Banana Leaf

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

The Banana Leaf offers good value, authentic Indian food. From an extensive menu, the manager is happy to make recommendations and even demonstrate cooking to curious customers. Don't miss their famous dosas – huge lentil and rice pancakes, thin, crispy and rolled around meat or veg. The minced lamb dosa is two feet long, and served with spiced lentil dip, and coconut and tomato chutneys, introducing the cafe's rule that 'the more you dip, the better it tastes'. There are plenty of vegetarian options, such as fried, spiced cauliflower, or bagara baingan; soft aubergines with mustard seeds and coriander in a sweet tomato sauce. Many of the dishes feature chettinadu spices, a southern Indian blend of 23 spices, prepared in-house. Aniseed and curry leaves are the dominant flavours in chicken chettinadu, which is served on the bone, along with thin, chewy chapatis. It is a testament to the quality of food in the Banana Leaf, that its numerous customers have no objections to the strip lit, pale yellow décor, but rather cherish it as a home from home.