I went to an Indo-Chinese restaurant, and it was honestly like something I had never seen before.

Dalchini is on 147 Arthur Road in Wimbledon, and I went there with my mum on Thursday, May 9.

From the second we walked in, Mihir, the manager, was extremely welcoming and friendly, and we felt at ease with him straight away.

But before we sat down, he asked us if we’d like to go downstairs to their new underground bar called the HOLYBREW Speakeasy Bar.

The Prohibition Era was a time when alcohol was illegal in the United States, which led to secret speakeasy bars being created.

Like speakeasy bars at the time, Dalchini’s HOLYBREW Speakeasy Bar was hidden in plain sight where the door could have easily been mistaken for the wall.

The speakeasy had a real jazzy, Bugsy Malone-feel, as well as being extremely luxurious with several premium alcohol bottles encased in glass enclosures.

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The bartender took around 10 minutes to prepare our drinks, however once they arrived we understood based on their quality and flavour.

After enjoying the speakeasy atmosphere, we returned upstairs to order dinner.

For the starter, we ordered chilli garlic potatoes and crispy aromatic duck pancakes.

The way Dalchini managed to make a simple British dish of chips into a spicy, sticky and sweet dish was absolutely perfect.

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The best part of it was when I chose to randomly create my own little fusion by placing some of the chips in my pancake with duck, hoisin sauce, and shredded cucumbers and spring onions – and that was only the starter.

Dalchini had a great way of spacing out the time between our starters and main course, allowing visitors to not be too full.

Almost everything at Dalchini is homemade, making it feel much more personal.

For my main, I ordered Chicken Mandurian and my mum had the Ginger Chicken.

The Chicken Mandurian was succulent boneless chicken in a soy sauce, flavoured with minced garlic, onions and green chilli, which is an Indo-Chinese must have, while the Ginger Chicken was chicken tossed with their chef’s special spicy, aromatic root ginger sauce, which was a perfect mix of sweet and spicy.

After our tasty mains, we just had to try Dalchini’s desserts.

My mum ordered what Dalchini called their “Drunk and Drive” which was pineapple cremeux, with coconut moouse, Malibu Rum and pineapple Drissels.

Her dessert was a perfect end to a heavy meal; not too heavy and the icing on the cake.

I had Dalchini’s Feel The Classic Tiramisu, which was sweet mascarpone (Italian cream cheese), savoiardi (ladyfingers) with coffee.

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Overall, the experience at Dalchini was unforgettable, and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to experience India, China, and the Prohibition Era all in one night.