There are lots of varieties of South-Asian food. As I’m South-Asian, that’s why I’m always tempted to test them from various places. I’ll talk about one of the finest Pakistani restaurants named “Dawat” which is located in London Norbury.
First let me tell you that this is not a sponsored article. The main purpose of this article is to share my personal experience since I and some of my friends went there a few days ago. So one of my friends heard good reviews about this restaurant. He suggested we go there and test their food. So we decided to go to the restaurant for a weekend. Though it’s in London, still it was quite far from our place, it took 1 hour to get there.
From outside,”Dawat” Restaurant looks fabulous. Its lighting with highlighted golden decoration attracts people from far and wide. Their interior was really elegant, specially some of their River tables decor were so impressive. We went there and noticed a moderate crowd. and mixed types of people were there, like some of them were native British, some of them were from Europe, some of them Middle-East and Asia, who were enjoying their food and time.
I went there with three friends and didn’t even book a table before going, yet we didn’t have to wait long as it was moderately crowded. The crowds were smaller on rainy days than on sunny days. I recommend booking your time before heading there.
Let’s first discuss what are available there
They have approximately 40 types of Starter including veg, non veg and special. Their Special Chicken items are 12 types and Special Lamb Items are 15 types. Around 15 items are on their Vegetable Dishes. And around 30 types of Rice and Bread they Offer. “Dawat” Special Menu Offers Lahori Lamb Nihari, Gyjranwala Da Lamb Paya, Shahi Lamb Haleem, Lamb Brain, Charsi Lamb Karahi, Charsi Chicken Karahi, Lahori Chana Kofta, Halwa Puri, Chicken Manchurian with Egg Fried Rice,Chicken Chow mein, Chicken with Almond, Roast Lamb Leg and Whole Grilled Lamb. Their SeaFood menu is decorated with 10 items. Also there are some Family offers as well like for 3 person, 4 person, 6 person or 10 person Packages. You can finish your meal by taking any thing from their 10 types of Sweet items. They have plenty of Soft drinks, Hot drinks, Lassi, Juice or Mocktails. They offer Kids Menu too.
Now what had we taken
Seekh Kabab
Makhni Cheese Kabab
Shami Kabab
Chicken Reshmi Kabab
We started with their 4 special starter items First of which was the Sikh Kebab, its flavor got us excited right from the start, its texture and juiciness blended beautifully. Then there was the Makhni Cheese Kebab which had just the right amount of cheese consistency and creamy Makhni sauce, it was soft on the inside and slightly firm on the outside which described its original taste. Then there was the Sami Kebab, another popular kebab item like the Sikh Kebab, its smoothness with the perfect blend of seasonings made the taste of the kebab unmatched. The last item in the starter was the Rashmi Kebab, which looked as incredible as it tasted. Light golden-brown exterior that melted in the mouth. These items were superior to each other.
Poppadoms
Naan
Mixed Kebab
Shahi Butter Paneer
Lamb Karahi
Chicken/Lamb Biryani
Khoya Gajar Halwa
Mango Lassi Jug
Mojito Glass
Since there were 4 of us, the family package of 4 seemed best suited to us as a main course. Among the main course, the mixed kebab was served to us first, with two options of mixed kebab, dry and juicy, we chose the juicy one. It was mixed with 5-6 types of kabab and grill. These were very tasty as were the special startar kebabs.
Along with that the plane served the naan, which was normal as usual naan, nothing extra special but soft enough.
There was a vegetable item inside the package, they asked us to choose one vegetable from there, we chose Shahi Butter Paneer. Honestly this was our best item of the day. Its taste, aroma, texture and its gravy were so perfect in every aspect that we were forced to lick our fingers.
Then the curry items were lamb curry or chicken curry. We chose lamb curry. We all enjoyed this dish, it was very tasty, not too dry or too chewy, it was perfectly tender, and there were enough lamb pieces. Not only the lamb curry but every lamb item they had was delicious, like the lamb grilled inside the mix kebab.
Among the heavy items were the biryani. There was either lamb or chicken biryani and we chose the chicken biryani among them. It was average, like all the other items we didn’t find that special. Even though it wasn’t too sticky or mushy and had just the right amount of herbs and spice although something felt missing in this.
A little before the end they bring us Poppadoms (papar) and a special sauce with it. Although the Poppadoms were plain, they were very tasty with the sauce.
Finally, the sweet item brought us Khoya Gajar Halwa. By then we were all full. It was perfectly sweet, had the creaminess of khoya and a balanced flavor of ghee.
For drinks we ordered Mango Lacchi Jug and Mojito Glass. Both the drinks were quite refreshing but the Mango Lacchi was a little better.
You can arrange your party programs like birthdays or wedding ceremonies at their place. At their Norbury place you can arrange approximately … peoples program at a time.
They have another outlet at Tooting.. (Postcode is E12 3AB) I’m expecting to visit there too and share my experience with you. If any of you have been there, please comment and let us know which items we should try. Also I would definitely recommend that those who want to experience the authentic taste of Pakistani food should definitely put Dawat restaurant on their wish list.