United colours of India

Growing up in London, while regularly visiting the Indian subcontinent meant a frequent meting out of entirely justified contempt at what has passed here as 'Indian' food. This was true, whether it was served with a side of chips in dank, grey curry houses or smart Mayfair restaurants with utterly gratuitous attempts at fusion, when South Asian cuisine itself is arguably the world's most successful hybrid of varied cultural influences, notably Persian.

Located on the second storey of the lively Kingly Court off London's iconic Carnaby Street, merely entering Darjeeling Express fills one with relief. It's refreshingly devoid of the exoticising comic book Raj pomp that Indian restaurants, even in India, too often exude. Absolutely nothing is gilded, mirrored or swathed in fabric, and the relaxed and cheerful staff