Randomness Guide to London Menu

Somali cafe/restaurant in Streatham. They also do takeaway.

It's quite small, seating only about 30 people on padded seats at wood-effect melamine-topped tables. The decor is plain and cafe-style, with the only ornamentation being the wavy-edged mirrors on the walls and the decorative decals on windows and door. Huge pink plastic jugs of tap water sit ready on the tables.

Kake visited on a Thursday lunchtime in August 2016. There were half a dozen other customers when I arrived around 12:30pm, and more like 14 or 15 by 12:45. No music was playing, but there was plenty of lively conversation. All the customers apart from me were men, but nobody seemed to mind me being there.

Soup and salad were put on the table as I sat down, both included in the price of my meal. There's no actual menu, but I was told the options included beef steak, chopped meat, fish, rice, and spaghetti. I went for fish with rice (£7) photo.

The fish, which turned out to be salmon, was cooked a little more than I like, though this is just personal preference. There were no bones in it, and the portion was generous. The accompanying stewed potatoes and carrots were very soft, but this worked well in context. The rice was fine, and again a generous portion.

The soup was simple, but very good, with a deeply savoury flavour and just the right amount of lemon juice. The green chilli sauce provided in a squeeze bottle perked it up even further.

Kake's verdict: The food was fine, and I really liked the soup, but I didn't feel quite as welcome as I did at Maida just up the road.

Accessibility: A small step to get in. Another small step and a tight turn to the toilet, which is a single cramped unisex cubicle.

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