Chef-owned Tokri Indian restaurant stands out, indeed almost sparkles next to the other more humdrum shops in the parade in Acton.
Chef Ram Kishore was born and bred in Dehli, India where he began an interesting career by catering for a cricket team in Chandigarh. He then joined the Marriot ITC in Delhi.
When he moved to London he set up a food manufacturing business and now supplies high-end restaurants across London including the Cinnamon group. And of course, Tokri.
That bodes well for would-be diners, and I was looking forward to dining out on Ram’s menu of popular Indian street food served by waiters hailing from Delhi and Punjab – I just love that charming headshake.
Chef Ram Kishore
Ambience
The decor is modern and welcoming with pleasant instrumental music playing in the background. Tokri means basket and to set the theme, the lampshades are made of upside-down baskets. Cute.
Food & Drink
The menu at Tokri is a celebration of the street food of Northern India. No doubt you will have already come across some of their selection. While I pondered the menu I sipped on lychee martini (they also have Cobra beer and a short wine list, with Bollinger champagne). It catered for my sweet tooth.
I started with a Tokri Chana Chat – ratte potato, fashioned into a basket, mixed with masala,chick peas, sweet yoghurt, tamarind and sev. This is a gorgeous mouthful, the type you would like to savour.
The dahri puri, a typical and popular street food. It is similar to Tokri Chana with potato filling, sweet yoghurt, mint chutney, tamarind chutney with sweetness from the dates in the sauce. I also had a pop at the chicken lollipops. Beautifully seasoned and crispy.
The main courses looked tempting. Ram’s personal favourite is the lamb Champaram Ghosht. This dish is authentically cooked on the bone and packed with flavour, made more so as it is marinated in a clay pot with added mustard oil, garlic and tomato.
Mine was the butter chicken which is chicken Tikka, cashew nut and tomato. I paired this with peshwari naan, steamed rice and Jahiya Aloo, balls of potato with wild mustard and curry leaf. Delicious.
For dessert, I waivered between the Anguri Rasmala and the chocolate samosa and opted for the chocolate samosa. What a coup, this is a lovely mouthful of crispy samosa topped with chocolate and stuffed with a chocolaty custard.
Chocolate samosa
Verdict: Tokri is an honest-to-goodness restaurant offering Indian street food done well in a local London restaurant.
Tokri, 7, Park Parade, Gunnersbury Avenue, W39BD