Halal Chai and Desserts for Rickmansworth

The order of stations from Rickmansworth towards London is Moor Park, Northwood, then Northwood Hills, so it is three stops. The catch is a real one and worth reading before you travel: some Metropolitan line services run fast between Moor Park and Harrow-on-the-Hill and do not call at Northwood, Northwood Hills or Pinner at all. Check the platform indicator lists Northwood Hills before you board, and if it does not, wait for the next one rather than end up in Harrow. Once you are off the train there is no second leg, because the shop faces the station. If you would rather drive, it is a straightforward run south and there is free and pay-and-display parking along Joel Street and the side roads behind the parade. The H11 and the 282 stop directly outside, though from Rickmansworth the train or the car will be quicker.

Nobody travels three stops for a cup of tea they could make at home, so here is the honest pitch. This is a chai house first: karak chai at £3.25 for a small and £3.50 for a regular, brewed strong and milky, sugar-free if you want it, and karak coffee at the same price for anyone who wants the coffee and the chai in one cup. Alongside it is a South Asian street food menu that is not easy to find north of here, and a dessert counter that runs well past the point most kitchens have closed. Everything is halal, the whole menu rather than part of it, and no alcohol is served anywhere in the building. If you are coming out from Hertfordshire on a Friday evening, the practical draw is that the shop is still going at eleven when the trip back is still easy.

Samosa chaat at £6.95 is the dish to lead with: a samosa smashed and layered with chickpeas, yoghurt, tamarind and the house chutney, topped with mint, sev, coriander and chaat spices, with cheese for 50p more. Pani puri is £5.95 for six crisp puris with homemade mint pani and sweet tamarind chutney. Vadapav is £4.95 and the Bombay grilled sandwich is £5.45, both vegetarian. If you want something more substantial after the journey, the keema paratha is £6.95, rolled and griddled to order and served with yoghurt and pickle, and the chicken biryani is £7.95 and limited daily, so it is worth ordering early in the evening rather than late. Loaded chips are £6.95 under chicken, keema or paneer with cheese, jalapeños and house sauces, and spring rolls are £3.95 for three in veg or chicken. Vegetarian dishes are marked with a V throughout and there are plenty of them, so a mixed group is not left picking at sides.

Leave room, because the dessert counter is the part people describe on the way back. The Matilda cake is £6.95, hot, with custard or ice cream for £1.50 more. Brownies with ice cream are £6.95 and apple crumble with custard is £6.95. Gulab jamun with ice cream is £5.95 and falooda is £4.50. The donuts are fried fresh in store and are the most mentioned thing in the shop reviews, at £1.95 each, £7.95 for a variety box of five and £14.95 for a box of twelve, which is the size that survives a train journey and gets shared out at the other end. Kunafa milkcake is £7.50. Timing matters more from Rickmansworth than from anywhere closer, so check the last train before you order a third round of chai, and remember the shop itself runs until eleven, or midnight on Friday and Saturday.