Going to Goa in Plumstead

This review was published in July 2001

Travel east: go past Surrey Quays, past Greenwich, past the Thames Barrier and just before you fall off the edge of the A-Z map, you will come to Plumstead, SE18, not a postcode most people see much of. At number 136 on the High Street is an impossibly small - 14 cramped seats - and implausibly cheap restaurant.

Goan Cuisine looks like a jumped-up takeaway, which is probably because Goan Cuisine is a jumped-up takeaway, but it is also a family-run place serving amazing, home-style Goan food. If you are a lover of rich, genuine, unpretentious dishes, you should set your sights on the east and start off now.

The starters are simple. Go straight for the patties (£2 for four). These are rather like spring rolls with a good, rich, lamb filling and a delicate pastry. The accompanying green chutney - finely ground coriander, coconut, tamarind water, jaggery (a coarse brown sugar) - gets an unequivocal 'best ever' tag. You can use up the chutney with the potato 'chops' (£2 for four). These are the size and shape of ice-hockey pucks. Break through the crisp coat and a layer of decent mashed potato, and there's savoury lamb mince in the middle.

The mains are a revelation. Ordering Goan sausage (£4.25) brings a bowl with several lengths of robust sausage and a thin, red gravy that has a tang of palm vinegar to vie with the chilli heat and onions. Fish lovers will approve of the amot tik (£3.75), which is a sour and hot curry made from chunks of 'rock fish' (who knows?) with tamarind, chilli and kokum - those little, dark, dried, sour plums. Or there's mackerel rechard (£4) - a whole mackerel stuffed with a spicy masala and pan-fried. King fish caldeen (£4) is chunky white fish in a rich gravy flavoured with coconut and coriander seeds.

For meat, turn to ardd mass (£4.25) - little chunks of pork (on the bone and complete with fatty bits and skin) have been cooked slowly in a rich gravy, and, although this is not a hot dish, a delightful spiciness comes through. The 'dish of dishes' is the sorpotel (£3.75). It is amazing. The meat is diced finely and includes representatives from almost every corner of the pig; doubtless there are lots of bits in there you'd rather not know about.

Everything is cooked slowly in a sauce made with palm vinegar, chillies, garlic and ginger. The resulting dish is so very good that you seriously consider cancelling everything else and ordering a couple more portions. It's worth trying the sannas (£2 for four) by way of accompaniment. These are airy cakes (hockey pucks again) of steamed rice - great for mopping up gravy.

For refreshment, you have the run of a large refrigerator which contains various beers and dodgy bottles of arak. There is also a Goan spirit that is spoken of in hushed tones by the hardest of hard drinkers: caju feni (which translates as raw rubbing alcohol with rotting cashew nuts). Goan Cuisine is a terrific restaurant. It's too small, too cheap and way, way too good to be hidden away out east.

Goan Cuisine
136 Plumstead High Street, SE18