We revisited London this weekend and met up with my sisters. We have previously visited Diwani in Drummond street, a place known for South Indian restaurantants, but one sister praised Ravi Shankar which we duly tried out.
We had hoped to meet for a late lunch, but finally met around 14:30. While in many places we would not have been served we were delighted that we were not too late to order. However I did wonder when we went in whether they would have rather shut down for the afternoon.
We ordered a bhel poori starter which tasted delicious. The flavouring of the puffed grains, potato and tamarind was very well balenced. We also shared two "mixed starters".
These comprised an absolutely delightful vegetarian samosa, a vegetable pakora, a pastry with paneer and a vegetarian spring roll.
For the main courses my sisters ordered beautifully presented paper dosas.
I ordered a Mysore dosa which was in a more conventional tube form.
The dosas themselves were absolutely great. However comparing the "paper" and the "Mysore" dosas there was really little difference. Both came with a sambhar and coconut chutney. The paper dosa had a mashed potato, black mustard, turmeric and onion stuffing which seemed no different from the third dish served with the paper dosa. This is not a criticism but simply stating that the two dishes were not differentiated in taste.
The food was reasonably priced. There were 5 of us and we had three starters, five main courses, 4 non alcoholic drinks and a Cobra for about £60.
The menu seemed very similar to Diwani two doors away. There were two significant differences: the seating in Ravi Shankar was basic but much more comfortable and Ravi Shankar was licensed while Diwani required a trip to the off-licence next door. On balence I would say Diwani had the edge on taste but I would love the chance to try both on one day to be more accurate on that assessment.
MissyMouse
Diwani is wonderful and super cheap for a lunch time buffet stop!