Halal Chai and Desserts for Ruislip

Take the road rather than the rail. Ruislip and Ruislip Manor sit on the Uxbridge branch, which splits off the main Metropolitan line at Harrow-on-the-Hill, so getting to Northwood Hills by train involves going the wrong way first. In the car it is short enough that a group can agree on it without a debate. Aim for Joel Street, where there is free and pay-and-display parking along the parade and on the side roads behind it. Evenings are the busy window, so if you are arriving as a party of eight in three cars, allow a couple of minutes to sort yourselves out. The H11 and 282 stop on Joel Street outside the door if some of your group would rather come by bus, and the TfL app will tell you the current route. The shop is opposite Northwood Hills station, which is the easiest landmark to navigate to.

This is where the trip earns itself. The Family Platter is £49.95 and includes four samosas, four seekh kebabs, two biryanis, two loaded chips, any two fresh parathas and four mocktails, which covers a table without anyone having to order individually. The Family Lunch is £29.95 for two jackets with two toppings, any two paninis, four canned drinks and two cookie doughs. If you would rather everyone chose for themselves, chicken biryani is £7.95 and limited daily, chicken curry and rice is £6.95, and the Healthy Munchbox of shredded tandoori-style chicken on pilau rice with salad and white sauce is £6.95. Veg biryani is £5.95. The biryani is limited daily, so on a busy Saturday it can run out, which is one more argument for arriving before the evening rush rather than after it. Mocktails are £5.95, including the blue lagoon and the passion breeze, and because no alcohol is served anywhere in the building the final bill on a group night out looks nothing like it would elsewhere.

Be honest with yourself about numbers. The room has big tables and booths, but they go on a Friday and Saturday evening, and the most consistent complaint in the shop public reviews is that service slows when it is full. Both of those problems are solved by the same phone call. Ring 01923 918456, or fill in the enquiry form on the contact page with your date, how many people and anything else the team should know. The kitchen also does catering, family platters and Iftar boxes, and for a large order the more notice you give the better it goes. If you are planning a birthday, say so when you call rather than on arrival. None of this needs a deposit or a formal system, it just needs the team to know you are coming, which is the difference between arriving to a table and arriving to a queue.

The desi street food counter is the part of the menu built for sharing across a table. Samosa chaat is £6.95, a samosa smashed and layered with chickpeas, yoghurt, tamarind and house chutney, topped with mint, sev, coriander and chaat spices, with cheese for 50p more. Pani puri is £5.95 for six. The Bombay grilled sandwich is £5.45 and vadapav is £4.95. Samosas are £3.95 for two, meat or veg. Then the dessert end: gulab jamun with ice cream at £5.95, gajar halwa with ice cream at £5.95, falooda at £4.50, kheer at £4.95 and paan at £2.95, alongside a variety box of five donuts for £7.95 if you want something for the drive back. Everything on the menu is halal, marked vegetarian dishes carry a V, and the shop serves until eleven at night, midnight on Friday and Saturday.