Neil Littman visits a large new Asian restaurant opened on the site of a former Ponders End pub

Goan fish curry with kulcha and coconut rice

Last year the restaurant scene in Enfield was marked by a few closures, so it was good to see a new place has opened and, better still, built around an exciting concept.

Finding new openings isn’t easy and unlike the national press reviewers, I don’t receive press releases from PR companies, so I rely on searching online or receiving tip-offs. One such recommendation from a Dispatch reader resulted in a visit to Shere Khan, a newish restaurant named after one of my favourite characters from The Jungle Book.

Shere Khan has opened at the former Picture Palace pub on Ponders End High Street, which has been dramatically transformed. We arrived at 6.30pm on a freezing Friday night without having booked and realised immediately that was a mistake. Opened only six months ago, they were already pulling crowds in, and I was fortunate to be offered a table for 90 minutes.

The interior is both breathtaking and inspiring with a combination of dramatic architecture, clever lighting, video screens and comfortable seating with an amazing number of cushions! Seating is on two levels, with room for around 200 diners, plus there are private dining areas and an eye-catching bar at the back on both floors, with an open-plan kitchen on the ground floor.

The Shere Khan concept is pan-Asian fine dining with the emphasis on Indian cuisine from various regions, including several vegetarian options which will be familiar to anyone who has eaten South Indian food in places like Dishoom.

I decided to go veggie and ordered panni puri (£6.95), which are deep-fried breaded hollow spherical shells filled with a combination of chickpeas, potatoes, raw onions and spices. Shere Khan serves them with various sauces in test tubes surrounding a glass beaker full of dry ice that looked like a chemistry set!

Our main courses included a dish I don’t often see on most Indian menus, Navratan vegetable kofta curry (£13.95), which is deep-fried vegetable balls served in a korma-style sauce subtlety flavoured with coconut and cashew nuts. We also ordered Keralan fish curry (£15.95) and side orders of saffron rice and coconut rice (each £5.50) which tasted silky, a freshly made plain naan (£4) and a paneer kulcha which is basically a naan with onion and paneer cheese (£5.50), a perfect accompaniment. To drink we asked for a sweet lassi yoghurt drink (£9) and a cranberry juice (£4).

All this against a background soundtrack of Bollywood hits and Indian chart toppers. There was even live entertainment provided by a fire dancer and, at weekends, they sometimes also have magicians and live music.

Presentation of all the dishes and portion sizes was very good and the prices are good value too, considering the investment that has gone into setting up the restaurant.

The manager told us they wanted to offer “something special” in Ponders End as part of a chain of branches in Dubai, Sri Lanka and Feltham, which has a large Asian community. I recommend Shere Khan as a great dining experience.

Thanks to Dispatch reader John Deegan for the recommendation as well as his kind feedback on my review of Capital Restaurant in Edmonton in the January issue.

For more information about Shere Khan Restaurant including opening times:
Visit sherekhanrestaurant.com

Do you have any suggestions for restaurants in Enfield to review or feedback on the places Neil has already reviewed? He would love to hear from Dispatch readers:
Email [email protected]

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