Drummond Street is Euston's version of the Curry Mile. Well, nowhere near a mile, but there is a great selection of Indian restaurants to choose from, including several vegetarian restaurants.
One of my favourites is Zeen: not for the views (it is in the basement) but for its tasty, well-priced food, and some enticing dishes like whole crab cooked with fresh coconut, chilli and coriander, or Goan roasted chicken breast with coconut, mint and coriander.
Starters are worth pausing for: tandoori mushrooms are stuffed with paneer cheese and peppers, the individual flavours still distinct but combining to tongue-pleasing effect. Fish (the variety is not specified) and paneer cheese both come fried with chilli and are not for the faint-hearted. Mixed vegetable pakora are not startling, but a workmanlike, non-greasy rendition. Crispy fried okra with mango was not bad, but cut a bit small for my preference - it seemed more batter than okra.
Main courses are also pleasing: lamb Xacuti, another Goan dish, comes in a fiery sauce, with coconut helping to temper the heat. Dal makhani, one of my favourite pulse dishes, comes with kidney beans as well as black lentils and is in a rich creamy sauce. A lamb biryani and a vegetable jalfrezi were excellent too.
We didn't sample any of the wines, but they do a mean mango lassi, plus Tiger and Cobra lagers.
The restaurant was set up by Zeenat Harnal, daughter of "curry king" Sir Gulam Noon, although they recently mentioned that there had been a change of management, so whether she is still involved is not entirely clear. They don't take Tastecard any more either, whatever the Tastecard website may say, although with main dishes starting at £5, rising to £14 for the chef's specials, it still seems well worth the money.
You can read my review of Masala Hut, also on Drummond Street, here.
Zeen
130 Drummond Street, NW1
020 7387 0606
http://www.zeenrestaurant.co.uk/
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