Topic: Tayyabs London

[slimboyfat]

Hi,

I found this little gem round the corner form Brick Lane it leans more towards the authentic as apposed to BIR but the food is fantastic and cheap as chips

www.tayyabs.co.uk/

[laynebritton]

Thank You Slim
I'm going to London shortly and I intend visiting Brick Lane so I shall look out for this establishment I'll let you know how I got on but to be honest I'm gonna be like a kid in a sweet shop with so many Restaurants which one to choose I will also check out the London eating  (Restaurant Guide) website and maybe their star ranking will help me choose one thank's anyway
Layne.

[George]

Slim

Many thanks for this good recommendation. I tried Tayyabs and it's now shot ahead of everywhere else in that area (Brick Lane and beyond), as my favourite. I'd never have found it if it hadn't been for this site and your mentioning it. Main course dishes in sauce seemed around the ?5.80 mark, with pilau rice for ?1.80 on top. I had a delicious full-size naan bread for 70p, 5 pieces of chicken tikka on a sizzler tray for ?2.50 and 2 full size meat samosas for 50p each. More than the good food though, the mid-week lunchtime atmosphere was great. I assume lots of local working people dine there, and it gives the restaurant a real buzz.

Regards
George

[George]

I tried Tayyabs and it's now shot ahead of everywhere else in that area (Brick Lane and beyond), as my favourite.

I'm sorry but I went back there again and have revised my opinion. I suggest sticking to the mixed grill type items with nan bread. On my second visit I tried their Pakastani version of CTM and it was not very good at all. I'm talking in absolute terms too. It was neither remotely like a BIR CTM (no problem on its own) and not very good in its own right. In fact it was one of the most dull, uninspiring curries I've ever had anywhere, in the UK or worldwide.

Regards
George

[Serum]

This one's easily my favourite restaurant.

Never had a better mixed grill.
I haven't tried the tikka massala but I don't really like those anyway, every other dish I've had there has been excellent.  If you go again have the Dry Meat.  I think they put CTM on there just for the sake of it, as they've got hardly anything mild and creamy on the menu.

Layne: I'd go on recommendations on Brick Lane, I used to work there and tried a lot of the restaurants and most were really crap.  You'd think that the competition would make them try hard but they can't be arsed at all, the ones I liked were Clifton, Sweet & Spicy, Khushbu and Tayyabs.  With the exception of Clifton, the worse they look the better the food is.  If you go to sweet & spicy you'll get what I mean.

[laynebritton]

Hey Serum
Many Thanks for your post I will go where you have suggested and yes the more grotty or rundown a place looks it's usually serving the best food (eat where locals eat) once again thank you buddy
Layne 

[ckheaduk]

been to tayyabs a few times now after being introduced to it by my pakistani cockney friend. it's a great busy place with an open kitchen and so so much better than anything i've found in BL, which apart from a couple of places are very touristy average. best nann bread anywhere!

[chinois]

This post seems to have slipped me by and even though it's an old thread i think it's rude if i dont comment on this place.
This was some of the best food i've eaten. The kebabs were an inspiration, the slow cooked meat on the bone was tasty and the naans are good and light (not thick and doughy). The prices are cheap - A lamb shank would be double the price in an english restaurant.
It's worth mentioning it's not BIR food, at least not any of the 4 main courses i tried. But that's a positive thing in this case. I was told that pakistani food is 'like indian but with more emphasis on meat, so better' by some rally drivers from karachi i met in the pub in dubai airport. Well, tayyabs shows they were right.
They put indian restaurants' cooking of meat to shame. It's a generalization but most BIRs let me down with their lack of knowledge of cooking meat. It's more of an substitute for veg rather than the focus of the dish i usually find.
The lamb dishes i remember from tayyabs were very lamby and like a casserole due to the bones and slow cooking. They could be served within an english meal i reckon.
Obviously you need a balance so order things that are different.

The place seems to get rammed all the time. Try and book a table and (apparently) expect to wait even if you book. The staff weren't the friendliest but i dont care much about that (i sometimes go to chinese restaurants) and service was quick. Quite a bit of chilli was in most dishes i think.

[adriandavidb]

Forget Brick Lane;  over-hyped IMHO.

As you go east out of the City, down the Commercial Rd, in a little side-turning called Umberston St, is The Lahore Kebab House; I've been going there for about 15 years FANTASTIC!  more Pakistani than BIR.  You will not find CTM in there!  Small menu but popular with the local Asians and City-Boys (& Girls!) alike.

It's still in many of the London restaurant quides and rightly so.

The Seek Kebabs, Chicken Tikka and spicy grilled Lamb chop is amazing; as is the saag ghost and Chicken karahi!

I have a pilgrimage there every time I go up to Town!

[imcool]

Tayyabs isn't in Brick Lane, it's a short walk away.

Also it's not the kind of resturant you can just pop into, you should expect to book ahead unless you want to que. Especially on the weekend and dinner time.

Also it's only really worth a trip for the Lamb Chops, basically go in and eat as many as you can fit in and ignore the rest. Well not ignore, but don't expect to be blown away.

Brick Lane is a waste of time these days, so all these places around Commercial Road, Shadwell, Whitechapel that cater to local people with one or two brillant specialities are the places to go. Anyway it's a fun place if you can get in and pretty cheap.