Buddha's eye Indian resturante

Indian and Nepalese on one menu

Among the traditional curries the organising principle is not the main ingredient but the method. Madras arrives with fresh tomato, ginger and coriander and is built to be properly hot, vindaloo sets chilli and lemon juice on a tomato base, karahi works ginger, peppers and onion into a thick gravy. Bhuna stays semi-dry with plenty of chopped onion, dhansak plays sweet and sour with lentils, dopiaza lives entirely off the onion, jalfrezi off peppers and tomato. The pathia carries Himalayan spices in its description — this is the first point where the house's Nepalese hand becomes something you can taste.

At the other end of the menu are the mild, creamy sauces, and they are represented in depth: korma on a coconut base, tikka masala with almond, coconut, tomato and cream, pasanda with almonds and dried fruit, butter chicken with almond in a thick butter sauce, kashmiri with almonds, coconut, dried fruit and a touch of mint, plus a curry on a mango base.

What sets Buddha's Eye apart in the neighbourhood

The real signature sits among the house specialities. The Buddha Special brings lamb, chicken and prawn together and seasons them the Nepalese way. Pokhara Garlic Chilly is boneless chicken with a lot of garlic and tomato, Nepali Mint Sekuwa works with onion, fennel seed, tomato and a pull of mint; both come to the table sizzling on the hot iron plate. Beside them stands a Goan king prawn curry with curry leaves, coconut milk and mustard seed, which comes from an altogether different corner of the subcontinent, and lababdar, chicken in a sauce of peppers, onion and cream.

The tandoori dishes travel on that iron plate too. They are marinated in yoghurt and a spice blend of the house, then cooked in the oven; alongside chicken tikka and tikka shashlik the menu lists king prawn, a mixed grill and a version with cheese. The origin is legible in the names themselves: Pokhara and Kathmandu turn up as dish names, and sekuwa is the Nepalese grilling tradition such dishes come out of.

For vegetable eaters, families and mild palates

The vegetable section is not an appendix but a small menu of its own. Nepali dal is cooked from black lentils with Nepalese herbs, Kathmandu aloo is potato with Nepalese spices, saag paneer joins spinach with house-made fresh cheese; then come chana masala, aloo gobi, mutter paneer, tarka dal and mushroom bhajee. Among the starters are papadoms with pickles, vegetable pakora, onion bhajee and vegetable samosa, which also come as a mixed platter to share.

The breads run from plain naan through garlic, cheese and the cheese-and-chilli combination to the peshawari with coconut, plus tandoori roti. With the rice it pays to look beyond the basmati: pilau with butter and cumin seeds, coconut rice, mushroom rice and a kashmiri rice with dried fruit. Heat is adjusted on request — mild, medium or hot — and for children there is a small selection of its own, from fish fingers to tikka masala or korma with rice or chips.

In the room, to take away, to your door

Buddha's Eye works three ways: eating in, taking away, and delivery through a delivery service. There are seats outside, parking at the premises, step-free access and wifi, and private functions can be held here as well; you pay in cash or by card. To finish, the menu offers gulab jamun and kulfi in mango and pistachio, along with lassi salted or with mango.