Mombasa Hut

MOMBASA HUT, 5 Maxwell Road, Northwood Middx  HA6 2XY    Tel: 91923 840400

Went to this "restaurant" with the wife last week....

It looks like a Cafe. We were the only people there and the atmosphere had a cold feel to it !!!
The Menu said the food was Mombasa style !!!

For starters we ordered Bhadali no Bhajia and Fried Mogo.
For Main Course we ordered Kuku Paka & Rice and Pav Bhaji.

The Main course arrived first so I asked the Lady about our starters - she said "it will come" and left it at that !!!

The Kuku Paka & Rice was some rice + coconut sauce poured over some old grilled chicken (quite tough really). I realised that the chicken was grilled earlier and not cooked with the sauce.
The Pav Bhaji was some tasteless potatoes in toasted bread.

Then the Starters came... the Bhajias were passable and the Mogo was ok - can't do much to fried mogo !

I left the Kuku as it was inedible !!!

The bill came to just under £20 so it was £20 down the drain.

Not worth visiting is all I can say.......

The name should be changed to "MOMBASA NOT"

Gul Khan

Gul Khan - 16 Court Parade, 190 Watford road, Wembley  HA0 3HU  Tel: 020 8904 6204

Went to this restaurant last week with some friends after hearing that it had just been opened by Raza, previously of Karahi King, Five Hot Chillies etc...

Place wasn't exactly packed as it has just opened. The staff recognised us immediately as past patrons of the earlier ventures mentioned above.

It goes without saying that we had excellent service - they even opened the Beer Bottles we had taken with us as usual...

For starters we had delicious Lamb Kababs (flame grilled) and really juicy Tandoori Tilapia Fish Fillets.

Main course was superior Lamb on the Bone Curry,  very nice and tasty King Prawn Curry,Tarka Daal and the plates of Salad kept appearing on our table. This was accompanied by the crispiest Tandoori Rotis I have ever had !!!

We were stuffed by this time.  But were convinced that we had to try their home made Kheer (Rice Pudding) and very unusual Kulfi (served on a stick !!!). Both were superb.

Finally we left at about 11.00 pm after paying the bill which came to about £12.50 per head !!!

A place worth visiting regularly as I propose to !!!


Old Indian Git
(Guide to Indian Tandooris)

Mumbai Junction

MUMBAI JUNCTION, 231 Watford Road, Harrow  HA1 3TU

Went to this Indian establishment recently with a group of friends.

Service was so bad that we nearly ended up singing “Why are we waiting …”

When we were finally graced with the attention of a waiter we ordered the drinks  - another wait again but we were served after all…

This raised our hopes so we ordered the starters – another wait.

Same with the main courses !!!

The food was standard Indian fare – nothing to differentiate it from hundreds of standard Indian restaurants !!!

All I can suggest is that you only go there if you have to and if someone else is paying !!!

Old Indian Git

(Guide to Indian Tandooris)

Saravanaa Bhavan

SARAVANAA BHAVAN, 405 Alexandra Avenue, Harrow  HA2 9SG

I , with the wife, visited this South Indian Vegetarian Restaurant recently on a Saturday evening.

There was a queue outside as no bookings are accepted. It took a wait of about 20 minutes before we were seated. This was not what an Old Indian Git like me looks forward to !!!

Inside ambience was like a Factory Canteen – busy, fast and the food was being served quite quickly – that is if you stuck to Standard Fare (Dosas. Iddli etc). Anything out of the ordinary and one had to wait a little bit (like we did !!!)

The quality of the food was excellent – freshly cooked and brought to your table in Steel Thalis nice and hot.

Prices are excellent and one can have a good meal and a drink for under a tenner !!!

Old Indian Git

(Guide to Indian Tandooris)

Zanzibar

ZANZIBAR, 113 High Street, Edgware Middx HA8 7DB  (020 8952 2986)

I have been to this Restaurant/Bar a few times and have found it to be excellent – consistently !!!

The ambience, lively but created to put Diners/Drinkers at ease, is very different. It is also quite fully staffed compared to some other Indian establishments in the area.

The chef J P Bhatt is quite innovative and his monthly specials are quite original.

All the dishes I have tasted are freshly made and, although sometimes on the spicy side, very well cooked and  presented.

My favorite dish there is Fish Tikka !!!

Prices are reasonable – but could be more competitive!!!

Old Indian Git

(Guide to Indian Tandooris)

Sapphire Lounge

SAPPHIRE LOUNGE, Mollison Way, Edgware HA8 5QH

Went to this “lounge” recently…

Lousy service !!!

Overspiced food !!!

Not worth a revisit !!!

Could do with another makeover !!!

Old Indian Git

(Guide to Indian Tandooris)

Peaches Bar/Restaurant

PEACHES BAR/RESTAURANT 177/179 Kenton Lane, Harrow HA3 0EY

A few of us Old Gits visited this Bar/Club on the evening of the World Cup Final.

Nice ambience and full of youngsters – we were really out of place.

Although we enjoyed the drinks which you had to purchase from the Bar and take to your table – and the food was not to our liking. We ordered the IndoChinese starters which were full of Sugar/Hoi Sin Sauce and I suspect MSG.  Not to anyone’s liking.

The football was fantastic (nice and violent!) and when the game ended we moved on to another restaurant to eat (more about that later).

Peaches is full of life and I would not hesitate to recommend it to youngsters under 25 (as long as they did not eat there !!!)

Old Indian Git

(Guide to Indian Tandooris)

Ruby M's

RUBY M’s, 466/468 Alexandra Avenue, Rayners Lane, Harrow HA2 9TL (020 8429 3993)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an Old Indian Git in search of a good meal tells his wife (or more likely, his mother) to make it.

NO – NOT NECESSARILY !!!

I, with some friends, recently went to Ruby M’s Restaurant/Club in Rayners Lane, Harrow.

The service was good, the food excellent and the final bill reasonable.

When we ordered our drinks (mainly daru !!!) - served nice and cold.

When we wanted to order our food – surprisingly the chef (Walter Chang – real Indian name yeah !) came to our table and discussed some dishes that we liked and some other Ruby M’s specialities.

Our selection …

Chilli Chicken Bombay Style (Great!!!)

Lamb Chop Sizzler (Quite nice – it was fresh at least !!!)

Methi Lamb (OK !!!)

Chef’suggestion – Indochinese…

Chilli Fish ( Excellent)

Sichuan Fish (Ok – a bit sweet !!!)

Egg Fried Rice (Best I have had !!!)

This was accompanied by the usual Rotis/Naans.

Whilst not sounding patronising I got the impression that the chef (Walter Chang !) seemed to know and enjoy his cooking.  That said, his wife was behind the Bar and keeping an eye on him !!!

I wish him and Ruby M’s the best as long as they continue the same service and great cooking.

I thoroughly recommend this establishment !!!

Old Indian Git

(Guide to Indian Tandooris)

First review coming up

I'm an old git.  An old Indian git.  I live in London, and I've been eating out in this city for over 40 years.  I've seen wave after wave of Indian restaurants, and so-called "Indian" restaurants, hit these shores, and I've finally had enough - of bad food, uninformed reviews and bad after-effects.  So I'm going to start reviewing Indian restaurants in my local area with all the experience and judgement of my aged tastebuds...

This Thursday is my first outing - stay tuned for the review.