Open until one, and the kitchen closes at half past twelve
Both halves matter. A restaurant that says "open till 1" and stops cooking at eleven has told you when the shutters come down rather than when you can eat.
The whole menu
All of it, with prices. A restaurant that publishes half its menu is publishing the half it wants you to order.
utensilsFrom the grill
Minced on the premises each morning. Medium hot, and the kitchen will not make it mild — it stops being the dish.
Black pepper rather than chilli, so hot in a way that arrives late. Ask for it plain if you would rather.
Twenty-four hours in the marinade and eighteen minutes over coals. The commonest order and the one we will not rush.
Whatever came up from the market. Ask what it is; the answer changes and the waiter genuinely knows.
leafFrom the kitchen
On the coals from the previous evening. Runs out by about half past eleven most nights and is not restarted.
Whatever is good this week, cooked hard and fast. The one dish that changes without notice.
From the tandoor, one at a time. Order fewer than you think and order again.
starAfter
Set in clay in the afternoon. When it is gone there is no more, which is at about midnight on a Saturday.
Made here, sliced to order. The only pudding that never runs out.
Hours, and the day we are shut
The kitchen closes half an hour before the room does, every night. Tuesday is the coal delivery and a deep clean, and it has been for eleven years.
Forty covers, one grill, no music after midnight
A single charcoal grill decides how fast the room can go, so on a Saturday at ten the wait for a table is real and we will tell you the number rather than say "twenty minutes". After midnight the music goes off, because by then the people still here are talking.
Asked at the door
Four answers, and two of them lose us covers on a Saturday.
Do you take bookings?
For four or more, and only before nine. After that the room runs on the wait list, because a held table on a forty-cover Saturday is a table nobody is eating at while eleven people stand outside.
Do you deliver?
No, and we have tried twice. Charcoal food is at its best for about eight minutes and neither attempt survived the journey. There is takeaway from the counter if you are within about ten minutes of us.
Can you make the seekh mild?
No. It is the one thing on the menu we refuse to change, because at mild it becomes a different and worse dish. The paneer can be made plain and the fish is not hot at all.
Is there a vegetarian main?
Three, and the tandoor is shared. If that matters to you, say so when you order — there is a separate skewer set and a separate section of the grill, and we will use them.
Book a table
Four or more, before nine. Smaller than that or later than that, come and put your name on the list — the wait is usually shorter than a booking would have been.
The dal runs out at about half past eleven
It is on the coals from the night before and there is one pot. Everything else is there until the kitchen closes at half past twelve.