The Lahore Kebab House, Commercial Street

I have heard from different sources that this is the best place for a curry in London, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The restaurant is on the way to Brick Lane, renowned in London for its curry houses, so it can be easily over-looked, and the outside is not exactly eye-catching. But it must be something special if so many people have told me its better than the Brick Lane experience. The Lahore has two locations, one in Streatham (south-west London) and the one I visited on Umberston Street in East London. It is a family run business owned by a father and his two sons, boasting the best Pakistani cuisine in London. Their East London location seats 350 people and is often at full capacity on Friday and Saturday nights.

I need put my visit to the Lahore into context, I went with my brother and 12 of his school friends, testosterone was high. It’s a BYOB situation, so before our meal the boys and I popped to the off-licence next door to pick up some Cobras, and a Rose for myself. My first impression was that tasteful Indian-themed décor was not top of their list, but the place was packed so perhaps they were doing something right. We were seated upstairs amongst what felt like hundreds of other diners, they weren’t over exaggerating when they said they regularly host 350 people. It felt like a school canteen, but instead of school uniform, it was full of men in suits and there were no teachers to monitor behaviour. I knew it was going to be a rowdy sort of dinner, so I downed my glass of wine and got into the spirit.

I don’t have very much to say about the food – mainly because I didn’t get very much. Sitting with 13 boys is an error, especially if you end up at the end of the table. My brother ordered a ‘selection’ for everyone; he thought this was a good idea. The starters were meat cooked in spices; it was tasty but too spicy for me. It went down well with the boys and in just a few seconds the plates were clean. The main course arrived shortly after; these consisted of chicken or lamb in a selection of spicy curry sauces. I’m a Korma kind of girl, I can’t handle spice. I tried my best, but even their Korma was really spicy and so I left it to the boys. I couldn’t get up the next morning, but I’m going to blame it on the spicy curry because it meant that I had to drink a lot of wine to extinguish the fire in my mouth.

Scores:

Food: 5/10, too spicy and not enough meat. It also took them 15 minutes to bring me a fork.

Ambience: 6/10, very noisy, the perfect location for the beginning of a ‘lads’ night out. I wouldn’t take the girls there.

Value for money: 5/10, my meal set me back by £16, I think that’s quite pricey seeing as it didn’t include drinks and I was still peckish when we left. 

Would I go again: Maybe, but only if other people really wanted to.

Address:

2 Umberston Street,
London,
E1 1PY

http://www.lahore-kebabhouse.com/