Restaurant Review: Babur, Brockley

 Pot roasted rabbit

Two weeks ago I had dinner at Babur, known locally for serving the best curry in the area. Despite being on my wish list long before I went to Australia, it was my maiden visit to Babur. After some delicious food I'm hoping it won't be my last visit.

As you approach Babur you can't help but notice the bigger than life size tiger leaping out at you from the first floor. Although the tiger is a little bit kitsch, stepping inside, Babur is far more refined than your average curry house. Along with Véda, that I visited in Delhi, Babur is the smartest Indian restaurant that I have dined in.

As we sat down I thought I heard the waiter faintly murmur something about starting with a complimentary cocktail. We weren't in the mood for cocktails so chose a mango lassi and glass of wine instead.

At the end of the night the drinks were complimentary so even though our waiter was barely audible we hadn't been imagining things. The restaurant knew we were celebrating a birthday, so I'm not sure if we were being given special treatment or this is a standard offer, but if you are going to make such a gesture it's worth making yourself heard!

Chicken biryani

We'd had a tip that the Chicken Biryani (£13.95) was a must order. I was a little sceptical as a biryani can be a byword for mediocrity, but it turned out to be my favourite dish of the evening. Served in an individual pot that had been sealed with dough to keep in the moisture the chicken was moist and fragrant.

Dal Makhani

Totally unnecessary, but we ordered two side dishes so that we could taste more of the menu. First was the Dal Makhani (£5.25), a dish of black lentils cooked in a thick and creamy sauce. The Sondhi Gobi (£5.50) was unlike any other cauliflower curry I've had before. Cooked in a heavy tomato sauce with Bengali spices it was heavier than I expected, but certainly no less tasty for that.

Sondhi Gobi

My Pot Roasted Mustard Rabbit with Garlic Roti (£14.25) was the least successful dish of the evening. Rabbit can be a difficult meat to cook as it is easy to dry out and unfortunately this rabbit was a little on the try side. The roti was also oddly under cooked and doughy. I was jealously eyeing up the lamb at the next table which would have been my second choice.

Even though Babur has a great reputation in the area, I was still surprised at how good their curries were. Smarter than your average Indian restaurant, the service and presentation has been Westernised with dishes served as plated main course rather than down the centre of the table to share, but the food is still regionally Indian. I hope it doesn't take a so long to return.

Babur
119 Brockley Rise
London
SE23 1JP