The back room with the carved screen: one long table for twelve to twenty, a set menu at £35 a head, no room hire
Private dining for twenty
The back room seats twelve to twenty at one long table behind the carved teak screen, with its own door to the kitchen and no room hire. A set menu of four courses at £35 a head, chosen with you a week ahead from the whole menu with the heat and the diets sorted in advance; drinks from the list or a bar tab. Tuesday to Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch; a £100 deposit comes off the bill.
The back room was the storeroom until 2015, when Anjali decided a restaurant that gets asked for a birthday table every week should have one. One long table, a carved teak screen that came from a house in Ahmedabad, copper chargers and the brass candlesticks, and a door straight to the kitchen so the room gets its food first.
The menu is set because twenty people ordering twenty different curries on a Saturday night makes the room wait for the slowest dish. A week ahead we sit down with you (or do it by email) and choose: a chaat and a tandoor plate to share to start, then two curries, a vegetable dish, a dal, rice and breads for the table, then kulfi or gulab jamun. The heat and the diets are sorted in advance, so the vegan at the end of the table and the uncle who wants a vindaloo both get what they want without a conversation on the night. £35 a head; children under twelve £12 for a smaller plate.
Drinks are from the list (Cobra and a Welsh lager on draught, a short wine list, lassis and the soft drinks) or a bar tab you set a limit on. The room takes a minimum of twelve and a maximum of twenty, Tuesday to Saturday evenings from six and Sunday lunch from one; on a Friday or Saturday we ask for the room by half past ten so the kitchen can close. A £100 deposit holds the date and comes off the bill. We do not charge for the room, we do not add a service charge, and if you want to bring a cake we will plate it and not charge for that either.
What is included
- One long table for twelve to twenty
- A four-course set menu at £35 a head
- Chosen a week ahead, diets and heat sorted
- No room hire, no service charge
- A £100 deposit that comes off the bill
- Tuesday to Saturday evenings, Sunday lunch
What it costs
The set menu £35 a head for four courses, chosen a week ahead; a vegan or vegetarian version at the same price; children's plates £12. No room hire; a £100 deposit comes off the bill. Minimum twelve, maximum twenty. The menu page has every dish with its heat, its flags and its price; the takeaway page has the collection time and the delivery zones.
Questions about private dining
Can we have the room for fewer than twelve?
On a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, yes, for eight or more at the same £35. On Friday and Saturday the room needs twelve because it is the busiest part of the restaurant.
Can we order from the full menu instead?
For twelve or fewer on a weeknight, yes. For more than that, or any Saturday, the set menu, for the reason above: the room eats together.
A table on Albany Road, or a bag on the counter in twenty-five minutes.
Book a table for dinner, the Sunday thali for six or more, or the back room for twenty on one form, with a reply within the hour while the kitchen is open. For a takeaway, the takeaway page quotes the collection time from the clock and takes ten per cent off.