Lahore Kebab House (Review no. 3), 2 Umberston Street, London, E1 1PY

The other reviews of this restaurant are here and here (pictures of the exterior and interior of the restaurant are there also).

We were dining with some friends this time, and it was very cold so I didn’t stop to take any pictures of the outside of the place. When we got in, my ‘get food’ mode jumped start into action and I spent the time trying to get the table instead of doing what I should have done, which was to take pictures of the place.

No dedication at all, I say.

Now, the menu is here really quite small, as in, the laminated menu takes up 2 sides of an A4 paper, and is folded in half, with the first page just being the logo and information. If you come here quite often, like we do, it’s possible to try almost every dish on the menu within the first few visits.

But we still stick with the same tried and tested dishes. When you’re hungry, the last thing you wanna do is mess the order up.

Chicken and seekh kebabs, £1 each

Ordered mainly because it was one of the cheapest items on the menu, but they turned out surprisingly nice. There was a slight grilled taste to it, and the spices in the meat were well balanced.

Service was quite slow when we were here, mainly because the restaurant was full and with big groups of diners. The first bit of our starter arrived about half an hour after we ordered it, with the lamb chops nowhere to be seen.

The waiter then came back and said that the lamb chops would be another 10 minutes, so would we like the main meal first?

Er, yes, whatever you have is good for us.

The lamb chops then curiously appeared a minute after the guy left. What was going on in the kitchen, I don’t know.

Grilled lamb chops, £7.50

This is one of the most popular items on the menu. From the first time we came (when someone recommended it to us) up to now, we’re still ordering this dish and it’s oh so niiiiice.

Not big enough portions by any means, but the ickle pieces of lamb are spiced just right, meat just tender enough, and I really really like holding the little chops by the bone and nibbling on the bits of meat that absolutely refuse to budge.

It’s so satisfying when that last little bit of meat comes off the bone.

Cheese naan, £2

The cheeses used in Indian cuisine is very different from the ones used in Western cuisine. Well, it’s called paneer, for one. I’m sure Wikipedia has lots of interesting information about the differences between the cheeses, but I wasn’t interested in copying and pasting, so I’ll tell you what my opinion is instead.

Paneer tastes more creamy than say, Cheddar which is slightly sharper in taste. Texture-wise, it is almost like halloumi with a slight squeak to it when chewed, and it’s almost plasticky.

When used in naan, it made the naan more dense and just that little bit more milky than it would have been with another type of cheese.

Sag paneer £5.50

Nice green gooey spinach with cubes of paneer. Still unsure if the cheese and grease negates the goodness of the spinach, but will not question it at this point in time. Best not to in the middle of a curry meal anyway.

Mixed vegetable curry £5.50

We ordered this because lots of people from the other tables seemed to be ordering it. As they say, no time like this time to be sheep-like. Nice, but not ‘wow-I-never-knew-vegetables-could-taste-like-this’ nice. More like ‘I-kinda-would-have-thought-vegetables-mixed-in-curry-would-have-been-like-this’ nice.

Lots of potatoes in here. Huge, shouting and singing potatoes.

Fish curry £7

The bf had this when he came here the last time with his friends, and couldn’t stop going on about it. So we just HAD to order this, and it didn’t disappoint. Generous pieces of white flaky fish, in a nice delicately flavoured curry.

Methi gosht £7

Originally meant to be bhindi gosht (okra with lamb). The waiter came by after all the dishes had been served, and said that they didn’t have any okra left, so we ordered the most similar thing to it, which was this. It tasted almost like bhindi gosht, just without the okra. Can’t describe curry, try as I might. Just that it was really nice, quite comforting and warming, and the meat absorbed the flavour well.

Would I recommend this restaurant? I’ll say outright that I do recommend it, and although it doesn’t have too many dishes on the menu, they do most of the dishes excellently, and it’s worth giving them a try.

Nearest tube station: Aldgate East

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