Black Salt

Black Salt is the sister of Dastaan, which now also has offshoots in Leeds as well as Dulwich in the form of The Kokum. It is in a parade of shops in East Sheen on the busy south circular road. There is a bar as you enter, leading to a large dining room with a separate conservatory. Tables are well-spaced and there is plenty of natural light in the room.

Gobi 65 (£8) is a fried cauliflower dish whose name is probably lost in the mists of time, but has various legends about it, including being invented in 1965. Cauliflower florets are coated with ginger, garlic, curry leaves, coriander leaves, pepper, cumin, red chilli powder and salt and marinated, then coated with rice flour and deep fried, here served with a spicy tomato chutney. The cauliflower was excellent, carefully cooked and zinging with spice and a little salt. This was a fine comfort dish (15/20).

Kale and spinach bhajias (£7.50) were mixed with potato and onion before being fried and served with a tamarind and mint chutney. These bhajias, a slight variation on the originals at Dastaan, are a world away from the greasy onion bhajai that we have all encountered at a local curry house. Here the exteriors were crisp, the filling packed with flavour and laced with vibrant spices (16/20).

Chicken kadai (£13.90) is a Mughal-era north Indian dish, its name referring to the iron wok – kadai or karahi - in which the chicken is cooked. Chicken pieces are marinated in yoghurt and spices, then onion and spice paste are fried with the chicken. This was a simple but enjoyable dish, the chicken tender and the spices nicely balanced (14/20).

Chilli garlic tiger prawns (£16) are a regular on the menu here, large prawns that are marinated in spiced before being cooked in the tandoor. These prawns were skilfully cooked, tender and suffused with spices (15/20). Wild mustard potatoes (£7) had little spheres of potato that had been cooked with mustard leaves, ginger, garlic and other spices. Crucially, they had retained their texture very well, the potatoes having absorbed a little spicy flavour from the mustard (15/20).

Makhani dhal (£7) was a fine version of the classic Punjabi dish, the black lentils or urad dhal with kidney beans soaked overnight and then cooked slowly, before being mashed and fried in butter with tomatoes, cumin, chilli, garlic, ginger, and finished with a little cream. The end result should be rich and dark, with a hint of smokiness, and the version here is excellent (16/20).

Laacha paratha (£4.50) is a classic flatbread from the Punjab region, the word “laacha” means loop or coil, with paratha meaning layers of cooked unleavened dough, with whole wheat flour separated by ghee in each layer. The dough is rolled out and then pleated, flattened and cooked on a hot griddle (tawa). The version here was excellent, supple and served very hot (15/20). Even the rice (£5.90) was unusually good, fragrant and with well-defined individual grains.

Service was very good and the bill came to £63 a person with plenty of beer and enough food for a complete meal of leftovers. Black Salt is an excellent restaurant and the denizens of East Sheen are lucky to have it.

Further reviews: 03rd Apr 2024 | 31st Oct 2023 | 10th Aug 2023 | 09th Sep 2022 | 29th Jun 2022 | 23rd Apr 2022 | 26th Jan 2022 | 27th Nov 2021