Annapurna

101 Chiswick High Road
W4 2ED

020 8994 0338


Hard to believe now, but when we first came to Chiswick in 1992, we just didn't have the range or choice of restaurants that we do now. There was Foubert's, of course, Southey's, Pizza Express, Texas Lone Star on the Terrace and the posh French place in Devonshire Road (not La Trompette, but La Dordogne). And Annapurna, which dates back to the 1970s. A typical Friday night in the early 90s started with a workout at the Hogarth Club, followed by a beer in the bar and a curry at Annapurna. Heady days.

We hadn't been to Annapurna for ages, and it caught our eye when making the local news recently due to GuideDogGate. (Don't worry, this turned out not to be doubts about the contents of the Tandoori Mixed Grill, but the restaurant's refusal to let a blind customer bring a guide-dog in, which a spokesman subsequently claimed was a misunderstanding and apologised for).

Helpfully, the restaurant's website tells you it is located in "London's Chiswick", which saves you making a wasted journey to the Chiswick in the western suburbs of Sydney that was known as Bigi Bigi until the 1850s.  More precisely, it describes itself as "an authentic Indian restaurant located on Chiswick High Road" which it is, so long as 'authentic' means looking like pretty much every other Indian restaurant in the UK, but not much like any restaurant in India. It draws in "spice seeking diners from all over the area" and is apparently the favourite curry house of local celebrities Jeremy Vine and Kevin McNally (yes, I had to look him up too, but you will recognise him).

Stereotypically we started with some draft Kingfisher, accompanied by "palin papadum" (a tribute to everyone's favourite Python) with "pickels" (a tribute to everyone's favourite LA Raiders defensive tackle) and chutneys, including the unnaturally orange coconut one.

We skipped starters and dived straight in to the main course. We shared a saag gosht (lamb cooked with fresh spinach and dry fenugreek leaves) and - from their impressive selection of Murgh Dishes - a murgh dhansak (chicken breast cooked with lentils in a sweet, sour and spicy sauce). Both fitted the restaurant's own description of "mouth-watering", spicy but not too saucy (move over Giles Coren, this is top quality restaurant criticism). We accompanied that with some chana masala, a roti and basmati rice - probably more carbs than Mrs WEST4URANTS had eaten all week. And to round off the perfect evening, they brought us After Eights with the bill, presumably a tradition dating back to their 1970s launch.

By a quirk of fate, younger Miss WEST4URANTS also fancied a curry that Friday night, but she was baby-sitting, so I treated her to a takeaway from Indian Zing on King Street and, fond though I am of Annapurna, she got the better deal. If Indian Zing was in W4 that would obviously be our favourite Indian restaurant in Chiswick. But it isn't, so Annapurna is.


Food (for 2): £25.10
Drink: £9.70
Total: £38.30