Indian restaurants

With the demise of our past few years favourite the Lemon Tree I am auditioning again for a regular good quality local Indian/Bangladeshi restaurant.

Over the years we’ve frequented many of the local venues inc Dewanian, Elachi, Babur ( not an everyday place for me) India Gate but where is the quality/value at the moment? I’m thinking maybe Elachi which has kept going for a long time , and scores well on TripAdvisor. Time for some up to date SE23 views?

I still think Elachi is really good, they even sent me a Birthday card in Norfolk. We ate there a good few times but had a take away nearly every week. They let us down twice in 16 years, not bad.

India Gate is very good since it changed ownership.

+1 for Elachi.

We also did the weekly takeaway thing from there for quite a while - well, until the wife decided that we needed to eat more healthily.

We dont live too far away, so I tend to cycle down and collect when we do order these days. Not having it hang around waiting to be delivered makes a huge difference to the quality of the food - but I guess the same can be said for all takeaway’s.

Elachi is my closest restaurant yet never been. Any dishes particularly recommended?

For me, its gotta be a Shahi Murgh Masala and a Cheese Naan every time.

Mmmmmm…murgh masala… is it too late to order now

I love the Ginger Lamb, other half swears by the Butter Chicken. Re the health side, and Butter Chicken apart, Elachi cook using either olive oil or rape seed oil, no melted Tiger there.

Totally love Gurkha’s (not to be confused with Gurhha’s Flavour).

Shaka Maka in Brockley

I’d heard of Shaka Maka as a takeaway - are they a restaurant as well?

+1 for Saka Maka.

And Babur is just sublime.

yes Babur remains top of the list for me too and has been best in class since it first opened. That’s where I would take visitors from north of the river!.

Got a takeaway from babur a couple of weeks ago. Not very good. too much sauce in the curry, not enough chicken. My wife had a thali. It was pretty forgettable to say the least asall the dishes were on the greasy side.
Can be a bit hit or miss at times

Was that Babur the restaurant takeaway, or “Babur to Go”? There are effectively two different restaurants with the same name, and the difference in quality is huge, I’ve heard.

Babur to Go

thanks for all the tips, positive and negative, so far. I am looking for a sit down restaurant and somewhere to spend an evening with friends, much as I too appreciate a good takeaway. Good food, distinctively different flavours between dishes, not too oily or salty, reasonable beer and wine choices, a bit of atmosphere but no live music/Elvis acts. Picky aren’t I.

So on my audition list so far are:-

Elachi - easy walking distance from the All Inn One, and I have also had quite a few good visits here over the years, sometimes it’s been pretty quiet, though that makes it good for conversation.
Babur - is a shoe in for innovation and best quality but is also premium priced, so one for any special occasion. Their birthday offers take a bit of the edge off the price. Have enjoyed their Sunday buffets too.
Gurkha (the one in Sydenham High Street ) - easy walk from the Dolphin, have not been there for a few years - sounds worth a revisit
India Gate - central SE23 location, have been a few times over past couple of years- very friendly, good value , nearly made it to most favoured status, but the lost and lamented Lemon Tree had the edge while it lasted.

any other favourites? Catford? Lewisham? Lordship Lane?

Definitely give saka maka a go. Pretty basic interior but the food is great. Cheap, they offer byo but sell beer and wine too. I’ve only eaten in but will try a takeout now!

Very true. And Babur the restaurant’s takeaway is sublime as you put it. But. Expect to pay fine restaurant prices for this eat at home option. Definitely worth it.

new to me and definitely makes the list. Just read online reviews sounds excellent.

Not been for sit down and don’t know if they do it but when the mood does strike for takeaway I can’t recommend Himalayan Kitchen in Penge highly enough

There are a few tables for sit in at Himalayan Kitchen I believe. Agree about their food - tandoori chicken excellent. The owner used to be chef some time ago at Ghurkhas.

Ghurkhas still my favourite - been going there for 18 years and never disappoints.

100% favourite has to be BABUR. The premium menu they have is incredible. Takeaway is just as good as sitting in, order direct from the website too rather than Deliveroo etc.

+1 Gurkhas in Sydenham. The consistency is astonishing. I use one of the apps to order from them. Same level of service.

I’ll give the others a try maybe

We used to use Ganapati as this was a nice change from Babur. They seem to have gone downhill for us a little bit recently. Hopefully just a glitch as they were really very good. They do Kerala regional dishes.

Okay, here’s a request: which of these would you recommend for takeaway for someone who doesn’t generally like Indian food but is wiling to give it another go? I find everything tastes very samey. I don’t dislike the flavours, just find them boring. Ditto when everything is in a sloppy sauce. My OH likes food he has eaten in Indian, but is similar unexcited about the British takeaway version.

Suggest a menu please (only moderately hot) and best restuarant to try first.

Please note: NO CORIANDER.

Takeaway or in restaurant?

Takeaway.

For eat in, can’t beat Gurkhas for me. For take away, Himalayan Kitchen (as mentioned a few times) in Penge (the coconut rice is crazy good) and have own website - http://www.himalayankitchen.co.uk/ - or work through hungry house.

Not yet mentioned but we really like the Greedy Chef on dartmouth/Kirkdale corner near the bricklayers arms. Great portions, flavours, menu and always friendly when we have popped in to collect.
Much like many they have their own website/app (not used the app) - http://greedychef-london.co.uk/ - aswell as work through just eat.

Enjoy!!

But what to order? I’m starting from pretty much zero knowledge here.

Chicken Tikka.

If you don’t like heat, sauce or coriander then perhaps best not to bother as a lot of dishes are at least two out of three of those

Seriously though most of your standard Indian dishes are going to be problematic. Jalfrezi, Rogan Josh, Madras, Vindaloo, Dansak are all saucy or hot. Maybe a Bhuna which has richer thicker sauce would suit.
Maybe a Biriani which is essentially dry but comes with a side of veg curry.

I often find the best dishes to be on the House or Chefs specials so for example from the Elachi - Murugh Makahanior or King Prawn Mugli or even the Bengal Fish. Most places will be able to vary the heat or omit the coriander…

ETA - always have some bread! Peswari Nan really makes a curry!

Well, to be clear, I said moderate heat. Which is subjective, I suppose. Not so hot it hurts.

As for sauce - it’s thick gloopy neon bright sauce that makes the rest of the dish unrecognisable that I don’t like. Not just sauce per se.

Coriander isn’t negotiable though.

But the pain is part of the fun!!

A really good suggestion is to go into the likes of Elachi and ask if you can sample some small dishes. A good restaurant will recognise a potential customer and help them.

I have similar feelings about the standard UK Indian takeaway but my eyes have been opened to some wonderful Indian food. However, I suspect that an avoidance of coriander, in all its forms, might be problematic for this cuisine. If it is just the leaf, then this is usually just a garnish and could be left out on request.

Demands how hungry you are but for a couple I would go for something like:

2 x starters - chicken tandoori/other

2 x curries - suggest getting two different meats and two different types of spice/sauce e.g: chicken pasanda (creamy but based), Goan salmon (garlic, pepper, coconut base) or lamb shishlak (tomato, pepper, sweet and sour like base). Just any mix of two different and maybe go for house/regional specials for something different)

1 x rice - pilau or coconut

1 x peshwari naan (sweet coconut stuffed) or garlic if not keen on coconut

1 x side - sag paneer (spinach cheese), aloo gobi (cauliflower potato) or brinjil based (aubergine)

Hope that’s helpful?!

Ps: that’ll be more than enough and could prob go one starter and side or two starters no side and apologies for my silly phone writing things like but instead of nut amongst other autocorrects!

I’m from India and find the whole meat in different gloopy sauces you get at standard curry houses very annoying. Not sure if you are familiar with South Indian food but dosas (crepes made from rice and lentils with various fillings) are very yummy. If you want to venture out to East Croydon, try Saravana Bhavan. It is a very popular chain in Southern India and have branches around the world but the one in East Croydon is relatively new and the quality of still good. Don’t expect fancy decor.

Does anyone recall the most amazing slow cooked clove lamb from Babur? I just checked the menu and it seems to have disappeared!

Thanks for it the great tips. It’s only coriander leaf I can’t stomach.

Have you tried cilantro? Its delicious.

You have no idea the problems I had when we first moved to the States.

Err, that wasn’t me. I agree. @RachaelDunlop is the coriander denier . Cilantro is the same thing.

Looks like the quote function picked up the wrong assignation in the quote with a quote.

And yeah, coriander / cilantro. I think that was the joke…

Yep.

I can’t stand coriander, it tastes of what I imagine washing up liquid tastes like

Thanks to this thread, I tried Saka Maka in Brockley last night. Already a fan of Masala Wala around the corner but if anything this is better as a much bigger menu. We had a lamb samosa to share, chicken biryani, lamb tikka, raita and dhal with 2 large beers and 2 kulfi for £41 which service charge. It was packed at 8ish last night and we found it an easy stumble from the Overground with an Uber home. Food is kind of home style, not huge portions and the lamb tikka specifically was superb. Decor is simple but when packed has a good atmosphere. Beer and basic wine are sold or you can upgrade with a BYO - the Sainsbury’s over the road doing a good trade on this. Really cute touch where you ring a bell on the way out if you enjoyed it and they all clap. Would recommend a trip.

I can confirm that the takeaway version is just as good - the dhal and lamb biryani are particularly great and it all travels well. Definately my new favourite.

India Gate is by far one of the best indian restaurants I’ve been to in a long while.
There or Dishoom for me

Curry Cabin for a curry and Babur for cuisine.

Since this thread started have visited with friends:

Elachi - nice people, good value, good spicy dishes, good quality, no real issues - but food didn’t have a real wow factor either.

Memsaab (in Lordship Lane) - very good value, similar in price to Elachi. Food though we thought at a higher level - some particularly good tender lamb dishes (Rogan Josh and Achari). Busy and a good atmosphere on the Friday we visited. Most definitely worth the bus ride up Lordship Lane.

Babur - as expected quite exceptional food, an amazing choice of different flavours, everything so well spiced and presented. Even pappadoms and chutneys are a cut above the rest. Busy even on a Sunday evening. Discounts are often available on their website or if you are on their mailing list. Even though more expensive it is excellent value.

Ghurkas, Saka Maka and Himalayan Kingdom still on my to do list.

There are a lot of underwhelming south asian places around here tbh. I have been a bit spoiled as I grew up in Leicester then moved to Birmingham, then within delivery distance of Tooting - all places with large asian populations and with some outstanding food. But I haven’t tried a few of the places in this thread so I’ll give them a go. Babur has been the exception, not just outstanding for the area but for London and maybe even the country as a whole.

Babur all day long.
You’ll see many Indians (particularly Bengali) 1st and 2nd generation dining in because the food is so good and respected. The thali dishes are excellent value if you are ordering for delivery from the main restaurant. Definitely order direct to avoid surcharges from deliveroo etc.

Elachi Se23 is coming back soon to tickle your tastebuds thank you for your previous custom and we hope to see you soon.

Elachi Se23 will be opening soon to tickle your tastebuds once again thank you for your custom and we hope to see you again when we open.

Elachi has been closed for long not there

We got a takeout from Box Wallah in Peckham levels today. First time it has appeared in Deliveroo for us. And as an Indian I can say it was brilliant, would give any Punjabi restaurant in India stiff competition. We ordered two vegetarian mains which came beautifully packaged with generous portions of rice, bhajias and mango chutney! Made for a nice change to our favourite Gurkhas in Sydenham which serves more home style food.

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