Delhi Grill - A Revisit

We haven’t eaten at the Delhi Grill for a long time now, it seem to reach such a high status with some bloggers that when I ate there, well I was kinda let down, but then I realized all those who praised it actually ate there on a freebie. I learnt my lesson.

But I also ate there after an extensities trip through India and to be honest the food at Delhi Grill was pretty below par after sampling great food for several weeks.

Indian @ Sheba Brick Lane

I’ve never actually eaten at an Indian restaurant on Brick Lane before, as from what everyone who has eaten there has told me, it’s for groups and tourists. If you know curry you give this street a miss.

So when I got an invitation to sample the food at Sheba I was a little shy of saying yes. But in the end I decided what the heck let’s see if it’s as bad as everyone says.

I normally never down that way at night, mainly because I hate to run the gauntlet down Brick Lane, running past and dodging all the restaurant touts.

Tayyabs – A disappointing Return

I do not know what has happened to Tayyabs, maybe it was just a one off or maybe this is how a stalwart has lost its magic and sadly gone downhill.

I must be the only person in London who has never actually had to queue up to get a table here.

As we entered the restaurant the warmth met our poor freezing bodies and I was content to stand under the heater for a while. Sadly this wasn’t to be as we were shown our table more or less straight away.

Newly printed and vinyl menus were laid on our table with some papadums and chutneys. I like that these are offered free of charge, no the norm in most Indian restaurants.

The chutneys I have to admit though were not very good. The obligatory mango chutney was as if it had been passed through a chinoise and it lacked any real depth of flavour.

The raita was ok, nicely seasoned. The other I am not sure what it was. I only tried it once as it left a not to nice taste in my mouth.

As always with Tayyabs you have to have the lamb chops. I’ve not had better anywhere in London and one day I promised myself just to eat about 10 plates of them just for me.

This visit however, they were of a particular bad quality. I am used to the meat falling off the bone, this time it was actually chewy. What happened. Had they not marinated them long enough, was it low quality meat or had the chef really not given a fuck that day and couldn’t be arsed to do them properly.

I was gutted. It was like going to a Michelin starred restaurant and being served a burger still in its golden arched wrapper. They had slapped me in the face and called me Shirley.

Our mains of a Karahi Ghost (lamb), saag allo and my old favourite Keema Naan. All were good except the saag allo, the spinach was very grainy and had an odd texture to it. The lamb was melt in the mouth soft and the gravy had a piquancy to it. Still good.

I’m glad we never ordered more, as the tables seemed to have shrunk in size and were more or less attaché to the tables adjacent. We were more or less eating off our neighbour’s plates.

I also noticed the service was a tad quicker now. All the waiters running around handing out menus, taking orders, delivering food, clearing tables, putting bills in front of you, dispensing change and waving goodbye to you as you left.

I felt as if we had just been in a revolving restaurant, as we walked out it felt like we had just walked in.

Was this just me or has Tayyabs changed. Are they trying to keep to how they have always been, but now employing a more business like mentality, in, out, in, out, eat, pay, leave.

I’m really hoping this was just a one off, but I’ve heard rumours that this is how it is now. A shame as those lamb chops were always so bloody good.

Swing Dancing and the Victoria Tandoori

A few weeks ago we went to watch some friends perform at a Swing Dance performance in Hackney.

To be honest if they were not performing I would not have given it a second thought about going. In fact it’s very unlikely I would even have known this all existed.

It’s a big thing in London it seems. Regular dancehall meet ups and lots of groups in all parts of London were there showing off their routines.

It was an enjoyable night and the performances were really good, and some were exceptional.

I can say that I have absolutely no rhythm at all, and am probably the worst dancer in the world. Well I can’t, so I was very impressed with those folks who had the bravery to go and dance in front of an audience of at least a few hundred.

The video was taken on my old flip camera, sadly now lost somewhere on the London underground I thinks. But I’m slowly getting more Amazon vouchers so I can buy another one.

After watching a ton of groups we decided we were all hungry and wandered through Victoria Park to get some food. The Littlest One knew of a really good and cheap Indian restaurant near to where she lived. So food sorted.

The Victoria Tandoori is your old skool Indian restaurant, basic furniture with very friendly chatty staff who were more than happy to accommodate our table of 10 with out a pause for breath.

I’m sure that chef must have shat himself with the amount of food we ordered. We literally ordered everything off the menu. OK slight over exaggeration but it was a lot and all was liberally shared between us.

High fives goto the Tandoori Chicken, even with it’s red coloring, but the taste was superb and unlike most places, damn juicy as well.

The Dal Makhani was rich and creamy, it was only missing that smoky taste of being cooked for an age over burning embers..

A Beef Madras and a Chicken Korma headed up the curry section and all with flying colours, as did the wide assortment of naans we ordered as well.

It was a good feast all washed down liberally with large glasses of Cobra Beer. I wished I lived closer to the Victoria Tandoori as it is a great and very economical place to eat and I’m sure I would be a serious regular.

South Indian @ Ganapati

What a difference 24 hours can make. After a very disappointing night at a tourist Indonesian restaurant in Central London, we end up at a great little South India joint in Peckham.

I’ve never been to Peckham before, well only on a Saturday night when Del Boy would find his way on to my teatime tele viewing. I was a young lad way back in the early 80’s.

To be honest I never contemplated going to Peckham, but after a recommendation to try Ganapati, we just had to go. So a venture south of the river was set up.

As you walk into Ganapati you get a hit of the spices being used in the kitchen. It’s a good one, and really did, just for a moment, transport me back to India. This was going to be good.

We had been warned that the place was small, and yes it is. We took a chance by just turning up, as I’m reliable informed you need to book for dinner. Thankfully it was mildly full when we turned up for some lunch on probably the last good weekend of the year.

I like the feel of the place, with its sparten look and reclaimed furniture, the mixture of fotos on the walls and a statue of Ganesh by the front door to look over the kitchen and its patrons. Yes this was a nice place.

I’ve never been to South India, having only ventured up from Mumbai on my many travels within this incredible country.

Since I’ve only ever been to the north my knowledge of south Indian food is pretty much zip. It’s weird, but thinking about it, I seem to have shied away from the food of the south. Well this was about to change.

The menu is pretty short, which is how I like it. Makes sense for the kitchen, but it is varied enough to get a good idea that the kitchen can do some magic back there.

I was so tempted and kinda regret not going for the veggie street snacks, or the paneer pakora. Instead we opted for some pappadoms with the house pickles. Boring I know, but I like them and I’m a creature of habit.

This was the one thing I missed after that mental hotel visiting trip through India last year, was the extent and quality of the pickles available even at the simplest hole in the wall up to the plushest hotel restaurant in India.

Here at Ganapati was no different, The 4 pickles and chutneys were all damn good. The coriander and coconut chutney shone as the best. So refreshing,

It had been an age since I last had a Thali, and today I was gonna go for the classic. Unfortunately it was not served up on a banana leaf, as is the custom in the south. That would have been messy.

It was a good combo on the platter. I chose the chicken curry, which came with a lovely thick daal, a tart rasam (that I first got the taste for in Burma of all places), a simple salad and a cooling raita.

This was a good selection and al the dishes were cooked really well. Good seasoning with the spices. It reminded me of being back in India.

The wife had the Guinea Fowl Masala. The leg and breast cooked in a rich and earthy masala sauce. Damn it was good. The fowl was cooked well and was still juicy. Nice dish.

We also shared a paratha, even though both dishes came with rice. I just love breads. This sadly was not a great paratha,  it wasn’t as good as I was hoping it to be. Maybe I’ve just been spoilt by working for an Indian family owned company, who have a guy working for them who makes the best paratha on the planet. OK maybe a slight over exaggeration but they are bloody good, especially his aloo paratha. Ramjeevan I salute you.

We were too full to tackle desert, but because of Diwalli we’ve been laden down with sweets for the last week or so. I can’t eat anymore of them.

I’m a happy man, not only has the memory of a bad meal the night before washed from me, but I think I have found my new favourite Indian restaurant, after my beloved Green Chilli in Hammersmith had to close over a year ago due to a fire gutting the place. Not sure if it will ever reopen. Looking at the boarded front, me thinks not. But we live in hope.

All that is irrelevant now, as Ganapati is now my new number one. The only problem is, as I live in Stoke Newington, it’s not really a place we can just pop out to, unlike all you lucky folk who happen to live close by. These trips will have to be preplanned, but until Ganapati decide to relocate north or we move south, then Abi Ruchi is my close by pop in joint. Sadly the food is not in the same class though. 

Bombay Cafe @ Dishoom

I never really fancied eating at Dishoom for some reason, maybe because I thought it was going to be a supped up modern version of a local Tandoori, but then I tried their Ruby Murray at the pop-up on the South Bank and was hooked. It really was only going to be a matter of time before we ventured into their Covent Garden branch.

It styles itself on an old time Bombay café, which I have eaten at a few way back when in my traveller days, before age and comfort became more of a priority than simply travelling. How I miss those days.

The ones I remember in Mumbai served a type of Anglo Indian cuisine, that wasn’t too different from school dinners, but with a good touch of spice.

Hours you could sit there sipping on a chai or a beer reading a book, chatting to friends or general strangers looking to pass the time, with those rickety old ceiling fans buzzing away in a vain attempt to keep you cool in the Mumbai humidity.

The old style Bombay café is a piece of history, of a bygone era that will never return, except in a few dark corners where some people can reminisce on past glories that shall never be seen again.

Dishoom attempt to bring this to London, doesn’t really work for me. Their décor is too clean, too clinical, too manufactured, and too modern to be a Bombay cafe. It’s false and I wasn’t impressed.

The menu has also been Londonfied to give it something different, which it does, but deep down it is still the same old food, just served a tad differently.

The House Black Daal or Daal Makhani was creamy and had a deep unxious flavour to them. They were good, not the best I’ve had but still very good. It’s kinda sad, but I always judge an Indian restaurant by its daal.

The lamb biriyani came in its own little pot with a small amount of dough around the lid and edge of the pot. The rice was well cooked and seasoned well. The lamb however was a tad dry, and made me wonder if they had been cooked together or just mixed in at the last minute.

Thing was at our monthly meeting at work the following Friday, we had 3 different biriyani’s for lunch. Lamb, chicken and a veg and all 3 tasted much better than Dishoom’s own, and that was from a small hole in the wall in Southall.

The Paneer Tikka was nice and fluffy and served with a small bunch of wilting herbs and a lemon. We asked when we ordered if it was dry or came with a sauce. It was dry we were told. Our waiter was asked if we could have a small bowl of sauce to go with. It’s how the wife likes it. Our waiter just said “no”, and said we should order a curry to go with. I could see from her eyes, that this guy was not going to get a tip now, no matter how nice he was from here on now, and he didn’t. I think he could tell as well, as he never really tried from then on. Smart guy.

Dishoom has a nice vibe about it, and apart from the business like attitude of the place it is ok. Better than I thought it would be, but still just a jazzed up modern take on an Indian restaurant.

I’m not sure whether I would return or not. It’s a shame the pop up is going to close soon, as that is worth returning to.

Dishoom Pop Up......

I'm not going to write anything about the Dishoom Chowpatty Beach Bar on the South Bank. All I will say is that I'm gonna now goto the main Dishoom restaurant in Covent Garden. That impressed with the Ruby I was.
But if you are on the South Bank you should definitely pop in and give it a try, as it won't be there for much longer.

Sitaaray - An Invite to an Indian Buffet

Not only were we lucky enough to be invited to Chor Bizarre, but we were also invited to eat at Sitaaray in Covent Garden. Double luck.

The two restaurants in this Indian based group couldn’t be more different. Chor Bizaare is your more typical Indian style restaurant, but aimed at a client with a big bulgy wallet. Whilst Sitaaray is aimed at your group of friends on a good night out with a definite slimmer budget. As the all you can eat buffet is only £18 per person (up to the end of August, where it will rise to around £23).

The inside of the restaurant is a shrine to Bollywood and its stars. The walls are lined with photos of the more famous actors and actresses over the years. Quite a few of them have visited the restaurant and have their photo plastered on a special section by the stairs.

The formula is quite straightforward. You pay your money and choose either the veg or non-veg menu, and then you are get given a hell of a lot of food, which if you can manage more of any of the dishes you can ask for them. It really is all-you-can-eat, but the quality is so much more than any other similar place I can think of.

We opted not to go for the Bollywood named cocktails that takes up a hell of a lot of the drinks menu. It may have been fun actually, but I’m still old skool and Indian food for me only goes with beer. The wife had a few glasses of merlot that she says worked quite well with the food.

For starters we had some crushed papad and a trio of chutneys. I got so used to sour pickles in India that I relish them when they arrive, but this now means I find all mango chutneys so sweet. Too sweet in fact that I cannot eat them. They used to be my favourite, but give me a sour lime pickle anytime.

Then the food started, oh how I wished it would stop at one point. The menu reads as follows.

Dahi Batata Puri, crispy savory balls stuffed with potato, yoghurt and chutneys.

Pepper Shikampuri, pan fried ground lamb kebab stuffed with mint and peppers.

Pudina, char grilled fish tikkas in a paste of mint and green chilies.

Amritsari, crispy batter fried fish flavoured with carom seeds.

Chicken Dill Tikka, creamy chicken morsels flavored with garlic and dill leaves.  

Chicken Achaari, char grilled chicken flavored with pickling spices.

Lamb Seekh, juicy lamb mince kebab topped with red onions and coriander cooked in a tandoor oven.

Lamb Keema Samosa, deep fried savoury patties stuffed with a spicy lamb mixture.

Chicken Chakundari, char grilled chicken legs in a spicy red marinade with beetroot.

Chicken Tikka Masala, grilled chicken cooked in rich & creamy tomato gravy flavored with fenugreek

Vegetable Nilgiri Kurma, seasonal vegetables cooked along with coriander, mint in a coconut based gravy

Dal Makhni, buttery black lentils simmered for an age, finished with tomatoes, ginger and cream.

Plus all this was served with an assortment of breads and a bowl of pulao rice. We couldn’t finish it all. I now wished I’d asked for it to be put into a plastic tub to take home with me for lunch the next day.

Most of the food was damn good, but one or two dishes were not very good at all. The Amritsari was too greasy and was not nice on the palette at all.

Whereas the small puri ball was one of the highlights of the meal, along with the spicy lamb samosa. For me it was the Dal makhni, ooh those black creamy, heart clogging lentils were a real joy to eat. Damn they were good.

We couldn’t manage any pudding. I think it would have resembled that scene from Alien. Not a pretty sight.

So if you are up for somewhere different to go on a works night out, or with friends then I would definitely recommend Sitaaray as a place to go.

An Invitation to eat at the Thieves Market or Chor Bizarre

Chor Bizarre is not your normal Indian restaurant. For starters there is no flop wallpaper, that mainstay of any old curry house, but then again we are in Mayfair. Instead there is a kaleidoscopic of interesting artifacts that make you feel you are in someones house rather than in a restaurant. Very different indeed.

We were seated at a large table for two with very grandiose chairs that made me feel like I was a Maharaja. Maybe in a former life.

Immediately some papads were placed on the table with a trio of chutneys. Sweet mango, a very sour lime pickle and a cooling mint yoghurt.

The mango was too sweet and was the least liked of the three. The sour lime pickle hit the spot and reminded me of the sour pickles I ate routinely in India last year. I’ve nearly run out of my Mothers Recipe pickles, thankfully some people form work are venturing out to India this week. My order has been placed. The mint yoghurt was very cooling and brought a bit of balance back to my taste buds.

We are not greedy people and even though we were on a comp’d meal, I still cannot over order. I hate waste, always have and hopefully always will. But this does limit me to what we can taste on the menus.

The menu as like the restaurant décor does not sit in any one region. It is a real mixture of India, serving food from Kerela to Kashmir. Ordering was going to be fun.

Well we were here to taste and we decided on a couple of starters to share to get our taste buds a moving. We opted for the Dakshni Crab (White crab meat flavoured with South Indian spices, served with salad and coconut chutney £8) and the Aloo Tikki Chaat (Pan fried patties of mashed potatoes filled with spiced lentil and green peas, served warm, topped with yoghurt, tamarind and mint chutney £6.50)

Presentation of the dishes was first class. Both plates looked spectacular and clean. The portions were a tad small, but we are in Mayfair after all.

Unfortunately both dishes were very under seasoned for my Western palette. It seems to be the way my taste buds are these days. At Leiths we were told to season, season and season again. It’s amazing how much salt we were putting into dishes there. Maybe I need to retrain my palette.

The cooking of the two starters was faultless, texture wise they were spot on, but we really couldn’t get any flavour off the crab or from the patties.

The coconut chutney was really good though. Nice texture and taste, I could have eaten a lot of that. Again with the tamarind and mint chutney it was the star that outshone the patties.

For the mains we ordered a Seekh Kabab (fine lamb mince kababs £15), Paanch Mirch Ka Paneer (Juicy chunks of cottage cheese cooked flavoured with five mirchis (peppers), black pepper, white pepper, bell peppers, green & red chilies £10), a Dal Makhani (thick black lentils, simmered overnight in the tandoor oven £6.50) and a couple of Reshmi Parantha £3 each.

The mains were a vast improvement on the starters. All were spiced to perfection. As the wife has totally gone off real heat these days, we are eating a lot more milder food. So what we had suited her down to the bone.

The kebabs were tender, well spiced and juicy, they came with an onion salad and went down a treat. I wish we had ordered more of them, maybe another 3 plates. They would have not gone to waste. I’m eating a lot of Turkish kebabs recently and these were subtly and delicately spiced. They were a delight to eat.

There was not enough of the paneer for my liking. Too many peppers, which some of the bell peppers still being a tad raw. The sauce was nice and comforting and made for good mopping up with the paranthas.

I always judge a restaurant by its dals, and based on the dal makhani here it deserves a big slap on the back, a hug and many blessings. They were as dal makhani should be, thick, creamy, rich and slightly smokey. I now understand why Punjabi men are so portly. It’s because they eat this dish on a daily basis. Awesome.

Amazingly after all that dal we managed to tuck into a pudding, which I do not normally do, but after last year and eating many retro puds I could not resist. I had to have the rice pudding flavoured with mango and cardamom.

This was a perfect ending to a good night. The pudding was cold, just how I like them. For some reason as a child I never ate hot sauces on puddings. My custard had to be cold when poured onto my hot sponge pudding. My rice pudding had to be left in the fridge until it was cold before I would touch it. I was a little awkward back then.

Thankfully it was not fridge cold so the flavours were able to seep through onto my taste buds. The rice was still a tad al dente, which reassured me it was not out of a tin. The mango and cardamom oozed through to give it a rich exotic flavour. Brill. I wish I had asked the chef for the recipe, as it brought back memories of my childhood. A real blast form the past.

Overall Chor Bizarre is a tad expensive for an Indian restaurant, but it does fit the area and clientele it gets. We arrived at 8, and left at nearly 11 and it was full constantly. A testament to the cooking and their dal makhani.

They are currently offering from between 30% to 50% off the food menu at certain times in June.

It is a truly different experience and maybe one you all should try. Order the dal makhani you will not be disappointed.