Central Restaurant, N3 1QG
- 020 8346 8263
- 407 Nether Street, N3 1QG (streetmap) (osm) (gmap) (bingmap) (streetview)
- 11am-11pm Mon-Thu; 11am-1am Fri-Sat; 11am-midnight Sun
Romanian restaurant in Finchley, very close to Finchley Central Station.
It's fairly large, seating probably around a hundred people at polished-wood tables with hoop-backed chairs. The size of the place, the lowish ceiling, and the uniformity of the furniture give it something of an institutional feel, a bit like a church hall or community centre. However, there are nice touches here and there, including woven table mats and artificial roses in small vases with decorative layers of coloured sand. A few pillars break up the space a bit, and there's a bar with keg fonts to one side.
Kake visited on a Friday lunchtime in December 2014. Arriving at noon, I was the only customer. A large flatscreen on one wall was playing music videos with the sound on at a level that might have been a bit much if the place had been full.
I went for the beans with smoked pork (£10.50) photo. The pork was nicely tender, and the smokiness wasn't overwhelming. The beans were cooked well, creamy without being mushy, and the bacon they were cooked with added a subtle flavour. Fresh dill scattered on top made a welcome contrast with the savoury flavours of the beans.
Tap water arrived swiftly on request, in a generously-sized glass, and a large basket of decent thickly-sliced white bread came with the meal. The bread didn't appear on the bill, and neither did any service charge.
Accessibility: A shallow ramp to get in. No steps to the toilets.
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