Ruby M's

Ruby M's is an Indo-Chinese bar restaurant, opened in 1998. It's one of our favourite places on the Rayners Lane curry strip offering consistenly good food, service and great value.

The restaurant is split into a bar area to the left and to the right a large dinning area tastefully decorated in dark wood with booths and free standing tables that can be re-arranged for big groups. There are large flat screen TVs dotted throughout the restaurant, which are sure to be on and showing Bollywood films, Bolly music clips or sport. We much prefer the Bolly TV nights to the sport.

There's a large menu split into Indian food and Indian-Chinese food and they have chefs specialising in the two different types of cuisines. Indian Chinese cuisine is the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes. Indian Chinese cuisine is said to have been developed by the small Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for over a century. Today, the Chinese food has become an integral part of the Indian culinary scene. Indian-Chinese foods tend to be flavoured with spices such as cumin, coriander seeds, and turmeric, which with a few regional exceptions, are traditionally not associated with much of Chinese cuisine. Hot chilli, ginger, garlic and yogurt are also frequently used in dishes. Culinary styles you are sure to see at Rayners Lane restaurants offering Indian-Chinese fare include chilli (implying hot and batter-fried), Manchurian (implying a sweet and salty brown sauce), and Szechwan (usually spelled Schezuan in Indian Chinese cooking, implying a spicy red sauce). These correspond only loosely, if at all, with authentic Chinese food preparation. Soon after moving to Rayners Lane I ordered Manchurian cauliflower. It reminded me of a toffee apple, done with cauliflower with chilli added and served hot. I haven't ordered Indian-Chinese since.

At Ruby M's we stick to the Indian menu. On our most recent visit we started with daal bhajias and chicken tikka.  The daal dhajia were delicious spicy, crispy and crunchy lentil fritters with a nice chilli kick and at six balls it was a generous serving. The chicken tikka had been well-marinated with the flavours penetrating through the chicken. It was tender, spicy and delicious. At six peices it was another generous serving and the even number meant we didn't have to fight over the last bit. Past favourites from the Ruby M's start menu include stuffed mushrooms (mushrooms stuffed with herbs and spices marinated overnight and cooked in the tandoor), garlic mogo (cassava chips with garlic) and Ajwani paneer tikka (large peices of paneer cooked in the tandoor with tomatoes and peppers).

For the mains we had bhindi lamb (lamb with okra), chana masala (chickpeas in a tangy sauce), bangan bharta (mashed aubergine cooked with herbs and spices) chilli and garlic naan and jeera rice (basmati rice cooked with cumin seeds and curry leaves). Every dish was fantastic. The aubergine had a delicious smoky flavour, the lamb was tender and full of flavour and the chickpeas were incredibly moreish. We couldn't get through all of it so our waiter happily boxed up a doggy bag for us to take home. It was great value - all that food + a tasty bottle of Cassilero del Diablo sauvignon blanc for £50 with enough left overs for another full meal for two.

The chef oveseeing the Indian menu at Ruby M's, Mario Albuquerque, is from Goa so the menu also features a number of Goan dishes. From past visits we can recommend his coconut-flavoured Goan dishes including xacatti chicken, mixed veg caldin and Goan prawns.

Address: 466-468 Alexandra Avenue, Rayners Lane, Harrow HA2 9TL
T: 020 8429 3993  W: rubyms.com