I was a little sad to see Papoli close down, a few months ago, as while it wasn’t exactly pulling up trees, it was a restaurant with a nice atmosphere and a lamb shorba that was highly memorable.

In its place, Atithi has arrived showcasing Indian thali delights. I stopped in for a visit in their fourth week of business.

Maintaining the same look and feel as the previous place, the interior has a good relaxed feel to it. It felt warmly welcoming upon arrival.

The menu is very straightforward. The thali selection is front and centre, there are a choice of starters (I sampled their mixed starter platter – it was decent but little beyond that), some house specials, then they will cook you any spin on the classic curryhouse curry.

The thali is where their real strength lies. From their range, I chose the lamb bhuna version, which brought together a paratha, rice, daal, saag and mixed vegetables.

Each element was of very good quality. The tender chunks of lamb were delicious. The rice was particularly light and fragrant. The spinach was also really tasty. It was highly accomplished cooking which impressed me, muchly.

So overall, I’d be pleased to recommend Atithi. Unless you’re extraordinarily hungry, I’d simply cut straight to the chase and focus on the thali selection. It represents very good value as the quality on offer is extremely good and the veggie thali is a snip at £8.95. I look forward to visiting again soon, and would urge you to do the same.

Scores
Blythe scores Atithi
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 15/20

I ate: mixed starters; lamb bhuna thali

I drank: lager, water

I wore: boat shoes

Total bill: £20.40