Bangladeshi curry houses.
The gentle welcome at Bombay Spice alerted us to the fact that something out of the ordinary was on offer. The music, which turns out to be a passion of the owner, also conveyed an unusually subtle and informed approach. On a Monday night in Palmers Green business was quiet, but there is plenty of space in the deep room to accommodate the numbers who will surely flock in for the treats in store.
Unexpectedly fine meals have a singular charm whereby what may seem like a predictable order unfolds into something particular. First courses of tandoori kebab platter and macchi tikka featured extraordinarily light, spiced and herbed minced lamb sausages among the tandoor-roasted meats and firm fillets of kingfish with spices driven in and sealed by the yoghurt marinade. The street snack of aloo papri chaat with its crisp and soft, sweet and sour elements provided a nice contrast of textures and temperatures.
In the main course, achar gosht made from lamb cooked with yoghurt, mustard seed and other pickling spices was quite unlike the dish usually sent out under this name, in that the meat was sweet from being cooked on the bone, the spices all discernible and the sauce an outcome of the cooking process rather than an afterthought.
Tandoori chicken was bronzed from the oven, not reddened with food colouring, and based on a bird with muscular, presumably free-range, texture. Almost the best revelation of how a familiar dish can be rendered special was palak paneer - cheese and spinach - where soft home-made curd cheese was wrapped in shredded leaves stirred with fresh herbs, onions, de-seeded peeled tomatoes and cream. As is the tradition at Bombay Brasserie, a vegetable and a pulse dish are included in the price of a main course. The yellow split-pea dal that we were "given" was exceptionally good.
If you can navigate Green Lanes - join it at Newington Green Road and keep driving until your hat floats - you'll be doing yourself a good turn in finding Bombay Spice.
Top Fives: Indian Restaurants
Bombay Spice
396 Green Lanes, Palmers Green, N13
