There's a darn good reason why Babur has been a favourite of south east London since it opened way back in 1987. The family-run restaurant is constantly evolving its menu and cooking styles to represent the very best cooking from India and the subcontinent, producing an ever-popular menu of inventive dishes at its Honor Oak Park restaurant.
Recently crowned London's Best Asian Restaurants at the Asian Restaurant Awards 2022, to still be snapping up such titles after such a long time at the top is quite the achievement. Babur was opened by Emdad Rahman when he was just 22 after moving from Bangladesh to Wembley as a teen. With two great chefs at the helm - head chef Jiwan Lal and sous chef Praveen Kumar Gupta - Babur has gone from strength to strength. We visited on a Monday night and every sear in the house was taken.
Dishes are lovingly created and curated following painstaking research and each is matched to its perfect wine partner (I had to laugh at the couple next to me sniffing that 'they didn't want to be told what to drink'... ignoring completely the fact that a wine pairing is probably suggested for good reason...) and what's more, there's a brilliantly inventive list of delicious cocktails to accompany your meal and with unique menus designed for special occasions - the restaurant is currently celebrating Holi and Easter - they are never short of a delicious array of dishes.
We started with delicate griddled scallops resting on a spiced pea puree, with red pepper reduction and roasted cumin, and a wonderfully crispy spinach and sweet potato shingara wrapped in homemade Bengali pastry, alongside a pile of poppadums with homemade chutneys. A delicious main of chicken lababdar in its creamy sauce of tomato, fenugreek and mace was very much enjoyed accompanied by a lemon rice with cashews while my friend very much enjoyed the baby monkfish tail caldeen, with samba rice and a fantastic Goan coconut sauce. A local and Babur regular, she told me over dinner how her family had been visitng for years and her teenage sons had now even got the Babur bug, frequent fans as they are of their takeaway offering situated just down the road. Alas, we were a tad too stuffed for dessert though fully intend to return for it.
This is a gem of a neighbouhood restaurant that's stood the test of time, for good reason. With a dedicated following of local fans, it's clear to see why it's such a favourite. Given I'm about to move to the area, I don't doubt it won't be my only visit.
