Fine Indian Dining - great food and great staff I called the restaurant to make a booking - except my query was for an out of hours booking. As there were 9 of us, the restaurant owner, Pratik, agreed to put on a special private dining event for a Monday lunchtime for us. For this I was very grateful. As it was a working lunch, we only wanted a two course meal. Lilu's delighted us with an 'Indian Banquet Meal'. The ambience of Lilu's is lovely. I had been on one prior occasion for dinner (more on that later), and knew that the venue was clean, cosy, comfortable. The decor is neither kitsch nor uber modern, it is a restaurant styled with modern furniture but with a friendly vibe with wooden floors and subtle wall art. So that main event... The Indian Banquet Meal... Starters came with Paneer Tikka, Chicken Tikka and Lamb Chop. The vegan option was Aloo Tikki Chaat. And for good measure a mandatory samosa. Presented on individual plates, these starters kicked off the afternoon very nicely. My eight guests were just taken away with each. The paneer was smooth to cut and the marinade of tikka had both the light kick and freshness needed to make your mouth wanting more. And you did get more, with the chicken piece. Marinaded the same, the chicken was consumed so quickly by all, the only disappointment being that they couldn't have more - they would have spoiled their dinner. The Lamb chop has a nice crispness and a soft centre, just the contrast needed. Available were also a range of pickles which included mango, onion, mint yoghurt, coriander and a kind of pineapple achchar. Of course these also came with a fresh poppadom! These pickles were awesome, giving the right edges of sweet and spice to the starters and the poppadom. The little details matter, each of us were served a fruit juice of mango and strawberry to accompany. It had that, I wish I could somehow make it look like that at home look. Served in a champagne flute complete with pomegranate seeds. Then came the mains...they served as we needed - in balti dishes so we could share the dishes and not overfill our plates. Mains comprised of Lamb Rogan Josh, Butter Chicken, Kidney Beans Curry and Soya Keema Curry, with naan and rice. There was silence at the table at this point. That moment when the group is so focussed on the food that even conversation takes a side road. It was very difficult for the group to decide which of the Chicken or Lamb dishes gave them their fix. The party I was with were from Mumbai, they are used to eating Indian food. When you hear comments like, 'Oh my God, that chicken was something else' and 'My goodness that is perhaps the best lamb I've had', to 'I've got to stop eating but I can't it's too good', I guess I should be a proud Leicesterian when I prance about all over the place saying how good Leicester food really is. The butter chicken was delicate, just as you need it to be, the taste is in the aroma before it even enters your mouth. And the lamb had the delicate spices lifting the meat onto the pallet. The kidney beans were a favourite with the rice, just a lovely gravy to go with it. The earthy Soya Keema provided a lovely contrast. The staff were incredibly attentive, kind and accommodating. Our guests were suitably relaxed to be able to have the work conversation without feeling at pressure at all. I had once visited the restaurant with my wife for an evening meal where I had rocked up without much of a reservation and they catered for our dietary requirements. This is how gourmet food is approached at Lilu's. They treat you as house guests enquiring about your comfort and trying very hard to ensure your meal with them is as individual as it can be in a restaurant environment. If you go in the evening, make it the only thing you do. We were there 2.5 hours on that occasion. That's a dining experience...! Thank you for a lovely afternoon of food, and thank you for catering so effortlessly.