Restaurants

In recent years Kolapata – ‘banana leaf’ in Bengali – has been the leading destination to experience Bangladeshi cooking in London. The restaurant is modest, cheap and very popular with local Bangladeshis. Here they rediscover the tastes of home, more often than not, with dishes such as haleem (a stew of lentils and lamb still on the bone); or with bony Bengali river fish such as fillets of rui in a spicy gravy. Pedestrian lamb madras and chicken tikka masala dishes make up the bulk of the menu, so ask the waiters to guide you towards traditional Bangladeshi food like labra (a mixed vegetable stir-fry with mustard seeds) or the extraordinary borhani: a yoghurt drink with the distinctive sulphurous aroma of the spice called kala namak (black salt). On our three visits over the last year, we’ve found standards highly variable. When the food is freshly cooked and the full complement of chefs from Dhaka is in the kitchen, the flavours and freshness sing; but visit off-peak and you may find birianis and other dishes reheated, and other corners cut.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009