Restaurants

Adding a much-needed touch of culinary liveliness to Edgware High Street, Zanzibar is a large, bustling North Indian eaterie housed in the reasonably appropriate environs of a former pub. On our Saturday night visit it was positively heaving with a predominantly Indian clientele, mostly in large groups, tucking in with gusto to a background of Bollywood films on flatscreen TVs. Being asked for a credit card to put behind the bar for security' did, however, come as a bit of an unpleasant surprise. The food, though, hit the spot, even if the chilli sauce-drenched masala mogo chips (cassava chips) were overly sweet. Succulent tandoori lamb chops, Asli chicken curry and sarson da saag (creamy textured mustard greens that had a fine, piquant kick) were satisfyingly tasty, accompanied by methi (fenugreek) roti and peshwari naan. Verdict: gutsy Indian cooking in boisterous surroundings.

Time Out Cheap Eats in London Guide 2007