LCB

Introduction

Another one down; another one bites the dust. 

Yes, more churn in the Tooting curry market, but the circle of life continues. Lahore Spices - an LCB favourite - has sadly transpired, but the phoenix of Namkeen has risen from its ashes. However, they were some beautiful, mixed-grill-fat-spattered ashes that will be hard to replace. 

Will Namkeen adequately fill the void?

Venue

We stumbled into Namkeen on a dark, Saturday evening after bad light had stopped play at the Oval. 

As is tradition, curry must follow a day at The Test, especially with cousin Will in tow. He is a veggie now (boo!) and so we considered trying the new Arya Bhavan in Tooting (I subsequently found out it's just a rebrand of Saravanaa Bhavan anyway). However, after alcohol-fuelled indecision we were persuaded into Namkeen by an employee stood outside promising 'real lamb' (not mutton).

Namkeen means savoury or salty and I was certainly the latter upon finding out that it had replaced a favourite - Lahore Spices, and even more so when I found out the BYOB policy had gone with it. However, we'd probably had enough booze at The Oval.

Inside, little (from memory) has changed, although the seating has seen a significant upgrade in line with the rest of Tooting, with plush banquettes the toast of the town - this time in turquoise blue. Otherwise, gold framed lightboxes hint at the link to Dawat (the head chef there apparently owns/runs Namkeen), but generally it lacks a bit of it's own identity in what is a crowded market.

The bright lighting and large open kitchen and grill also remain, but the buzz of Lahore Spices has gone. This may well be as a result of being new - certainly Lahore Spices was quieter to start with, but I fear (rightly or wrongly) the lack of BYOB and higher prices may keep locals away this time.

6/10

Sides and starters

Poppadoms

Mixed Grill

Onion Bahji

Peshwari Naan

Garlic Naan

Pilao Rice

The comparisons with Lahore Spices continue with the menu, albeit with an even greater emphasis on sharing size portions (more similar to Namak Mandi)

After  initial poppadoms we had some rather soggy and disappointing bhajis. Nothing like the sprawling piles found at Mirch Masala, these microwaved, spongey pakora shaped bhaji were possibly the worst I've ever had, certainly in Tooting.

Hopes were then high for the mixed grill, not least as we were told the lamb would be premium quality and the price was double that of it's predecessor.

Early indicators were promising upon observing the pile of meat propped up by accompanying rice and naan. But we weren't here for the bread. The lamb chops justified our salesman's pitch in their plump, juicy, and salty bite. The ribs mirrored these too, however, the wings and tikka bits were a little plain, with the whole dish lacking a bit of pizazz.

The naans were pretty good, even if the garlic naan was a little dry, but in general Sides & Starters weren't quite on par with Lahore Spices' offering.

6/10

Curry

Mixed Veg Curry

Brinjal Bahji

Saag Paneer

Lamb Balti

Onto the curry, and we sampled a range of four dishes with a veggie leaning to accomodate our herbivorous cousin. I didn't touch the veg curry, but it looked very average, likewise the saag paneer isn't ever my first choice and was just fine.

The brinjal bhaji and lamb balti had a bit more to them - the brinjal quite literally in terms of onion and tomato, and the lamb balti with its firey heat. The lamb was generous and pretty tender, and probably the pick of the curries, but portion sizes and value were down again versus Namkeen's esteemed predecessor.

7/10

Service

Despite our salespitch at the door, the service inside wasn't quite as friendly and energteic. In fact, it was pretty slow in what wasn't a particularly busy restaurant. To be fair, our mixed grill was probably fresher as a result, but we were not in any huge rush but still noticed the drag, so marks down for service.

6/10

Value For Money

Higher prices and smaller portions sizes, not least for the aforementioned £35 mixed grill, make Namkeen a little harder to swallow than elsewhere. The value is likely found in the by-the-kilo curries that serve large groups, but otherwise better value meat dishes can be found locally, if not too bad for £10.99 a curry. 

The veggie curries come in at £6.99 and so are compettive, and sadly £3.99 for a peshwari isn't too spenny these days.

So generally, ok VFM here, but Tooting offers more elswhere.

7/10

Summary

Should we be comparing so directly to Lahore Spices and not any other restaurants? Probably not, but we have and will. 

When deprived of a favourite, the loss is real, and the successor really needs to live up to the predecessor's standards otherwise it will never live up to the memory haunting the same address. We felt this with Afghan Palace and Rayyan's and the same is true at Namkeen.

Yes, it's pretty good, but lacks a bit of its own identity, something to make it stand out in a busy market, particularly for the BYOB crowd. This isn't essential for this blog, but could be critical economically in the highly competitive Tooting curry scene. 

As ever, we wish Namkeen the best, but may be visiting Sutton for a Lahore Spices in the future instead.

32/50

Click here to read our last review at Spice Village, Tooting