Veeraswamy
London's oldest Indian restaurant has been the rendezvous of Indian food lovers for decades (since 1926 in fact). The much talked about new incarnation post-80th birthday refurbishment does this institution proud. Both exotic and luxurious, with dark wood and silver screens perfectly offset by Indian coloured glass shades, the interior and the lighting are spot on, and ideal for a perfect romantic evening. The food is a blend of traditional favourites and more modern concoctions, and includes traditional regal recipes but also jazzed up versions of more modest (but just as tasty) Indian street food.
There are dishes from the north of India, such as nizami murgh, a chicken dish with pine nuts, lemon and rose petals hailing from the royal kitchens of Hyderabad, or lamb biryani, one of the best we'd tried in a long time.
Seafood and southern dishes are also feature prominently: lobster is one of the specialities here, and there are plenty of other tempting offerings on the menu, ranging from oyster kebabs to green prawns and red snapper, and sea bream paturi (banana leaf parcels of fillets of bream, steamed in a chilli and mustard sauce). I opted for an exquisite starter of mussels in coconut and ginger sauce, and was not disappointed. The best thing I had, however, was a side dish of tandoor clove-smoked aubergine caviar, which was positively out of this world! So light and flavoursome, I wiped my plate clean before my date could say 'rumali roti' (the name of the flat handkerchief bread that came with it).
The wine list is cleverly arranged by wine type, such as light, bone dry and refreshing, or rich and structured for whites, and juicy, fresh and fruity, or intense and full-bodied for reds, so that you don't have to be a wine buff to select something to match your food, although a friendly sommelier is on hand to help out anyway.