Babur Brasserie

Babur has speedily shot to the top of my most-frequently-visited restaurants list. The food is always interesting - the menu changes monthly, as does the cocktail menu - and the portions aren't too big or greasy so there is always room for 2 or 3 courses if necessary.
The service normally treads the fine line between being neglected and being over attended to perfectly. I say normally as they occasionally get it wrong and hassle/neglect, but I've been enough times to say with confidence that this restaurant knows what its doing and any blips are oddities.
The food isn't as cheap as a bog standard Indian, but where else can you get Buffalo curry which is so hot it burns yet so fragrant it makes your mouth sing while burning?! Well worth the extra ££, and nowhere near prices of 'posh' Indian restaurants in central London. Also they have a loyalty card - love it.

Not what you would expect from an indian rest'. The best i have ever been to out side india! Five stars to food, staff, decor and great wine too. It can be a bit speny but that more to do with the amount we order and drink love it

This is my local indian, and how lucky I am to have one of the best around as my regular.

The prices are just above standard, but for the quality of the food, it makes it worth that extra few quid. After ordering from here, I found it very hard to order from else where.

The eating in experience is even better, as the service comes with a smile, and they will cater to your personal tastebuds.

This place is amazing. The food is delicious. The best Indian food I have ever tasted. It is modern and posh, not your average Indian restaurant at all. You might not recognise any of the dishes on the menu, but try them, you will love them. The service, criticised on this page, has never been anything but excellent whenever I've been (and I've made at least 4 trips here). The Sunday buffet is definitely worth the pennies. The food available is of superb quality (compared to many buffets) and again the service is good. Worth booking a table, even for week nights, as it can get very busy.

As a North Londoner, it takes a lot to get me south of the river - particularly when it involves stations that, until I searched for Babur, I never knew existed. Is that bad?

Anyway, it's a relatively easy commute from my known civilisation of North London to the not-far-from-London-Bridge Babur and it's worth the journey. As a previous correspondent said, this is not your "common or garden beer and balti" place. This is a fine restaurant with a great chef, superb ingredients, an understanding of flavours and, as it happens, some pretty good cocktails. I never thought I'd drink anything called a Curry-tini let alone enjoy it but it had some decent bite, in terms of the vodka and the chilli.

There are some unusual dishes here - ostrich, for example - but it's not for novelty: it's because it tastes good. The tamarind-glazed quail is also good - so lovely to see quail taking a proper place in London's restaurant scene - ditto the dum-cooked rabbit. Game and Indian food, does it get much better than that?

The wine list is good, I certainly didn't notice the service issues others have mentioned so hopefully that's all been taken to heart and the food was superb. Hard to fault, really. Well, other than location. He adds snobbishly.

The long established Babur is not your typical `Balti n beer’ Indian restaurant often found in these parts of south London. The meals are well-prepared authentic regional dishes with none of the recogisable British conversion foods such as chicken or lamb Korma on the menu. Instead the al la carte menu includes such specialties as Sandalwood Ostrich, Yorkshire deer cutlet and spicy crab cake. The mains are equally interesting with Pan-fried Barbary duck breast glazed with honey and coriander and Tandoor-roasted ribs simmered with Goan Spicer. There are particularly tasty deserts including the delicious candied apple and a more generic chocolate fondant. Prices are up to 15 pounds per head for a main but the excellent quality and attentive service is well worth the money. The interior is classy and elegant and the exterior is easily visible from the road with it’s white wash front and model tiger perched over the entrance

As Indian restaurants go, Babur is rather good. There is a greater familiarity with proper Indian food and a respect for it that transcends the bright orange stuff that many places still insist on serving.

When we were last there a couple of months ago we received great service (if a touch formal) and great food, from the lamb tikka to the potato bhajia - the mains were darned fine too; passably good mattar paneer and great daal.

If you’re close by then do go, you won’t be disappointed.

UPDATED 30/11/08 - Was there again but disappointed by brusque service. Food passed muster but service let things down.

First, the plus side: This is a very swish, classy restaurant that serves great food. I was surprised at the very generous prices, and they threw in free appetizers (or was it desserts?), too. I don’t have much of a knowledge of Indian food, so I almost always get the same - korma. This was lovely.

Second, the negative side: The service was atrocious. There were probably a dozen staff or more, so there was no problem with speed or efficiency. However, our waiter was just rude. He practically grunted, rather than spoke, and he seemed desperate to ship us straight out as fast as we came in. He took my plate away as I was still eating, for God’s sake. I couldn’t believe the ignorance of the man. He had no class at all. This was disappointing, but I am prepared to believe it was a one-off. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, so I might have just been the unlucky sod who ended up with the crappy waiter.

This restaurant isn’t in Thamesmead, it’s in Brockley, SE4.