Supperclub host and in-demand caterer Pritha Mukherjee, who once ran Kolkata Kitchen from her flat in north-west London, opened this hidden gem in Harrow almost a year ago. Named after the Bengali word for poppy seeds, it’s a smart place with beautifully folded white napkins and framed photos of Kolkata city scenes. There’s nuanced home-cooking to be found here: eggs cuddled under a thick duvet of white poppy seed paste; slow-cooked mutton kosha; raw green jackfruit with raisins and spices; and delicate rohu fish curry. Also not to be missed are toasted cashew-studded beetroot chops served with a zig-zag of aam kasundi made from raw green mangoes and mustard paste; Bengali aloo dum with pillowy discs of green pea kochuri; and cholar (chana) dal with coconut pieces, as sweet and as complex in its simplicity as the sentiments evoked by a Rabindranath Tagore tale.

Chef Steven Lee’s Indian-Chinese in Harrow is enveloped in a warm orange glow — partly it’s the colour of the walls, partly the buzz created by locals who regularly flock to the place. He’s originally from Kolkata, and worked in Mumbai’s legendary China Garden before moving to London and cooking at Dalchini in Wimbledon, well-regarded and ground-breaking in its early days. The menu is massive, so not everything comes off — the classic gobi manchurian is disappointing, for instance — but among the more successful dishes are the exquisitely moreish okra with salt and pepper, 1960s-style chilli chicken fiery with green chillies, tender tilapia steamed with soy sauce and ginger, and beef stir-fried with water chestnuts and dried red chillies. Wall-mounted TVs broadcast Lee’s cooking tips, alongside pictures of Indian celebs who’ve visited the restaurant and the press coverage it’s had in India.

This Camden Market stall selling kathi rolls could easily win ‘shortest menu in London’ award: it sells just kathi rolls stuffed with either chicken or paneer, with or without fries. The rolls are made from rich, thick, flaky paratha, smeared with optional cooked egg on one side; and the fillings are generous, mildly spiced, and a little sweet, offset by the mild acidity of lightly pickled onions and the verdant freshness of coriander leaves. Grab a nearby bench and enjoy them with perhaps a few burger-eating strangers in a ‘my sandwich is better than your sandwich’ kinda way.

A fat pundit may be any rotund scholar, from Buddha to Birbal — but here combining the common Chinese surname Fatt with the Indian word pundit offers a clue to what the restaurant is about: yes, it’s Indian-Chinese. More specifically, it’s Kolkata-Chinese — different from Mumbai-Chinese in that the food is less masala-fied and chilli-fied than the latter. The narrow room makes the place look smaller than it is (there’s more seating in the basement), with a massive steamer in the bar heating up momos continuously. They’re pretty as jewels and beautifully pleated; and the rest of the menu also impresses with no ready-made ‘Chinese’ sauces clinging to everything like in some inferior Indian-Chinese restaurants. There’s soft chilli paneer on lettuce leaves, hakka noodles crunchy with white cabbage, wok-fried crab meat with sweetcorn, and two chicken classics: manchurian and lollipop, all of it aglow with the gentlest of chilli heats, and a garden full of spring onions.  

Despite its contemporary look of wall-mounted cushions, canteen-style wooden seating and a glossy bar, it’s the retro black-and-white chequerboard tiles that draw attention. They’re reminiscent of early 20th century Indian rooms in which Bengali babus would gather together for an adda, switching easily between Shakespearean and Marxist discourse. Located in a Covent Garden backstreet, this new venue is owned by former supperclub hosts Prabir Kumar Chattopadhyay and Biswajit Deb Das. Jhalmuri — Bengal’s answer to bhel puri — is tangy with tamarind, tart with green mangoes, and pungent with mustard oil, perked up by the crunchy bite of peanuts and popped rice. Aubergine fillets come draped in mustard sauce with a side gig of black chickpeas and tomato-red chilli chutney. Minced lamb khichuri is comforting as a grandma’s hug; and cod fishcake comes with kasundi — the classic Bengali mustard relish that’s the current darling of Indian and non-Indian chefs in London.