Real Taste

Full occupancy of the twenty or so covers by a mix of Middle Eastern guys and construction workers on their lunch break indicated to me that this place was worth checking out.
As a vegetarian, kebab shops obviously tend to push me to the edges of their menu. But I had decided that I was going to tough it out whatever, even if that meant a meal of fresh naan and salad. With no falafel on the menu, no real cold mezze, and the advertised hummus unavailable, things were not looking good. However, surprisingly, I ended up enjoying my best meal out in a while for the sum of…£2.50!
Here is what can happen in place like this — due to kebabs being the main attraction, salad (albeit basic) is complimentary and stewed vegetable ‘sauces’ to moisten the meat are also priced very cheaply. So my meal was two naan, a lush vegetable stew of mainly aubergine and tomato plus the complimentary salad. The naan was just OK, but still a fresh bread. But the vegetable stew with just a hint of heat — I can hardly think of anything more soothing to digest! A man definitely needs some meals like this to stay in balance.
I will definitely be back — I will probably have the same thing on rice next time. Or perhaps there are other vegetarian options ready to serve from the small bain marie, we shall see.
The Turkish (or whatever) guys running this place are fairly friendly, and there is a nice balance between a majority Middle Eastern male clientele, but the construction workers, a townie couple, some Chinese guys and myself blended in OK.
Food is mainly kebabs, biryanis and I’m not sure what additional takeaway sundries.
One final observation — this part of London Road boast six or so businesses that seem strongly Middle Eastern — this place, the adjacent ‘Roman’ restaurant, Marmaris grocery store across the road, a barber, a dessert café. Watch out for my upcoming reviews of these places.