LCB

Introduction

I was meeting my mate for a quick lunch catch up on my birthday and Kati Roll Company seemed about equidistant between out two offices. As I paced up and down in the freezing cold outside like a lemon, my friend watched me amused from within.

Once I'd finally realised he was inside, I entered so my incredible birthday lunch could begin...

...as another friend from Australia aptly put it "hope you're having a good birthday, but you're probably not as it's a Tuesday and winter". He wasn't wrong.

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Venue

Kati Roll Company is a small cafe-style joint ideal for take away or a quick bite to eat. Situated on Poland Street off Oxford Street in the middle of Soho, it does a fairly tidy trade over lunchtime.

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Inside the walls are burnt orange and decorated to look like old, worn Bollywood posters. There are some small tables for eating-in, but it can get quite busy as queues of customers mount up waiting to order or receive their orders.

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No real complaints here, it's a standard London take away joint and fairly clean and fresh looking inside. A sister restaurant apparently also exists in New York.

7/10

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Starters and sides

There are lassi and beers available which offer a nice alternative to the standard soft drinks. There are also sides of extra chopped green chillis, green chilli chutney and corker crisps. I didn't try these, but paying extra for these seemed a bit steep.

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Curry

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Achari paneer roll

Chicken tikka roll

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No curry here, just paratha wraps. There are a range to choose from with both meat (beef, chicken and prawn) and veggie (chickpea, potato and paneer) options.

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If you buy two of the same they are cheaper so me and my friend split 2 achari paneer and 2 chicken tikka rolls.

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Both tasted similar with a really nice smoked, tikka flavour followed by a green chilli chutney kick; the paneer arguably the better of the two.

The other menu options essentially look the same, but with different fillings, but if the few I've tried are anything to go for are a real flavoursome treat. You definitely need two though, one wouldn't be enough for lunch.

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8/10

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Service

Unfortunately, as the crowds that build up over lunchtime time suggest, the service isn't the quickest. I've been a few times and, for what is essentially fast food, the wait is longer than you might anticipate. If you see a queue of 5-10 people backing up I would give this a swerve for another day, but the food is probably worth the wait.

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5/10

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Value for money

Again, like the service, this isn't as good as you might hope. The prices seem (like everywhere in London for lunch!) to have shot up even in the couple of years I've been visiting.

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Two chicken tikka rolls came to £7.40 and the paneer rolls were £8.40. Yes these are original and of good quality but they aren't sizeable. If you compare to a burrito from Chipotle then this don't quite give as good a bang for your buck.

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5/10

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Summary

Definitely a good lunchtime option, but like anywhere in Soho you're going to pay a premium and battle the crowds to get served. Nevertheless, I quite like it and it offers a different choice from others around. Worth a visit.