Not sure what to order? Simple. Order everything!

You’re on a hot date, you’re both sizzling with passion, the food certainly matches the mood, but once you’ve left the restaurant, it’s not the bedroom but the restroom you want to be heading for. It’s this precise reason that most of us bypass the Indian restaurant when we have an evening of activities to follow, but then that’s only because you’ve never come across anything quite like Imli before.

With a menu based on the principle of tapas and dim sums – bitesize portions of a little bit of everything – it means you not only eat at a pace that suits you and an amount just right for you, your taste buds are treated to one mouth-watering sensation after another.

And what treats they are too.

Designed by the Michelin Star winning chef of Tamarind, every dish – generous in size, immaculately presented and at a price that belies its Soho surroundings – is an award winner. We tried pretty much everything on the menu – from the mushroom tikki, fenugreek wrap and amritsari fish to the chicken haryali, prawn pav and the saunfiya lamb – all cooked to perfection and designed to instantly melt in the mouth. And their desserts, a far cry from the supermarket sorbets and the phallic kulfis we’re all accustomed to, are like little pots of heaven – we defy you to try the raspberry and black salt sorbet or the fig and ginger ice cream and not turn into a ball of elated mush.

The beauty of Imli is that, even though it follows the Wagamama principle of sit, eat and go, there is no sign that they want you to leave in a hurry. The multi-cultural staff explain the menu with the zest of someone who created the dishes themselves and your plates are only removed when you’ve wiped it clean. We loved the fact that, unlike other swish eateries that think it’s hip to set the scene with an upbeat soundtrack (which subliminally makes you eat faster), there is no music – only the sound of people enjoying what they came here to do: ooh and aah over the wonderful food in an intimate surrounding.

It’s not de rigeur for a reviewer to cite any one restaurant as the best restaurant of them all, but forget tradition – Imli is the best Indian restaurant you’ll ever go to. Take your family, take your friends, and for goodness sake, take a date.

Trust us, you’ll get lucky…