Edgware Road

[Kikujiro]

Meeting a colleague for lunch and due to Central Line hoopla we are converging on the Pink Slow-as-Shit Line around Edgware Road. Wondering where to try around there: is Patogh the best option? Or ... ?

[Tonyfinch]

Try Mandalay. Burmese restaurant run by two brothers. Haven't been for a couple of years but I used to go a lot. Everything is fresh and authentic and cheap.

[RickBehl]

Just my neck of the woods !

Patogh as you say is consistently very good.

Mandalay is also very good, although try to book

ahead, they do get busy. I recommend the twice

cooked fish curry, the pickle-style lamb, egg &potato

samosas and the calabash fritters. Also the aubergine

dish is good !

Also around there is Satay House, very good Malay/Indonesian. Recommend the crispy fried chicken with garlic, the okra with chillies, mixed satay (of course).

The Chapel is a Gastropub which does a reasonable

line in mod European.

There is a Japanese place (Yumi ?) which is reasonable.

The Seashell is one of London's finest Fish and Chip

restaurants (as exhibited by all the black cab drivers

having lunch !)

There are more, but these are your best bet !

Look forward to hear where you ended up.

Rgds

Rick

[Tonyfinch]

There's also Les Portes Des Indes behind Marble Arch tube. I haven't been a friend goes regularly and really likes it. For French Michelin type food on a budget there's The Crescent in The Montcalm Hotel.

[Kikujiro]

Thanks, both. I'll present choice of Patogh and Mandalay and see what he thinks.

[Kikujiro]

Well, Patogh didn't open until 1.30, an hour after we got there, so Mandalay it was. It's at 444 Edgware Road, but I missed off a 4 when transcribing the address, so we got to walk the entire length of the street and work up an appetite.

Caff-like atmosphere, shading the blaze outside. Kind of subdued when we arrived but the dos gros hermanos, to steal a phrase, were welcoming to a fault. Indeed, as others arrived, it looked very much like we were the only punters that weren't intimately-known regulars. Quickly established the lunch menu we'd been given wasn't the one we were after.

Based on partial recall of RickBehl's advice, ordered the leafy green fritters; green papaya and cucumber salad; pickle-style lamb; aubergine and potato; noodles with king prawn and cucumber; and took additional suggestion of some plain rice. All very satisfying; particularly the lamb and aubergine dishes. Would definitely return. 30 quid for two including still water and service. Cheers, Tony and Rick.

[RickBehl]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it.

Dwight and Gary Ali are the two brothers who run the place. They are

incredibly friendly and have a quite fascinating history.

From my recollection, they were born in Burma, spent many years in Norway, then moved to London. In between they seemed to have picked

up a great knowledge of many parts of the world. This may explain their

passion for Middlesborough football team !

Rgds

Rick

[Gavin Jones]

The 'Poltroon' Guy Dimond reviews very positively 'Signature' - what appears to be a fancy French Bistro at 114 Crawford St (close to Baker St - and no I don't do air saxophone).

Any of you Cato St conspirators eaten there?

In any event I will try lunch there in the next week.

[Miss J]

Coming in late, but...

I love Mandalay. The first time I went, the Ali brothers were so enthusiastic about teaching people about their food I inadvertently ended up taking a 2-hour lunch. (Ahem - it's a good thing I don't work at the same place anymore.) It's been a while since I've visited, but this thread reminds me that I ought to go back soon.

Speaking of interesting places on the Edgeware Road, has anyone been to Mawar lately? It's been at least four or five years since I tromped down the stairs and into The World's Biggest Malaysian Student Hang-Out, so I'm not up to date on the food anymore.

[Kikujiro]

Ah, I was hearing about this place, but only in terms of somewhere underground where lots of Malaysians go. Where is it?

[Miss J]

Umm...on the same side of Edgware Road as Safeway, somewhere between the Spec Savers and Faroush. (Okay, I know that's a fairly big range but it really has been a while since I've been.) All you can see from the street is a door leading down some dark stairs and a pink neon "Mawar" sign.

As I recall, when you walk down the stairs you find a hot bar and a bunch of cheap tables crowded with the aformentioned Malaysian students. There's a number of hot and cold dishes, and you can select a couple to go with your rice for ridiculously little money.

[RickBehl]

Mawar is on Edgware Road, pretty much at the junction of Edgware Road and Sussex Gardens. I know as I live opposite :-)

It is relatively easy to miss because it is just a doorway with a sign above it.

You can eat a la carte from the menu or choose a set meal from the hot counter.

I believe a Nasi Campur (rice + a large spoon each of 3 of the hot dishes) comes in at around the £5 mark. If you go for this option, it is usually best to go when the food has just been cooked, as sitting around doesn't do some of the dishes any good. Although, there is the argument that a good Rendang should be left as long as possible...

I believe there is also a 'true' student Malysian canteen somewhere on Bryanston St., which is behind Edgware Road. I haven't been there so can't comment.

My general preference for Malaysian/Indonesian is Satay House, which again

is just round the corner from Edgware Road/Sussex Gardens. Again, see comments earlier in this thread.

Rgds

Rick

[Miss J]

Now there speaks a man who knows what he's talking about.

[Gavin Jones]

The 'Poltroon' Guy Dimond reviews very positively 'Signature' - what appears to be a fancy French Bistro at 114 Crawford St (close to Baker St - and no I don't do air saxophone).

Lunched at this today. Not great.

1. Excellent bread (with half a head of roast garlic) -good

2. Amuse of foamy parsnip soup with pine-nuts. tasted like its description - ok.

3. Starter: baby squid risotto - rice lost in tomatoey slick, baby squid ok. Bizarre assambly of salad leves graced this. Overall ketchuppy feel.

4. Main: Filet'o'cod wrapped in smoked duck breast on puy lentils: This was good, just done chunk of cod in duck bacon on well defined (& not overly earthy lentils).

5. Tarte tatin on sable biscuit, vanilla ice cream: Hadn't understood that the puff/short paste was replaced by essentially shortbread.

A prime example of the less-is-less approach of the individual portion. The fact that the apples stood in a 2 inch stack did not enhance this - ok vanilla ice cream lay on crushed walnuts with a flavour which would recur.

6. Double espresso (good) with a chocolate truffle rolled in rancid walnut pieces.

Fancy presentation (rectangular plates et al), decent service. Uninspiring wine list at the under £25 level.

Cooking was slightly ambitious and flawed.

I'm taking the Satay house every time.