Charlotte Street is one of favourite streets in London. It has a lovely neighborhood feel despite its close proximity to manic Oxford Street, and the choice of restaurants is varied and interesting. A few weeks ago I stopped by for a quick lunch at Lokhandwala, a stylish recently opened Indian eatery.

Lokhandwala is named after a once-notorious district in Mumbai, where Lady Charlotte Louisa Fitzrovia and her lover Vijay eloped to. The venue has a pretty dining room and a secretive speakeasy bar, which are decorated as Lady Charlotte might have decorated her tea rooms in India.

I loved the sense of a bygone era in the restaurant, with shadowy lighting and elaborate furniture. We sat by the window and tasted two of the bartenders fruity non-alcoholic cocktails.

The menu offers a range of ‘Indian tapas’ and some larger, more substantial recipes. We let the waiter guide us towards some of the more popular specialities on the menu… from the Slow Cooked Lamb Curry to the Tandoor cooked asparagus.

We pre-warned the kitchen of our dislike of very spicy food but I still found many of the dishes too fiery, which was a real shame as the flavours were vibrant and punchy. My favourites from the menu included the wonderfully fragrant marinated lamb chops which had a lovely charred taste from the tandoor oven, and a few of the vegetarian dishes, Tikki kebab of almonds, beetroot, goats cheese, potatoes and cauliflower chaat had a lovely earthy flavour and a soft comforting texture.

The Chef’s Seasonal Lokhandwala Lamb Curry was also heavenly, perfectly cooked pieces of tender lamb in a luxurious tomato sauce with hints of onion and ginger. Make sure you order a Garlic naan to mop up all the delicious curry sauce.

Desserts were a little underwhelming. Baked Kheer Brulee tasted like a cold and bland rice pudding with hardened sugar on top, and I found the ‘Gajar Halwa’ tarts a little too sweet, although the cardomom scented creme anglaise was delicious.

I recommend visiting Lokhandwala with a group of friends so you can taste an assortment of dishes from the menu altogether. The recipes here definitely work best as a pick’n’mix of flavours and textures.

More information and book a table at Lokhandwala here.