Akash: A Curry in Surrey
For many Londoners, living and working centrally can mean that they end up rarely venturing out beyond Zone 2 for a spot of dinner. A and C are not of this belief; on the contrary, in fact, some of the best (and most reasonably priced) food we've found in London has been out in the suburbs.
C may spend the majority of her time in London, but she's a Surrey girl at heart; and so, when her oldest friend T (a different T to the aforementioned "T and E", that is - these initials are starting to get complicated) came back to Surrey to visit from the West Country where she now lives, her and C ventured out to one of their old local haunts: the Akash Tandoori.
The pair spent many an evening as teenagers in this place: the reason they keep coming back even now, aside from a mutual love of Indian food, are the prices. After all, where else in London would you pay a mere £9.95 for a starter, curry, side, vegetable dish, dessert, coffee and chocolate? And, what's more, it's all delicious.
C and T pretty much know the menu off by heart, they've been coming here so long: the set option (with the amazing price point) that runs from Sunday-Thursday evenings is pretty extensive, and includes approximately half of all the dishes on the standard menu.
On this occasion, C and T opted for vegetable samosas and onion bhajis to start, served with a garnish. The samosas here are always packed full and with a subtle hint of spice, and the onion bhajis are also cooked to perfection.
As a main course, T opted for the classic English-twist-on-an-Indian-dish, chicken tikka massala, while C went for the butter chicken. The tikka massala in here is always perfectly done: creamy, with a bit of spice, and the chicken is always really succulent. It's perfect comfort food. The butter chicken is also great: also creamy and buttery, it's aromatic and full of flavour.
C and T enjoyed their curries with a dhal, naan bread (sadly slightly over-done this time, but usually very enjoyable) and pilau rice.
The dessert options here are slightly less inspiring: the choice is basically ice cream or orange slices, but C is never too fussed about this since, by this time, she's almost always too full-up from the curry, sides and starter to consider anything more substantial as a dessert anyway.
C doesn't drink coffee, but has it on good authority from T that the coffee in here is excellent: she always oozes with enthusiasm about it and almost coos over it when it arrives on the table. It's served with cream, which apparently makes all the difference - a naughty but nice end to a comforting meal.
C may spend the majority of her time in London, but she's a Surrey girl at heart; and so, when her oldest friend T (a different T to the aforementioned "T and E", that is - these initials are starting to get complicated) came back to Surrey to visit from the West Country where she now lives, her and C ventured out to one of their old local haunts: the Akash Tandoori.
The pair spent many an evening as teenagers in this place: the reason they keep coming back even now, aside from a mutual love of Indian food, are the prices. After all, where else in London would you pay a mere £9.95 for a starter, curry, side, vegetable dish, dessert, coffee and chocolate? And, what's more, it's all delicious.
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| Currying favour with the locals |
C and T pretty much know the menu off by heart, they've been coming here so long: the set option (with the amazing price point) that runs from Sunday-Thursday evenings is pretty extensive, and includes approximately half of all the dishes on the standard menu.
On this occasion, C and T opted for vegetable samosas and onion bhajis to start, served with a garnish. The samosas here are always packed full and with a subtle hint of spice, and the onion bhajis are also cooked to perfection.
 |
| Making samosa it (too tenuous?) |
As a main course, T opted for the classic English-twist-on-an-Indian-dish, chicken tikka massala, while C went for the butter chicken. The tikka massala in here is always perfectly done: creamy, with a bit of spice, and the chicken is always really succulent. It's perfect comfort food. The butter chicken is also great: also creamy and buttery, it's aromatic and full of flavour.
C and T enjoyed their curries with a dhal, naan bread (sadly slightly over-done this time, but usually very enjoyable) and pilau rice.
 |
| Tikka chance on me |
The dessert options here are slightly less inspiring: the choice is basically ice cream or orange slices, but C is never too fussed about this since, by this time, she's almost always too full-up from the curry, sides and starter to consider anything more substantial as a dessert anyway.
C doesn't drink coffee, but has it on good authority from T that the coffee in here is excellent: she always oozes with enthusiasm about it and almost coos over it when it arrives on the table. It's served with cream, which apparently makes all the difference - a naughty but nice end to a comforting meal.
Amazing, must give it a go. If you're ever in Dorking, Surrey you should try out two to four on West Street, really good and just been listed in Michelin Guide.
ReplyDeleteOoh, thanks for the recommendation - sounds good! We'll be sure to try it out sometime soon :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by!