I hate restaurants that don’t take reservations for less than 4 people.
I hate restaurants where the host, when I pop in and ask if they have a table for 2 at 7:15pm, answers they do… at 10:30pm.
And I HATE restaurants that insist on running separate lunch and dinner services so that I can’t have a meal at strange mid-afternoon hours on the weekend.
All of the above are the reasons why I hate loving Kricket so much.
It’s going to make my life so very difficult every time I crave Indian food.
But well, I’ll just have to deal with it all (and take friends down with me so we can book at table!) because the food, the drinks and the atmosphere are all fantastic.
The cocktail list is short but perfect formed, making the on-duty bartender a very busy man (or woman) indeed.
Which you could feel bad about or just embrace with a couple of the truly excellent whisky + orange marmalade cocktails…
Also excellent were the Jerusalem artichokes and pea samosas.
Light, crispy pastry triangles, filled with the most delicious, subtly spiced vegetable filling.
Needless to say, those didn’t last long.
My favourite dish – Pumpkin, makhani sauce, fresh paneer, hazelnut crumble, puffed wild rice.
Served with masala kulcha bread straight from the tandoor.
Charred pumpkin, the best (really, even my Indian boyfriend says so, and he’s had A LOT of butter chicken) butter-tomato sauce, begin to be scooped over some bread…
It was the sort of dish I wish I knew how to make so I could have it every day.
One that hangs around the top of my list of London’s best dishes, too.
Kricket’s signature Keralan fried chicken, served with curry leaf mayonnaise and pickled mouli.
Venison keema.
Warming and gently spiced, and the perfect reminder of why I must add keema to my winter meal rota.
Beautifully cooked duck breast, served with fiery vindaloo sauce and refreshing Brussel sprout and coconut thoran.
Polishing it all off on a sweet note in the form of carrot halwa with chestnut ice cream (delicious but veeeeeeery rich) and gorgeous, posset-like misti doi.
All in all, not a dal plate in sight at Kricket… So, no matter how difficult/irritating getting a table is, it’s worth the patience and hard work.
You know what they they… Keep calm and curry on!
Cake and Whisky 