Optima Magazine

219 Field End Road • Eastcote • HA5 1QZ • 020 8868 0900

Reviewed by Jill Glenn

Situated on a busy road – but conveniently next to Eastcote station – Hot Red Chillies is in a prominent if unpromising location. Billing itself as the ‘King of Punjabi Cuisine’, it sets the scene with two life-sized Punjabi statues, gloriously garbed in red and gold and green, just inside the front door.

The decor is unpretentious: wipe clean tables, paper napkins, pale paintwork, but the walls are adorned with interesting pieces of Indian art and craft (made by the owner’s mother) to hint further at the Punjab, and the impression overall is of a bright, jolly little place.

The welcome is friendly, and the menu is produced promptly, although the staff are then surprisingly slow to offer drinks or take a food order. In due course, though, and armed with the first glass from a bottle of Rioja, we are presented with the first course on this culinary journey to a region that encompasses both north west India and eastern Pakistan.

The food is rustic, but very prettily presented. I’ve picked Prawn Puree, one of my absolute favourite Indian starters, and thus a great choice by which to measure the standards of a chef. This is pretty good, actually. The prawns are flavoursome, and the thick spicy sauce sets my tastebuds tingling, while the Puree bread is not too oily. My companion has selected, from the extensive list of vegetarian options, the Aloo Tikki, a potato cutlet ‘lavished’, according to the menu, with masala chick peas, chopped onions, yogurt, and drizzled with tamarind chutney. “Interesting, but powerful,” is her brief verdict. Note for next time: observe the instruction on the menu which says ‘For full satisfaction of your tastebuds, please confirm the intensity of the spices in your order.’

There’s a pleasing delay between the end of one course and the arrival of the next, from which we deduce that our food is genuinely freshly prepared. Our main courses look rather small – but we are more than full by the time we have finished. The Lamb Korma is very good indeed: the meat tender and not at all fatty, and the sauce nicely balanced and tasty. The Methi Murg (chicken in a thick, vibrantly spiced tomato masala with fresh fenugreek) is excellent. These are good solid flavours. The side dishes, a Tarka Dal and a Gobi Lacha Adraki (cauliflower florets flavoured with fresh ginger and garlic), are perfectly fine too, especially the dal with its great texture; the cauliflower had rather more of a kick than I’d normally look for in a side dish, but the flavours were great.

Hot Red Chillies is not one of those ultra-cool modern-style Indian establishments. It’s not offering edgy urban ambience or luxurious surroundings (in fact, the furniture is really rather basic, and the room opens directly onto the kitchen), or cutting edge fusion cuisine or award-winning combinations. It’s just a neighbourhood restaurant dishing out honest, straightforward food: freshly cooked, steaming hot and well presented. ‘Full satisfaction of tastebuds’ readily available.

PRICE GUIDE:
Starters: £1.95-£10.95
Mains £4.75-£9.95
Desserts: £1.99-£2.25
House wine: £9.95