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.

Lahore Kebab House

We’d been meaning to try the Lahore Kebab House for an age now, but somehow Tayyabs always got in the way. Damn those delicious lamb chops.

But today we somehow made it passed Tayyabs, even though she sensed us in the area, and was calling to us. But somehow we managed to resist the tractor beam and get us to the Lahore Kebab House.

I was a little surprised to see the dining room as it reminded me of many an Indian hotel restaurant. Except this one was packed, most of the ones I went into on that trip were empty.

The food coming out of the kitchen all looked and smelt fantastic so we wasted no time in ordering some food as we were starving.

First up was a Karahi Kebab. Lovely pieces of kebab meat served in a delicious tomato sauce. The kebab meat was tender and juicy, the sauce a little picante, not enough but good enough for my blasted taste buds.

Then the Butter Chicken, which was the low point of the meal. Way too oily and not enough flavour in the sauce. It really was a bit of a struggle to enjoy eating this dish.

The Sag Aloo was damn nice. Not enough tatties, but the flavour was really good. I could of just eaten this all night.

The Pilau Rice was your bog standard Indian restaurant rice dish. Nicely cooked, seasoned well and soaked up the sauce, as it should do. The Keema Naan, my all time favourite in any Indian restaurant, was some of the best I’ve tasted. Nicely cooked in the Tandoor, and the filling had some real good flavour to it. Yum yum.

All in all it was a pretty damn fine meal, and made especially good as India came back from a bad opening session to beat the Windies, and qualify for the knock out stages. All’s well that ends well. But next time I will let Tayyabs tempt me in through its doors again.

Dining with Heston

You know you are in for a good dining experience when you walk into a restaurant and the first person you spot is Heston Blumenthal eating, smiling and joking around. Good times ahead.

I am really perplexed as to why we have not been to Tayyabs before. It ticks all the right boxes of everything I love about food. Its simple well cooked dishes are brimming with flavour and knock your socks off. The restaurant has a great atmosphere. Not so sure on the décor though, that water feature is a little odd. But the best thing is that the prices for such a place that has such cult status are pretty reasonable.

A restaurant like this on say Brick Lane would be charging a lot more. If it happened to be in Soho, then you’d be looking at an easy £15 for a main or more.

It’s the smell of spices that hits you as you draw closer to the entrance. The place is a lot bigger than I imagined. All talk of a simple Pakistani café has changed with a long shop front and a modern interior, but thankfully the food lived up to the hype. Now that hasn’t been happening a lot recently.

As I mentioned in the beginning, as we walked in, to our left was Heston, having a great time with some friends, one of which was Hardeep Singh Kohli, yes the comedian with the pink turban. I know Heston is opening a restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental, maybe he’s planning a joint venture into the curry scene also. Watch out Atul Kochhar.

Jaw closed and excited about being in the same restaurant with one of the best chefs on the planet, we sat down and started to munch on the poppadoms and chutneys that were placed in front of us almost as soon as we sat down.

I’d already browsed the menu online, so I knew what was to have. We are very much like children in a sweet shop. We order too much and regret it afterwards. We did the same this time, but I didn’t regret it. Next time less.

We are still talking about how good those lamb chops were. The way the loin had been sliced in half and rubbed with garam masala and grilled to perfection. Since I have a temporary crown in at the moment, I am reluctant to gnaw at the bones, as I once did like a dog. Shame.

The spinach and potatoes of Saag Aloo was delish, as well as the super tender, super flavorsome karahi gohst. God I missed lamb curries.

We are kind predictable in Indian restaurants as I always order a keema naan and Lina always has to have rice. I like bread, she’s into rice. It’s a cultural thing you understand.

I’d forgotten it was a BYO, but I was happy I’d forgotten as we got to have the mango lassi. Wow, packs a punch of mango for sure.

I’m sure we are going to now become regulars at Tayyabs, but as there are a few more places to try in the area, I guess it may be at least a few more days before we get to return.

Whether Heston will be there is unlikely, but I know I will enjoy my meal none the less.