Eat like a queen for £20 in London
And how not to do the 'retail experience'
I buy most of my clothes from charity shops, thrift apps and most of my toiletries online. Today I was in Borough meeting a friend, and we thought we’d go into a skincare shop, because, you know, let’s have a wander around, try the products, a ‘face to face retail experience’ like in the olden days, or something. Well now.
We entered an austere room painted in sombre colours, with all the bottles and tubes neatly arranged on the shelves, no testers in sight. Exposed brick, dun-coloured shelving, distressed heirlooms kind-of-vibe. A bored looking salesperson wearing all black, presumably in a corset, loomed towards us, looking concerned.
“Can I advise you on the perfumes,” they barked. I felt startled, ambushed. Everything in the shop cost at least £60 and I only wanted to wander around. We declined the offer and continued to look at the products, while the salesperson watched us from the counter like a hawk. My friend wanted hand cream, but we couldn’t find anything on display, everything looked out of reach. Eventually the salesperson revealed that they did stock two hand creams, but we’d have to sample them from their big dispenser bottles. We approached like two naughty schoolgirls, while they dispensed a tiny squidge of cream onto our outstretched hands, supervising while we rubbed it in. It smelled a bit like petrol and dried mixed herbs. “Patchouli?” they barked, brandishing a second pump bottle for another tiny blob of product. “No thanks, I don’t really get on with it,” I replied. The atmosphere radiated heavy pressure and light menace.
Unprompted, my friend and I just looked at each other and simultaneously propelled ourselves out of the shop, towards the light. We burst out laughing, delighted with our freedom, the customer service having all the charm of a punch to the face, and the high-faluting products elevated to nonsense in their ‘turd’ coloured packaging. I then sent my friend a link to the same hand cream on eBay for half the price, and a photo of some poppies I spied on my way home, as an uplifting antidote to the retail gulag.
Anyway, if you want a slap-up and very delicious lunch in central London where you’d struggle to spend £20, may I recommend Ravishankar on Drummond Street in Euston. It’s amazing - four of us sampled the vegetarian buffet lunch last weekend and it was pure joy. The buffet table extends into the far distance, like an edible stairway to heaven. I ate three plates of savoury mains (salads, then curries, then a dosa plate), a dessert plate and a chai, and it came to £20 including service. Everything was delicious. The venue is unpretentious with jolly red tables and chairs. We stayed for several hours, and nobody made us feel like we had to move on. My friend said she’d been going there for years, and back in the day, she got student discount, making it cheaper to eat there than at home…
Can I just say, the samosas are ridiculously good - plump cushions filled with potatoes and cinnamon. I could have eaten 20.
All so fresh and full of wonderful flavours.
The dish to the bottom right of the photo above was an intriguing and addictive dish made with black chickpeas and slow cooked onion.
The dhal, saag paneer and the fluffy/crispy naan breads were particular highlights. Plus a bazillion chutneys to choose from.
Heart be still - tis the pudding station!!!
Rice pudding flavoured with cardamom, carrot halwa fudge, gulab jamun syrup-soaked sponge balls!