Gurkhas Diner

It may be billed as a ‘Diner’, but this popular Nepalese corner spot on Balham High Road is more serious than that. Some find the lighting a bit bright, although smiling staff and a soundtrack of folksy native music create just the right mood for some excellent-value authentic food. Everyone orders the momo cha (juicy steamed dumplings served with a pot of sweet-and-sour achaar sauce), but the menu is chock full of good things, from curries of richly spiced pokhoreli lamb or creamy prawn asworya (‘favoured by young princes for their romantic nights out’, apparently), to Nepalese-style noodle dishes. To drink, most thirsty locals plump for a bottle of traditional Khukuri beer.