Tayyabs
A Star in the East
Food bloggers’ favourite restaurant Tayyabs in Whitechapel is a great alternative to the once unique Brick Lane experience. It’s about a 15 minute walk away from the aforementioned but well worth the additional shoe leather. Although this is a much talked about place it really does live up to the hype serving fantastic, aromatic, spicy dishes in a no-frills, contemporary interior.
It’s big, but not too big and serves great value Punjabi curries, which have been blogged to death since it opened in 1972 (or at least when blogging was first enabled). It was my first time here and didn’t want to over- order (meaning I would have to eat everything and risk falling asleep on the tube). I had a chicken tikka (starter portion), a keema naan and a bowl of dhal. It was fantastic – much better than a lot of the insipid fare that I received not far away – and all for a tenner. Not only that but it was packed with locals – a sure sign that they had found the magic recipe.
Apparently started as a little east end café and then subsumed the pub next door. This is not a place to visit for an intimate dining experience but it is one to excite and explode the taste buds. It is a simple place, serving simple food in very simple surroundings: no one ever went to Tayyabs for tips on interior decorating.
There is also a counter before you enter the restaurant proper serving a vast range of lurid super sweet sweetmeats. I bought a box for a friend in lieu an Easter egg and can only hope that it didn’t bring on an onset of diabetes.
I made the mistake of not trying the fiery grilled lamb chops, which is still acclaimed as one of London’s best dishes. The rest of the menu is a curry gourmand's dream – dahls, masala channa, lamb curries, onion bhajis, spicy tikkas, breads and kebabs - it's all here in abundance. There is also an array of specials on different days – and I am told that Thursday is the un-missable lamb chop day. I shall definitely be returning at the soonest opportunity
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