Culinary Culver City: Samosa House offers all-in-one

The full name of this establishment is the Samosa House and Bharat Bazaar, which should offer some clues that there’s more to be seen here than simply the tasty food. There’s a store that sells all manner of Indian ornaments, books, CDs, DVDs and much more.

The smell of incense is strong and would be extremely welcome were it not for the fact that the place is also a restaurant and the perfume of the smoke drowns out the wonderful spices.

There’s also a grocery section that, obviously, sells mostly Indian goods though, this writer being English, it was exciting to see an extensive selection of British goods. The dessert treats and produce section alone is enough to keep you browsing for a long while.

But onto the main event.

The restaurant is cafeteria-style, which is fine. It’s also served in cardboard trays, which is also fine. This is a place where the food is pretty cheap, and seems authentic. The amount of Indian people eating in the place would attest to that.

It might not look pretty – it’s kind of slopped into the tray with little regard for the little separated areas – but it tastes very good. We opted for the three-dish combination plate, with brown rice. It comes with a yogurt side, and choice of naan or chapati bread. We took the chapatti, because it didn’t sound as heavy. We were right – the bread is light and warm, and perfect for mopping up curry sauces.