Karachi Cuisine, SW16 4XD
- 020 8689 6868
- 1113-1115 London Road, SW16 4XD (streetmap) (osm) (gmap) (bingmap) (streetview)
- karachicuisine.com
- Mon-Fri: noon-midnight; Sat-Sun and Bank Hol: 10am-midnight
Pakistani restaurant in Norbury, first opened in April 2015. It also does takeaway and delivery, with online ordering via Just Eat.
It's quite smart inside, with dim lighting and decor that's ornate but not overdone. A buffet table is set out in the centre of the room, with freestanding tables to either side and banquetted alcoves along the walls.
Kake first visited on a Friday afternoon in May 2017. There were just two other customers when I arrived around 2:30pm, and music was playing so quietly that I could barely hear it.
I went for the lamb haleem (a thick stew of wheat, lentils, and meat; £9 plus £1.50 for a plain naan) photo. The haleem had a good texture, smooth and coherent without being stodgy, and a good flavour too, with just a hint of chilli heat. The garnishes were limited to a sprinkling of spices and fried onions on top; I'd have liked to have some herbs and maybe lemon as well. The naan was good, and seemed to have been freshly cooked.
Kake visited again on a Saturday morning in July 2017 in the company of Bec, Sarah, and others. It was again almost empty when we arrived around 11am, though a couple of other parties turned up while we were there.
This time Kake and Bec tried the halwa poori (£6) photo, which is only available at weekends: a traditional Pakistani breakfast consisting of two deep-fried flatbreads along with servings of halwa (a sweet, semolina-based pudding), potato curry, and chickpea curry. This was very good; the bread was rich but not greasy, the halwa wasn't overly sweet, the potato was soft but not disintegrating, and the chickpeas were beautifully savoury, probably the best chickpea curry Kake has had in a while.
Sarah had the lamb nihari (slow-cooked lamb and bone marrow stew; £10 plus £1.50 for a plain naan) photo and seemed very pleased with it.
When Kake and Sarah visited again in July 2019, we both had the same as the previous time and it was still just as good.
Service was friendly and helpful on all our visits. No service charge was added to the bill.
Child-friendliness: There were a few children in on our second visit, ranging from a baby to the 5-year-old in our party. There's a pull-down baby change in the accessible toilet.
Accessibility: A tiny step at the entrance, really more of a ridge. No steps to the toilets, including a large accessible cubicle with grab bars, alarm cord, and pull-down baby change, but there's a fairly heavy door on the way there.
See also:
- Photos of the takeaway menu as of May 2017: page 1, page 2
- Photo of the weekend breakfast menu as of July 2019
- Photos of the food by Halal Dude In London
- Croydon Advertiser article
- Yelp comments