Café Naz

29/04/09

Lunch with Tapps, he comes here for the Leg of Lamb and I'm happy with the buffet.

The Leg of Lamb that has become a feature of Naz's buffet.

Tapps wanted me to pass on a message to all prospective diners who come here, don't expect the lamb to be cooked medium, Asians prefer their meat well done! There you have it, no grumbleweeds please.

Leg of Lamb with three suicidal bird's eye chilli peppers.

Lamb this and lamb that!

I must say that the chicken curry (on the bone, three cheers!) was my highlight.

Superb Dal

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Can't be bothered with the queues at Tayyabs, then come here for the buffet; the food here is very very good and the staff are friendly.

Last year alone I thought there were only two definitive Indian restaurants in the East End worth reminiscing, Lahore Kebab House and New Tayyabs (although both are technically Pakistani, but ‘Indian’ defines the genre). I met up with a learned friend who hails from Bengal for lunch today and thought it a foregone conclusion that we’ll be heading for either LKH or Tayyabs. However the friend suggested otherwise that we should head to Café Naz instead for its buffet food was as good as the other two and most certainly cheaper as well.

The huge choice of restaurants in Brick Lane is like a minefield, it was bewildering to note that almost all of them were tagged with an award for the best curry joint of the year (I’m pretty sure these guys concoct their own awards). It was indeed a relief to have a seasoned Brick Lane gourmet showing me the way. I’m no fan of buffets but I was assured that the quality of the cooking was good enough to attract a healthy following of Asian diners. The dining room is at best contemporary and airport-loungey. The service was competent and perfectly accommodating when Thames water was requested.

It was immediately impressionable to see a roasted leg of lamb included in the buffet, this delicious self-carving dish was an unusual sight in any restaurants. The basics of bhajjis, salads, nan bread and rice were all competently prepared and cooked.

The chicken (on the bone) curry was absolutely fantastic, right up there with the above mentioned stalwarts as was the lamb and spinach curry of Palak Gosht. Apart from the Chicken Korma, it was quite obvious that the five delectable choices of meat curries were cooked for the discerning and serious palates, no well tempering or dumbing down here.

Professor Tapps

The tarka dal, an industry standard that’s easy to disappoint was a triumph; scrumptious and not too stodgy nor watery. Buffets are in essence bad for the waist, especially if the cooking was decent; well after three mammoth helpings I omitted from the sweets and fresh fruit basket.

Friend thought that the Gulab jamun (syrupy dough) and orange (?) jelly were a match made in heaven.

Staff helping themselves to lunch

One tiny fret about this place was the dishes served were not temperature hot enough, but then again it was supremely cold this afternoon. Three gratifying points about this place; Asian diners tucking in, staff (including the cooks!) helping themselves from the buffet for their own tiffins and of course the fine food. Café Naz, welcome to the fold.




46-48 Brick Lane
London E1 6RF




www.cafenaz.co.uk