It’s 25 years since the Taste of Nawab started serving curries – and the community restaurant seems as strong as ever.
The Indian and Bengali outfit in Colney Hatch Lane recently brought up its quarter of a century with a buffet to thank its loyal customers over the years.
The Ham&High joined in on the celebrations, and we were mightily impressed with what was served up.
There was a warm and welcoming atmosphere as soon as we stepped inside. It immediately struck us as a proper curry house with no frills or gimmicks, but seriously good food.
More than its dishes, though, Taste of Nawab has established itself as part of the local furniture.
The restaurant’s owner, Abdul Rahman, was quick to tell us of its role helping out in the community – and the pride he continues to take in serving locals from Muswell Hill and beyond.
During the coronavirus pandemic Abdul, who was born and bred in Islington, shopped for those who couldn’t leave the house, and he cooked meals for the elderly.
Having worked in hospitality in south London, he opened his restaurant in 1996 – and has slowly built up its following ever since.
Initially, however, Abdul fought a tall order. The restaurant had changed hands more than 10 times prior to his stewardship, and many believed he was destined to fail.
Using the critics as his motivation, Taste of Nawab is now recognised as London’s fourth best restaurant according to the travel website Tripadvisor, which the chef-patron expressed great pride in.
Having established itself in the area, the curry house has gone on to scoop a Good Food award for three years in a row.
But specifically, Abdul has attracted global suitors for his Nawab sauce – a pink spicy number with 15 ingredients including garlic which can be served with poppadoms, meat or vegetables.
Customers have dialled in from around the world including China, Canada and the US to try and draw out the secrets behind the special sauce – but Abdul keeps the magic close to his chest.
Having tried it ourselves, we can confirm it’s a mighty fine sauce – but we won’t be bothering to make it at home. We’ll leave that to the experts.
Taste of Nawab is at 97 Colney Hatch Ln, N10 1LR. For more information visit https://tasteofnawab.com/
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