Enjoy Tasty Lamb Biryani on London’s Famous Brick Lane

Often when you think of finding Indian food in Central London, you may think of going to places such as Soho, Carnaby Street, or Leicester Square. But generally, eating out in the West End can be notoriously expensive, plus the quality isn’t always worth the value. So instead, I prefer to go to the East End to try South Asian food where the quality and prices are a lot better.

My favourite eating spot here is Brick Lane in Spitalfields, which is at the heart of London’s Bangladeshi community. You could almost compare it to the Bangladeshi equivalent of Chinatown in the West End. But unlike Chinatown, Brick Lane wasn’t that crowded and I found it a lot quieter here during the early afternoon.

Though the area itself is quite run down and not very attractive, the great food you can find here makes up for that! Brick Lane is famous for its many curry houses and textile shops, as well as its market stalls selling clothes. Many of which are halal too, which you can find using HMC’s Restaurant Finder. When I came here with my friend one weekend, we decided to go to Café Grill.

Café Grill’s menu has a great selection of red meat and chicken dishes

The menu had a great selection of Indian dishes, with most of them being chicken or red meat dishes… For starters, there was a choice of kebabs, samosas or tikka. For mains, there’s the choice of biryani, tandoori, and seafood and meat dishes. There’s even a section on the menu for Bangladeshi food! If you’re looking for a treat, then why not try one of the chef’s specials such as the Zalfrezi and Green Chicken Curry. The chef himself was very friendly, so I was really impressed with the service here.

Café Grill has HMC Certification (as seen on the front of the shop door), meaning it caters for halal. However, if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, I wouldn’t recommend coming here as the options are quite limited. Apart from the Sabji Biryani and Aloo dishes, there aren’t many other great choices…

Review of the Meal- Lamb Biryani (£6.95)

We both wanted to have biryani for lunch, so it was a choice between vegetable, lamb, seafood, or chicken- I quickly ruled out vegetable. I wanted to have one of the red meat dishes here, so we both ordered the Lamb Biryani (£6.95). I must note the prices here were fantastic, with much of the menu being priced under £10.

After a short wait, the chef presented our piping hot biryanis on a trolley, which were bursting with flavour! The large chunks of lamb were delicious, as they had cooked until they were tender. Plus there were very few bones too. So, this was probably my favourite part of this dish. Meanwhile, the rice was coated with curry, and the sharp taste from the coriander added extra flavour. Overall, this dish exceeded my expectations, and was worth every penny…  

Verdict

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this meal, and the quality exceed all my expectations! For this reason, I would strongly recommend Café Grill to anyone visiting Brick Lane because of the great service here and the excellent prices. So I certainly want to come back here at some point and try some more of the dishes. Perhaps to try the tandoori, or one of the chef specials here…

If you’re looking for other places to have authentic South Asian food in London, then don’t forget to read my review of Desi Zaika in Wembley Central. Also, I’d love to hear about your experiences on Brick Lane, so don’t forget to leave a comment below…

Directions to Cafe Grill: