Ganapati

Ganapati in Peckham wins both my 'Indian of the week' award and may well also be heading for some gongs in my end of year awards. I went there for Jake's birthday and we ate 'family style' on tables of six, where we shared the main dishes, though we each had a thali plate with rice, poppadom, a delicious chilli salad, and a nifty personalised name badge courtesy of Rebs.

One of the things I liked most about the place was that it was cool, but not in a flash London way, but more like a treasured backstreets restaurant in somewhere like Montpellier in Bristol. It has that nice chilled-out-verging-on-stoner feel to it, with Indian etchings on the wall, relaxed staff and a low-key good-time feel. Of course all this would be for naught if the food was not good and it is just excellent: good daal (if not quite as fine as Wednesday's), a yummy coconut dish, and an absolutely stunning beetroot dish, which was one of the finest things I've eaten all your. I will admit that I was totally seduced by the deep purple of this dish - and quite pissed on some cocktails and amazing beers from London's Meantime brewing company - but there was something subtly moreish about the beetroot and I intend to return to work my way properly through the menu. Any takers?