Rating: 4 out of 10 stars
Cuisine: Indian
Price Range: £15 per head, including a beer

Standard Balti House, Brick Lane

I went here for a work lunch, and there were 20 of us in total. The restaurant was completely empty, and during the 2 hours we were there they had no other customers, which was quite worrying, but I guess Thursday lunchtime is a very slow period for Brick Lane restaurants.

As a big group we each ordered different curries to share, with rice and naan. The curries were a bit on the oily side, but they tasted good, although some were a bit bland the cream based ones had a bit too much cream in them. Serving sizes were quite big, with plenty of meat and veg in the curry instead of just sauce.

I recommend ordering the mushroom rice as they were terrific. The naan breads were standard, with some of the slightly burnt, so best avoided. Service was fast and quick, but it is hard to judge because we were the only diners there at the time.

As usual, they served Kingfisher and Cobra beer, although make sure you ask for a “small” if you want a pint otherwise they automatically give you a “large” (660ml) bottle!

Pricewise it came up to £14 per person (after 10% discount, a standard if you ask on arrival) for quite a filling meal and a beer, but a tad expensive I would say for the highly competitive area of Brick Lane. Given the multitude of restaurants there, I would definitely not be trying this place again, but overall the quality was exactly what the name of the restaurant implies: Standard.

Address: 71 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL
Tel: 020 7247 5855
Website: http://www.standardbaltihouse.co.uk