Hello and welcome back to Vittles Restaurants! Today, Six of One returns with half a dozen excellent restaurant recommendations from Tristan Rendell, Alexandra Pereira, Ameerah Arjanee, **Sama Ansari, Shekha Vyas and Jonathan Nunn. **Paid subscribers can access the Vittles Restaurants map, which now includes 478 venues, across every borough of London.
You can also catch up on the latest free episode of the Vittles ** podcast**, which is an interview with Stephen Buranyi on his influencer investigation in Issue 3 of our print magazine. You can buy the whole issue – which contains everything from a long read on the history of MFK Fisher’s hidden role in introducing Japanese food to mainstream US culture, to an exclusive short story by Booker-longlisted author Rebecca Perry – via our website.
Residents of London’s outer boroughs – particularly Bromley – are often the first to talk down their area’s dining options, the prevailing wisdom being that the search for an exceptional meal requires a sojourn out of suburbia. The Bombay aims to disprove this theory and the long-serving Indian institution has recently received an extensive string of industry awards (almost all in the Kent category, but I’m giving that particular discourse a wide berth). The interior is furnished with faux foliage and illuminated by dim, lime-green bulbs, giving diners an insight into what it might be like to live inside a terrarium. The waiting staff possess a slick, cockney-esque répartie, presumably developed over years of serving Millwall season ticket holders. Even local resident Nigel Farage has been known to cross the Ulez frontier for a peshwari naan and a performative pint.
The Bombay excels at everything you’d want from a neighbourhood Indian restaurant. Crisp, brittle poppadoms are presented with all the trimmings, including a gravy boat full to the brim with raita. Its lime pickle deserves a special mention too: tangy, spicy and not overwhelmingly sour. Prawns served in a rich tomato gravy on a light, airy puri were followed by a smoky salmon tikka, still sizzling from the tandoor. The chicken pasanda came recommended by the chef; its sweet, nutty sauce and tender charcoal-grilled chicken were gleefully shovelled into makeshift trowels of tandoori naan.
As we sipped the last of our lagers, the adjacent table began discussing how pantomimes are society’s last bastion against woke. A reminder that despite boasting a handful of award-winning restaurants, Orpington’s Pengeification is still a long way off. Tristan Rendell
74-76 High St, Green St Green, BR6 6BJ
Behind the paywall: Jonathan Nunn on a South London piri piri spot worth your time, Shekha Vyas writes about a new Uyghur restaurant in east London’s noodle belt, plus Colombian empanadas with exceptional salsa, sushi, Mauritian dholl puri and more.
You can subscribe to Vittles for £7/month or £59 for the whole year, which gives you access to restaurant recommendations from the last six and half years, including the Vittles Restaurants map, the Vittles 99 best restaurants in London, three central London lunch guides, and much more.
