Fancy a curry?

I was going to blog about the 2 curry houses that face off on West End Lane- Bengal Spice, which always seems to be packed and the subterranean Spice Plaza, which generally seems empty. A fact that never ceases to amaze me as it seems conversely proportional to the quality of the food. (I have been to Bengal Spice twice in the 7 years I have lived in the area and been impressed by the consistency of the food on both occasions....)

As you may guess, I am the kind of girl who comes out of the tube and turns right, but with a friend in tow on Monday night I decided to turn left. Turns out that Monday night is not the best night to turn left, as my first two suggestions were shut. My friend however was very keen to sample the Sri Lankan restaurant that we had already passed and hence we ended up in Elephant Walk - just us two and the staff at 7.15 on a Monday night. But I am glad we did.

The staff were eager to please (not just us - but also the other clientele that arrived later!), the decor is fine in a minimal way but the food is the real highlight - which is exactly what you want in a local. I know very little about Sri Lankan food, however what we tasted was very good. Quite complex spices lead to a different taste to the usual curries that you get at an Indian. The curries we had were relatively light although the sauces were a little salty to the taste. Matched with a cabbage and cumin dish as well as lovely lemon rice and paratha, this really did not deter from the overall taste of the meal.

In fact we were so eager with the menu that we went for a full 3 courses and coffees. Maybe more places should be open on a Monday!