One for the food lovers?

The Hason Raja's namesake was apparently a 19th Century Bangladeshi poet-cum-playboy, who loved a bit of drama and romance.

Whether this Southampton Row restaurant would have suited his playboy lifestyle is doubtful - there's no leopard-print, low-lighting or Barry White music and the surroundings don't exactly scream seduction.

Instead the pale green walls, illuminated blue backdrop and gentle background music are more soothing than sexy, providing an antidote to the more hot and spicy options on the menu.

The Hason Raja runs like clockwork, with immaculately-dressed tables and waiters who glide in and out effortlessly, if slightly over-eagerly, to top-up glasses, rearrange cutlery and fluff the napkins.

Owner Rafu Miah's has put 30 years experience in the business to use creating a new menu of Indian and Bangladeshi food and diners are spoilt for choice with the results, though vegetarians may feel a little overlooked - apart from the side dishes, we could only spot three meat-free options, two of which were starters.

From this section we opted for the marinated prawns, which were lightly battered and delicately flavoured. The dried plum filling of the vegetable and yam patties was an excellent complement to the savoury casing and came with a fiery dip for added kick.

For the main course, we tested the manager's promise to prepare a favourite dish on request. They managed to whip-up our choice in record time from the vaguest of descriptions and although it perhaps needed a little extra sauce, the meat was just the right tenderness.

The accompanying dishes of mushroom and basmati rice with peas, eggs, almonds and cashew nuts were light, full of flavour and were supplied in more than adequate portions. But the memorable moment came in the form of a light and fluffy Peswari naan, with a melt-in-the-mouth filling of ground almond and cream.

Sadly, the variety of ice cream desserts are of the manufactured, pre-prepared variety. If you want something sweet to finish off with, try the liquer coffee flavoured with Tia Maria or whisky and sipped through a layer of thick cream — sinful but by the time you’ve worked your way through such a generous meal you'll be way past calorie counting.

Hason Raja will celebrate Diwali from Monday 8th November to Friday 12th November, by welcoming all their customers with a complimentary Diwali cocktail. The restaurant will be lit with candles and floating Diwali flowers and customers will be treated to gifts of bangles and bindis. For those that would like to leave with something unique a henna artist will be available on the night of Diwali, Friday 12th November, providing intricate mehndi designs.

Hason Raja
Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4BB