Lahore Kebab

The Original Lahore Kebab House on Umberston Street (E1 1PY) is well-known in London for its authentic Pakistani cuisine, a place with deep roots in the local food scene. However, after a recent Oakham Curry Club visit on the 11th October 2024, our experience was a bit of a mixed bag. Overall, we rated it 6.3 out of 10, with scores for atmosphere and service being higher, but areas like food quality and customer care falling short.

The restaurant certainly has a lively, bustling atmosphere, earning a 7.07 in that department. It’s clear that this place is built to cater to large groups, and the rapid turnover can feel a bit like being in a school dinning hall, as Jacko pointed out. “It was too fast and the venue was a bit of a school dining hall,” he said. Smudge echoed a similar sentiment: “Surprised they didn’t have school dinner trays.” While speed can sometimes be a blessing, in this case, it left us feeling rushed, and the quality of the food seemed to suffer for it.

On the food front, the overall quality was somewhat underwhelming, which dragged down our score in that category to a 5.64. Bolly felt, “the one fundamental element of a good curry house is the food, and personally mine wasn’t great! It was oily, bit tasteless and not something I’d have again.” Pep’s experience with his curry wasn’t much better, noting, “my curry was full of oil and tough chicken.” However, his chicken tikka roll was a hit, calling it “the best thing I had.”

There were some bright spots. Mayo found his curry to be the highlight of his meal, saying, “unsure on the lamb chops, but my actual curry was lovely.” This curry dish was called methi gosht for those interested. Iszaak appreciated the small details like the fresh onions in the salad, though he did note there wasn’t much variety in the sauces for the popadoms.

While the venue holds charm with lively atmosphere and nice service, the fast food left a lot to be desired. For a place with such a strong reputation, the dishes could use more attention to detail to truly shine. With a bit more care in the kitchen and a less hurried pace, it could become a spot worth returning to regularly, but as it stands, it didn’t quite hit the mark for our curry club outing and it will not be receiving a sticker of endorsement (note - an overall score of 7 is required).

To conclude, the Old Lahore Kebab House is a place to consider when in a rush and you should definetly order the rolls!

OVERALL 6.30 (out of 10)

Customer Care: 5.64

Service: 6.93

Value: 6.21

Quality: 5.64

Atmosphere: 7.07