Kishmish
448-450 Fulham Road (SW6; near Fulham Broadway Tube)

I have often said Sarkhel's is the best Indian restaurant in London, if not the world outside the sub-continent, but Kishmish often runs a close second in London. I discovered the restaurant a few years ago by accident, and I have managed to frequent this wonderful find several times a year -- but only when there's no football. You see, this restaurant is right next to Stamford Bridge... (to those of you who don't know, that's where Chelsea FC plays...).

I went there on the Friday evening, my last night back here in London. Sigh, that is always disappointing, but I was intent on having a good meal. I have to say this was not an overall pleasant experience, but most of this was due to other circumstances than the meal.

I arrived at a medium late hour and was sat in a nice table -- until a pack of loud, rude and annoying Americans were placed next to me. Why do Americans always behave like this when they travel??? Ugh... And their persistent smoking annoyed me seriously. The waiters could see my annoyance and discomforture so they moved me to another section -- this is a rare quality in London amongst waiters, so this shows some real good observation by the staff. Excellence in challenging situations.

Sadly, the other section had a very large party table with drunken Londoners having a nearly out-of-control dinner party. That severely damaged service to all other tables, as this crowd of 20+ drunks kept arguing with staff, moving seats, shifting to "new" places and making a mockery of restaurant dining. Ugh...another beer for me.

The monkfish tikka was quite excellent as a starter -- I always love how fish works with Indian cuisine. The main course was the duck khade masala, a difficult dish to make (with the duck's consistency problem) but done well -- as always -- here at Kishmish. I had a sag aloo (spinach and potato curry) on the side and it was the best sag aloo I've ever had...and I've had quite many of them. I was so impressed and full at the end of the meal the chaos of the dinner party (if we can still call it that) was all but drowned out.

I somehow managed to get a double espresso down with the rest of the bottle of Cobra and stumbled out for the Tube to head back. This entire experience would have been wonderful if it wasn't by the horrible stereotypes of American tourists and English louts...ugh...

Overall, Kishmish is a wonderful restaurant with excellent cuisine and one of the best staff of any restaurant in London. The atmosphere is relaxing and also romantic, so it fits any occasion. Definitely worth checking out, even if heading out of Central London is a burden.

Food: A-
Atmosphere: C/B+
For Lone Diners: A-

* I usually don't do this, but I have written wee commentary about this evening's experience on another post...