Ragam

We stumbled in here and were blown away. The dosa, the paratha, spicy prawns and a mild coconut chicken dish were exceptional. Can't wait to come back and try the biryani.

This place is really small and has only 2 people serving so be prepared for long waiting time. The food is decent. Spicy idly was actually spicy. Masala tea and almond kulfi were nice too!

This unassuming establishment offers up some the most authentic and delicious South Indian food on offer in London. That the prices are also so incredibly reasonable makes this place one if those gastronomic secrets you'll be proud to share.

My boyfriend loves the Malabar Lamb curry. Cheap & cheerful. We go for comfort food!

The sole reason I know about Ragam is because I follow Ben Goldacre on Twitter and about 3 years ago he raved about it. He’s a pretty sensible, logical guy – always tweeting about evidence – and so I considered him trustworthy even on food. I was right to do so.

My boyfriend had been doing PescaJanuary (no meat, fish allowed) and we decided to celebrate him rejoining the carnivorous fold by going for a curry with a few friends. Having a few of us gave the perfect excuse to have a smorgasbord of starters before getting a main dish each. Some of these weren’t the easiest thing to share but we just about managed.

So, what did we have?

Stephen had a lamb vindaloo which, strangely, didn’t seem to have any potato in it. This was rather vinegary and, I thought, really, really hot. He begged to differ but I think he was just trying to be macho. I don’t know whether I liked the taste all that much and I know I couldn’t have eaten much of it. I just dipped some paratha in every now and again.

Paratha is all they serve on the bread front but that’s fine with me as I think they’re as good as, if not better, than nan breads. As with nans elsewhere, these came in lots of different flavours. I almost ordered the chilli but as I’d asked for extra heat in my curry I thought that may be foolish and instead had a garlic one. This was so garlicky it was verging on bitter. I think a plain one would have been best.

My butter chicken curry was delicious and there was plenty of it. It is not traditionally a particularly hot curry so I asked for extra spice and they got the heat level just perfect for me. Noses were running but the flavours weren’t masked. It was exactly what I want when i have a curry – good consistency, spicy, plenty of flavour and plenty of meat.

My friends have a favourite curry house in London – Gopal’s. They’re almost regulars there. But after visiting here their allegiance was certainly wavering. While the curries were good (they also had the butter chicken) I think the starters were what was swaying their loyalties. So here’s a run through of them: 

Cashew nut pakoda – cashews dipped in spicy batter and fried. Amazingly moreish, just takes a nut to a completely new level. They disappeared in seconds and I haven’t stopped thinking about them.

Sambar vada – doughnut in a lentil gravy – this was incredibly savoury and deeply flavoured, reminding us of the dipping curry at Roti king. Not the easiest dish to share, as it is one doughnut but we managed to cut it up so that everyone could have a bite.

Onion bhaji – these are easier to get wrong than you might think but we were really happy with the ones we had. They weren’t too greasy and heavy and came with a raita-style sauce to dip them in.

We also had pappadums of course and even these were a little bit special as some of them were not just plain pappadums but seasoned.

And we’re not even done yet. We also ordered some poori masala – puffed bread stuffed with potato masala. These were a little dry and not our favourites but easily tasty enough, especially when dipped in the sambar vada gravy.

Finally we also had a side of bhindi which came with onions and tomatoes as we wouldn’t have felt healthy without a bit of veg!

Apologies for the quality of the photos, I was too excited to get stuck in to worry about being arty, or even in focus!

The food is ridiculously well priced even for Central London – curries were around the £7 mark, the other dishes ranged from £3 to £6. Book ahead if you can as the place is pretty popular and yet not that big so was all but full when we went on a Saturday night.

Delicious food. South Indian food is a refreshing change with many unusual dishes. The service was great. This is popular restaurant so worth booking.

It's one of the few restaurants in Central London that serve generous portions. I have been there many times, and their side dishes are enough for 2 people. Furthermore their food is also good. Not oily. The service is also good. It's a little pricey though as food for two can cost 25 pounds or even 30 pounds if you have fish or chicken. Overall a decent place for a lunch or dinner.

Fantastic South Indian food, served by lovely, friendly people. This was my go-to restaurant for many years, when I lived in London and I am so happy that the food remains excellent all these years later.

Best Kerala food in town, hands down. We enjoyed Kappa with fish curry and Creamy Mushroom dosa, both really good. Payasam as a dessert to top it all off.

Food is good. Ambiance is good. Staff is excellent. They could improve the toilets.