Saturday 14th Dec 2013
After a day at the football, Beano and I decided to wander over to the East Ends famous Brick Lane to try one of its many Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants. We made the mistake of not having a particular curry house in mind before trekking through ‘Banglatown’ and were at the mercy of the PR’s who all tried to entice us into their restaurants.
The place was very busy and we were shown downstairs to a lively yet cosy basement room, it actually looked like someone’s living room but had a pleasant enough atmosphere. As it turned out, our free drink was a small cobra and the slow service meant it was long gone before we saw any food.
We started with poppadams but as it was pretty late, we skipped starters and went straight into main courses.
It’s all real crowd pleasing, old school stuff. I had Chicken balti, vindaloo hot. Not outstanding but definitely enjoyable and presented in classic curry house style. Nothing too fancy here but Brick Lane restaurants tend to remain true to the old fashioned Indian restaurant model that Britain fell in love with.
It is very good value but you have to watch out for the 12.5% service charge which takes a good chunk of your 20% discount. Then they ask you if you want change, knowing that after a few Kingfishers people won’t notice that they’ve already paid a tip. The slippery devils.
MENU
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Brick Lane Brasserie
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MAIN:
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A classic Balti. Lot's of real curry house greats.
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16/20
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STARTERS/
SIDES: |
We didn’t go for starters but the sides were pretty standard. Tarka daal was enjoyable.
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6/10
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VARIETY:
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A reasonably sized menu with a number of chef’s specialities.
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7/10
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HEAT:
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Average heat I thought - Beano looked like he was struggling with his though!
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3/5
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DRINKS:
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The usual curry lagers.
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3/5
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VENUE
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ATMOS:
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People come from around the world visit Brick Lane. It has a vibrant, exciting atmosphere and that’s mirrored in Brick Lane Brasserie. It’s a fun and lively restaurant.
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17/20
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SERVICE:
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We found it very slow at first, ‘til we’d ordered more drink then the service sped right up as they wanted to free-up the table! Typical on Brick Lane as they all try to maximise profits.
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3/10
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VALUE:
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With so much competition for business, BB offer some very good deals – but they do their best to claw their money back.
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7/10
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LOCATION:
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The world famous Brick Lane is always worth a visit.
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5/5
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BONUS:
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A complimentary little cobra to get you through the door!
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3/5
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FINAL SCORE
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70%
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Pubs: Unsurprisingly, ‘Banglatown’ isn’t overrun with pubs but it’s just around the corner from bustling Shoreditch.
Highlight: A buzzing atmosphere and classic curry house fair.
Lowlight: It’s typical “get ‘em in, get ‘em out” service.
Verdict: An average Brick Lane establishment but not a disappointment.
Brick Lane Brasserie
67 Brick Lane
Banglatown
London
E1 6QL
67 Brick Lane
Banglatown
London
E1 6QL
Phone: 020 7377 8072
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