Yaal Express in Harrow

Went for dinner with OH and kids. As soon as we stepped through the door, we were greeted by the friendly staff who carefully explained the menu, showing us pictures too. They advised on the heat level of the dishes, suggested what to try, and even gave me a sample of the nethali (small dried fish, aka ikan bilis), which brought back me back to my childhood 😀 The dishes arrived as soon as they were ready,  and they were devoured the moment they were set down. For starters, we had dry lamb, chicken 64, and mutton rolls - all get the thumbs up. For mains, we had butter chicken, thumbs up again (don't expect this to be like the Indian butter chicken - it isn't). For the nasi goreng, the cook adjusted the heat to a milder heat for my OO, though he still found it spicy (his tolerance is rubbish at best!!). Despite this, he absolutely loved it and insisted on finishing his dish and everyone's drinks along the way! The prawn sambal was as hot as promised, and it certainly delivered! I never learn. Poor OO gets his low tolerance from me. The sambal was creamier than I expected. Most sambals that I've had were more tomato-y, but again, the flavours were delicious. OH had the chicken varuval and loved everything about it, I had a nibble and had to concur. Throughout the meal, the staff would check in with us to make sure everything was ok, and they would have a bit of a joke with the kids. At the end of our meal, we were presented with a coconut and jaggery hopper - not only yummy, yummy yummy but calmed my sizzling tongue!. The perfect ending to a delicious meal. We all had an enjoyable time, the customer service was faultless, and everyone was so friendly. It felt like being welcomed into a favourite relatives' house where you're greeted with warmth, the food feels like a hug, and you leave with a happy smile and full belly. Definitely worth a visit.

Lamb Biryani was very good with a good portion of tender chunks of marinated lamb.

"Hi, I recently dined at your restaurant and had a wonderful experience! The ambiance was cozy and the service was top-notch. Our attendant Punitha was attentive and knowledgeable about the menu.

Ten family and friends went for an early dinner to celebrate a birthday. We ordered the drinks and when the waiter was delivering them to the table he dropped the complete tray load of drinks over two guests absolutely drenching them in beer and wine. The two guests had to go home to change clothes. The waiter apologised and brought kitchen roll to soak up the mess he had made. The food arrived very quickly to quickly in fact, it was rushed to get us served so they could prepare the table for more guests, it was chaos to put it mildly. When we went to settle the bill they had added the service charge on. Asked to speak to the manager but he was not available. All in all the food was ok the service was very poor indeed. Would we go back, unfortunately no. Full of very young rowdy people, prefer somewhere with better clientele and less manic.

I recently used Meeting Palace to provide the catering for an event for 120 people. They supplied a selection of vegan and chicken curries with rice, naan, poppadoms and salad. The food was delicious and I received very positive feedback from the guests.