Ifield work
Andrew Kay crosses the South Downs for a memorable Indian at Zari
How many times do I hear my friends say ‘Andrew, you go too far!’. And how often they are right. I do have a tendency to go over the top. My dear friend, and wait for the clang as I name drop, Barry Humphries, once told a national radio audience that I lived there. We had that kind of a friendship back then, him dressed as Dame Edna and me a few paces behind taking the flack.
When it comes to good food though, I happen to think that there is no such thing as too far. I would fly to Venice any day for fritto misto and fegato, I would face the deadly journey to St Helens for a Birchalls pork pie and press on to Morecambe for some brown shrimps had I the time.
Last month, I was driven to Ifield on the outskirts of Crawley by my old mate Ms M. She had insider info on an Indian restaurant that was getting much attention, so I agreed to join her on a jolly through the snow-capped Downs. Despite the weather and getting lost for a while, the journey only took us 30 minutes, which is nothing when you think how far I am prepared to go.
On arriving we found ourselves in the middle of a huge housing development that spanned decades of styles from 50s to the present, and the map on my phone told us to halt at a rather unprepossessing parade of shops. We tottered across the icy pavements to the entrance to Zari only to be reminded that one should never judge a book by its cover, a sad thought for me as I designed book covers for 16 years.
Inside Zari is a revelation. Beautifully designed and decorated, the bar swans along the middle of the restaurant and above a curtain of fine voile which makes a soft screen from the main dining room. To the left is the bar area you can have drinks, cocktails and eat from a menu of Indian street foods. We sat a while and I drank a much needed G&T. Pretty soon the place began to fill up, slowly to start and then in a great rush of teenage boys from a school some eight miles away. Time to take our table and order I thought and a wise decision it was too before they put in their massive order.
A very elegant waiter in a beautiful uniform took us to our table, the best spot in the room from where we could observe all that was going on. He armed us with menus and left us to make our decisions.
The first thing I spotted was the proliferation of healthy choice badges posted against the dishes. Someone was doing some serious work here to make this food appealing. I then spotted numerous references to local sourcing and not just lip service but references to suppliers, pretty impressive stuff. Moments later two tiny appetisers arrived looking like something from a Michelin chef’s cook-book. I ate both as Ms M is a fish eating vegetarian. Poppadoms came with home made apple chutney, chilli jam and mint yoghurt which I think also had rose water in it, and very nice that was too.
But on to our meal proper. Ms M chose flash grilled cottage cheese, halloumi and curried apple piccata which was as pretty as a picture and equally delicious, she declared. My stir-fried spiced crab with coconut, avocado salsa and curry leaf-oil was superb, a mix of dark and white meat, perfectly ripe avocado, and just the right amount of spice to tantalise, but not burn the tongue.
Pan-seared Monkfish tail in Bengali style Kasundi mustard sauce, roasted red onion, baby corn and red peppers was next for the lovely Ms M and I have to admit that I looked on with envy as she tucked into the thick slices of fish and the prettily arranged side dishes that came with it.
I went for a combo of healthy choice and local produce with a venison jungle curry. Well it had to be done and I’m very glad of it. The meat was ‘falling apart’ tender but packed with gamey flavour despite being heavily spiced. The intensely dark and rich sauce was also lightened by the finest shreds of uncooked fresh ginger that ran through it like seems of gold. I’ve never seen that before but it’s an idea I will be stealing when I next make a dark meat casserole. On the side I had an excellent roomali roti and a good saag aloo. I drank one Tiger beer and felt no need nor desire to have any more.
Desserts were equally tempting and beautifully arranged when they arrived. Ms M had kulfi, a fine saffron flavoured ice-cream that they make in the kitchen. I was pretty full after my venison and chose three of their home-made sorbets. The passion fruit was intense, the coconut fresh and clean but the big hit was strawberry with red chilli. Wow, how that combination worked, and especially with the other two.
To say I was impressed would be understating the case. Zari is immaculate from the moment you walk in to the spotless facilities. I even had a tour of the kitchen which was clean enough to use as an operating theatre, and probably less chance of getting MRSA.
The place was busy too, on a foul midweek evening at the beginning of February. The owners should be, and rightly so, very proud of their stylish restaurant, despite not being in the most prestigious location, it was busy and popular. Zari wins awards and deserves to. But awards mean nothing if you have no customers. They have and they deserve many more. I would certainly give it tops marks on every level including price which was surprisingly affordable with our starters both costing under £6 and our main dishes £12.95 and £13.95 respectively, and they were perhaps the most expensive dishes on the menu, there were many main dishes for around £7. So how far would I go? Well at least over the hills to Ifield.
Zari, 214 Ifield Drive, Ifield, Crawley, West Sussex ,RH11 0DQ, 01293 525107, www.zarirestaurant.co.uk
