While the Indian restaurants we have tend to trade for many, many years – it’s surprisingly rare to see a completely new entrant. Lavender Hill’s recently opened Himalayan Salt is maybe the exception: having opened just a couple of months ago, it has already made an impact, and established itself as a popular and busy venue with strong reviews, attracting customers from well beyond the immediate neighbourhood. The menu’s a mix of the classics, and some more unusual options – with a mix of dishes from the Himalayas all the way to the coast, including a wide range from the grill, as well as a respectable set of vegetarian specialities. The restaurant may be new but the team behind it is not, with quite a lot of previous culinary experience brought to the new venture, including at the well-reputed Holy Cow in Putney.

The premises were closed for quite some time prior to the grand opening, to allow for a complete makeover of both the front and the back of house – which proved quite an adventure with some of the key components arriving at the eleventh hour! It was clearly worth the wait and the investment though, as for those who remember it as it used to be it’s been quite a change of style. The dining room now has a cosy sophisticated feel, with rich dark green walls, new wooden flooring and banquette seating and seating for around 40; with the salt in the name echoed in the form of table lights. The front has smaller tables around the bar, which has everything you would expect on offer, and Cobra on tap, while the main space – up a few steps and deeper in the building – is flexible to accommodate a good range of table sizes.

For many, many years this was a traditional Portuguese restaurant, Costa do Estoril. Not the tourist style restaurant, but the real deal that you’d find rather out of the way in small towns, not much to look at but highly rated on the food. The team behind Costa do Estoril went on to open Grill on the Hill a few doors down, who are still very much in business, and the original premises then had a brief time (only a year or so) as Moto, a sushi restaurant. The current owners have really worked with the space, to turn it in to something different.

At the back the kitchen (which still has a window to the dining area, preserved from the days when tis was a sushi restaurant) so you can sometimes see preparation underway) has also been modernised and upgraded to the latest standard – which may also have helped Himalayan Salt acquire a 5-star food hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency at the end of October.

Reviews have quickly come in with a fair few repeat customers – and they’re consistent in recognising the excellent service, and the delicious food – which is widely recognised as being very much a cut above your standard Indian restaurant, full of flavour and beautifully presented. Pricing wise this is outstanding value compared to some of the Northcote Road options, slightly more expensive than nearest neighbour palace Spice, slightly less than Blossom by Khan’s.

One question that can arise in trying a new Indian restaurant is where it sits on the spice-o-meter; we can confirm that this is broadly ‘medium’ – the ingredients in play here are clearly good quality and haven’t been overloaded in spice, to let the underlying flavours and ingredients do the talking. Special marks (which your author can confirm) for the sauces and chutneys accompanying the starters, and some flatbreads that go well above what one might expect. Kulfi and Gulab Jamun are also on offer as a dessert.

Takeaway is of course on offer (and to ensure everything makes it in mint condition sealed containers are used rather than the more traditional plastic boxes), as well as an in-house delivery service, as well as all the usual third party delivery services. But if you’ve not been we’d suggest you visit – to meet the enthusiastic and committed team behind this new venture, and get the full experience as Himalayan Salt establishes itself as a key part of Lavender Hill’s ever growing set of restaurants.

Himalayan Salt is at 117 Lavender Hill, Battersea, London SW11 5QL (between Stormont Road and the Battersea Business Centre), and at the time of writing is open daily from 5pm. Tel. 020 3589 7429. Takeaways available by ordering directly, and also via Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats. Lavender-hill.uk posts from time to time on retail developments in the Lavender Hill area of Battersea, London – with occasional more detailed articles on local history, and other subjects of wider community interest. If you found this interesting you may want to see other recent posts on local retail and on food and drink.