Meghna Grill St John’s Wood: Great neighbourhood Indian (June 2014)

I have been a fan of the Meghna for many years, enjoying the restaurant and benefiting from their take-away/ home-delivery service too. Put simply, it is everything you would expect of a local Indian restaurant. That it has been operational for over 40 years (and many of the same staff have been in place since I first started visiting) is testament to its success. Set on Boundary Road, just off Abbey Road of Beatles fame (about 10 minutes up from the famous pedestrian crossing), this is not a restaurant one would easily find if strolling and so the place consequently has a very strong neighbourhood feel to it. A group of four of us recently visited on a weekday evening and the place was as busy as ever. Meghna doesn’t try to do anything particularly clever or original, but its success arguably lies in its reliability and consistency. We began just with poppadums and sauces, noting the rich and chunky texture of the presumably homemade lime pickle. I opted for my usual main dish of lamb dhansak, an option also favoured by one of my comrades. Our mains were completed by a vegetable thali and a chicken special, accompanied by several sides. All the plates were cleared and the consensus opinion was highly favourable, one of our group noting in particular that his meal had been much lighter and fresher, and also less greasy, than many comparable restaurants. At £25/head, beers, sides and service included, none of us was complaining. Keep up the good work!