with brightly-coloured contemporary art adorning the walls (painted by a family member of the owner). The menu reflects this; amongst the traditional favourites, Goan lamb shank, duck masala and Persian and Nepalese dishes stood-out from the menu. Additionally, fish menu was vast featuring dishes with salmon, trout and sea bass.

We settled for a light lunch with a mixed starter of bites: onion bhaji, freshly-grilled chicken tikka and shish kebab and, of course, poppadoms and pickles. For mains we opted for a creamy and fruity lamb kashmiri and chicken jaipuri, a Maughal dish featuring onion, yogurt, jeera, coriander and cream. All this was accompanied by a smallish bowl of pilau rice and a huge quartered-naan bursting with garlic. All this came on a hot skillet, which looked oddly old-fashioned next to the modern look of the cutlery and crockery, but was welcome nevertheless.

We had a tranquil and enjoyable dining experience at Zara, complete with chilled-out Indian mood music that was only interrupted by the rumble of the train to Kings Cross. We were graciously thanked as we left after paying the bill (priced below their city centre counterparts) and kindly requested to return to enjoy the evening dining experience.