Dinner at April 20 Patnem, India

Patnem, India

There are a lot of good restaurants on Patnem Beach. Even with 3 months to spare you are not going to eat everything on offer at all of them. Probably, the best Indian restaurant on the beach is April 20. It does offer a selection of non Indian food too, but its great strength lies in the veg and non-veg curries and tandoori offerings. Service is rather stylish. Gin & tonics come with a glass bowl of lime slices and a slivered bucket of mineral water ice. Portions are generous. There is an element of presentation on the plate. Quite hard to achieve with Indian food. I don’t believe I have ever had a bad meal here.
So, tonight 9 of us rolled down to the beach and dinner at April 20. I had Dal Balti. This is a concoction of 5 beans and lentils in a rich gravy topped with some cheese and served in a stainless steel and copper “bucket”. It is absolutely delicious and a meal in itself. No need to order anything else. Bob had mutton roghan josh, plain rice and a butter garlic naan. Spicy but very good. I had two g&ts (doubles), and Bob had a g&t and a beer. It all came to about £10. Couldn’t have eaten another thing. Janet had a chick pea masala with the most yummy garlic cheese naan. I could have willingly just eaten that alone. Lots of other dishes on the table. Memorable was John’s butter, cheese and olive naan. Unusual in an Indian meal but it really worked.
One night soon we will have to go into Palolem and eat at Dropadi which is the prizewinning big sister of April 20. Almost the same menu but with an open kitchen theatre and a very lively, buzzy atmosphere.
The weather is heating up. Definitely hotter today.