Cafe Ishaq in Lambeth

Place has closed down. It’s not where Google maps sent us to. Premises all boarded up. Wasted our time walking there. Needs to be removed from here as recommendation.

I have been coming to cafe ishaq for 3 years fortnightly and it’s the only restaurant that has never disappointed me. The food is always so good and fresh. the naan are amazing, the best in london. The service is great too. Specially the banquet night deal is such great value for money. Highly recommeneded.

We were staying nearby and therefore decided to check out this Indian restaurant. Golden rule - never go to an Indian restaurant that does not have enough reviews from Indian folks. That was our mistake. Food was mediocre at best. We ordered Butter Paneer and it was the weirdest tasting butter paneer ever. How can an Indian restaurant go so wrong with such a classic dish? The color of the dish was yellow as opposed to the typical dark orange and it was just way too sweet with too much butter floating on top. Daal makhni was marginally better, but no where close to what a good Indian restaurant serves. Naan was too thick and the chapati that we ordered definitely had maida in it. To sum it up - please avoid!

I popped in for a quick meal on my own whilst working in the city. I was warmly welcomed as a single diner and swiftly served delicious, fresh poppadoms and a fantastic range of plentiful chutneys. I ordered karahi chicken and a garlic/ coriander nan and it was one of the best Indian dishes I’ve ever eaten (and I’ve eaten a lot). Served with an ice cold drink and very attentive waiter. Absolutely excellent, with a very reasonable price too. I’ll definitely be back!

Food wasn’t authentic or tasty - butter chicken and curry chicken was really bad.

Nice and affordable Indian food

From the outside I probably would have walked by here at any other time. Went in as a friend had been recommended the place, and glad we did. Food was exceptionally good quality, and portion sizes were appropriate - not too much, not too little. Good value for money too!

I would have liked a choice of sauce with the Biryani (masala sauce) More meat in the nan bread, i was ok with it & would order again.

This restaurant was easy to book online and had availability at short notice on a Saturday night for 4 people. Dinner was tasty and service was brilliant. Garlic and coriander naan bread was super tasty. Staff were very helpful and polite. The bill was really good value for money for a tasty Indian meal in the heart of London City. We tried a mixed starter and also had main courses - one nightly special and a chicken tikka. Everyone enjoyed the meal. Rice was plentiful. Chocolates served with the bill was a nice touch too.

We had a wonderfull diner here with the kids. Staff is friendly and correct and kind and funny to the kids. The flavours are exactly right, wide choice in dishes. This restaurant is a hidden pearl.

All very good but where was the salad? Delivery driver was good at following instructions to get in - many get lost. Thanks for a nice meal

Food was ok but not the best. Didn’t like that they used new potatoes in their saag aloo and in fact couldn’t eat it. Chicken tikka was delicious but the rest was only mediocre.

Very quite and relaxing. Very kind staff. Very very delicious food. Love it! ❤️ :)

Enjoyed the food, good value grill but you forgot the poppadom and chutney that i paid for.

Ordered my food and arrived within twenty minutes. It was very fresh and hot temperature too. Would highly recommend

Poor curry, better options in kennington or borough. Classic 'cheap' & cheerful English curry house (although not even that cheap). Everything taste ok and didn't get food poisoning but will not be returning. Ice cold beer and chutneys that came with poppadoms were the best things

Really enjoyed the meal. If friends (who live near by) had not recommended it we probably would not have picked it from external appearance. The cost (for London) was very reasonable about the same as our local Indian restaurant at home (small town in N Ireland). The food and service was very good and would definitely go again

Meine Familie und ich wollten was zum indisch Abendessen finden und sind dann auf dieses Local gestoßen. Das Essen war echt köstlich, vor allem das frische weiche Naan. Das Personal war auch super nett. Es hat uns so gut gefallen, dass wir in unseren 5 Tage Aufenthalt in London wiederholt haben. Mein persönliches Highlight war der Saag Paneer mit Koriander Reis und Knoblauch Naan. Ich habe genau diese Kombination zweimal bestellt. Ich kann dieses Restaurant daher echt nur weiterempfehlen.

Ok is not good enough - service was fine - food a disappointment

One of the least tasteless korai that I have had. Garlic and Coriander naan, without any Coriander. It was all just okay. Not terrible. But just ... okay

Went there on a Monday evening and enjoyed a tasty dinner. Had reserved but was not too crowded. Food ordered was a chicken curry, a fish dish and a vegetable dish. Ordered rice and a garlic naan complimented with a cold beer.

All good! Good price, very good food, very kind persons, thanks a lot!

Located close to the Imperial War Museum, this restaurant offers a large choice of food. We had choice of starters, as main lamb and "café grill" with different meats&prawn. Icecold draft beer, nice white housewine/Sauvignon blanc. The restaurant was quieter and less cramped than other Indian places we went already ... it was busy, but not noisy and stressful, tables stand not too close together. Prices, service, servings are correct.

Butter chicken was nowhere near butter chicken. It was chunks of cooked chicken in yogurt with lots of turmeric and butter. No creaminess in the curry and tenderness in chicken. Service was substandard. It is strange that they do not serve water to you, you have to buy water and that too when we told them to warm it up a bit, they never brought the bottle of water back. The most horrible was “Aaloo Chana Masala”. It was butchered.

Service was great, food was great, prices were great

Clearly a long established business. It's a bit frayed round the edges but don't let that put you off. Waiters are friendly, attentive and efficient. Food is amazingly well priced not only for London but the UK as a whole. All the dishes tried were tasty and plentiful. As an indication of Cafe Ishaq's popularity it was full at 7pm on a Sunday evening. PS It's a proper restaurant not a Cafe with formica tables and paper napkins.

This is our local Indian restaurant and can highly recommend - food is delicious with every dish tasting different and unique. All the meat dishes are well cooked and juicy (not dried out). Generous portions and reasonably well priced.

Kind helpful staff good food reasonable price I

We went for a dinner and it was amazing. Lamb biriyani was the best one 🥰🥰.. great service too… keep it up guys.

Just a stone’s throw from where I was staying. Lovely little Indian restaurant great food and service, can’t ask for more. The nicest king prawn shashlic I’ve ever had.

We are just about to pay our bill and have had such a wonderful meal as a family of five. We are staying close by and needed somewhere to eat at 10:30 we called this restaurant and they very kindly accommodated us even though they were closing at 11pm (it’s a Monday night). We pre ordered over the phone and our food was ready for us on arrival. Everything was very, very tasty and portions were good. If back in London we would make a trip back here. Staff were very friendly too.

A delight. Warm and welcoming. Kind staff and a very experienced Chef of 50 years. Very impressive. So tasty and good value. Thank you. Met the owners huge respect. Shaked their hands. Very respectful.

Have been coming back to this restaurant for roughly 3 years. Wonderful small family run business. Amazing food, great taste and fantastic service. Staff very friendly and attentive. Really enjoy my experience each and every time. Thank you. 😊

Good place to go for good food

Food is not so good, staff is good.

מסעדה הודית נחמדה אוכל טעים מחיר סביר שרות טוב. פתוח עד נאוחר

I was always hyped with comments about Indian food in London for years. This place is not the one to try with your hopes up. Drinks come in food containers, meat is almost non existent in their meat dish and the taste is not even up to par with Dutch(considered the worst food ever, right?) ones ever. So far the worst experience I have had in London. Check the photos if you would like to play “find the meat in this food” game or fancy seeing a drink in a food container

Walked into an empty restaurant and had initial doubts, and could not be more wrong. Service was friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to answer any and all questions. Undeniably the best Indian food I’ve ever had. Top tier restaurant would definitely go back weekly if I could.

Great food. Great service. We walked into an empty restaurant, and were a little bit nervous, but it filled up very quickly. There was a variety of costumers, both locals and tourists.

They have a good setup but need some enhancements. Enhancement to the taste and service will make them more popular

this is my local Indian . I reaaly enjoy popping in here as the food is very good as is the service . I highly recommend it . Its not too upmarkey jsut good service , tasty food and cold beer

Useless front of house forgot our order so we had to wait for some of the food. Poor offering of complimentary plain rice. We even ordered more food and still no extras. Wouldn’t bother returning. Not sure how the reviews are so high, maybe the punters are drunk. Tikka Masala like chicken in tomato sauce

Great value for money..Very delicious food.. The service is very fast and the very friendly..

Ishaq was close to where I was staying while visiting London. I walked around looking for a place to eat and randomly walked in. I am sure glad I did! My favorites were the mushroom bhaji and tadka dal. Everything was absolutely delicious. The ambiance and service were great too.

Super bon ! C’est la deuxième fois en deux jours tellement c’est bon 👍👍

Took my girlfriend for a birthday meal at the Ishaq cafe, the staff are really nice, polite and attentive. The food was absolutely lovely, tasty and good portions. Very good value for money, well worth a visit. Thanks to all the staff.

On the list as one of my favourite Indian restaurants. I usually go for a lamb vindaloo with naan bread and it never disappoints! Packed full of flavour and always pipping hot too. It is clear that food is made to order, so the waiting time is rewarding. And to top it all off, the customer service is always next to none with ready to help attitude amongst all the staff!!!

Atmosphere is beautiful comfortable and relaxing. The service very friendly and efficient and the food is exelent.

The lamb biryani was superb. Can really taste the spices used in the cooking. I had the mango lassi and I love it. Our AirBnB was nearby so I am glad to have found the cafe.

Delicious, nothing else to tell! Absolutely to try

Great little find. Food was excellent and staff were helpful and friendly.

Real clean prepared to order food, some of the best I have ever tasted, well worth a visit... Started with Onion Bahji, Tandoori Chicken, Pappadoms and absolutely amazing relishes.

Didn’t enjoy the curry. Not that tasty. The bread and rice was good

All the dishes we chose were delicious, well presented and fresh. I think the best that I have ever eaten. Well done Cafe Ishaq.

Grabbed a curry on the way back home, decent food, nice people.

The food was delicious and the staff was very friendly and helpful with recommendations on what to order. We went by after a visit to the Imperial War Museum

Bon service cuisine et plats parfaits Servis sur des nappes en tissu et des serviettes en tissu

Food is excellent and tested positive but service is bad 😞. I'll never visit again

Ordered a takeaway for delivery. Order was accepted & payment taken. Wait of 49 minutes & then received this text - "Unfortunately we are unable to accept your order as you are too far away from us. We apologise for the inconvenience. Your money will be refunded back to your account within 3-5 working days, if paid online" Why accept the order & accept payment if they are unable to deliver?

Excellent. I overheard the waiter tell the next table they were short-staffed, but they handled it like pros. Really excellent food. Highly recommend.

Tiny biriyani portion which was actually just fried rice with chicken added. Bland and oily costing just over £10. Don't ever order from here they are complete con artists. I'm indian and that was most definitely not Biriyani. I should've just eaten my money, probably would've been tastier. I know there's a cost of living crisis but they just took the mick!

Greate Indian restaurant. Authentic not spicy large Indian dishes, real tastefull and reasonable prices. Will certainly come back!

Extremely delicious Indian food with suprisingly low prices for London. They have A LOT to choose from. The chefs are Indian so the tastes are genuine. 10/10!

So incredible I can only show you a photo of the destruction we wrought on this incredible spread. From classic Tikka to fire-breathing lamb, everything exceeded expectations!

It was such a nice meal, just as good as it was pre Covid

nice, decent Indian restaurant.

Worst Food in South London - if you love microwaved chicken, watery pre prepared tin mixtures, cheap oil, and plastic boxes that taste better you might think differently. Don’t believe order times either - my 30 minute expected arrival slowly expanded to 65 minutes. Avoid.

such a delicious food we loved it

Great food, great prices, great quality. What more could you want?!

Food is not authentic Indian. I visited the place twice, on Sunday and Monday for dinner. Service was not even good on Sunday but it was far below acceptable level on Monday. I needed to remind them to get my drink after ordering it. I waited for 15 minutes to get my bill. Then, I have to really remind them to get bill and make payment.

What a hidden gem and nice surprise, we just had a lovely dinner, everything was so tasty, full of flavor, and so reasonably priced. Our son loved the place, food was not too spicy for him, and he enjoyed his first indian food experience. Highly recommended.

Excellente cuisine, service efficace. Je recommande vivement! A faire en couple ou en famille!

Kindle People. Quick Service. Good quality. Value for money. As others say, if it's empty, that does not mean anything

Usually I don't write much about reviews on food, but this restaurant make it worth to write for it. Well prepared and fresh food with full of aroma. Importantly, vegetarian options make full sense to it's name. One of the finest prices in London. Kudos to the team.

Got gastroenteritis after eating in this cafe. ...

Overall a most positive experience - we went on a Monday and there were a few tables in, which is always a good sign. Staff were attentive and pleasant, the food flavoursome, and the beer cold. Can’t ask for more than that! A definite recommend for a fairly-priced tasty curry house. We enjoyed our meal very much - thank you.

Great food and service. Reasonable prices

The containers where half full, the veggie curry with the biryani was much less than half full, my mum and auntie were hungry so we all just eat it didn't enjoy any of it, should have took it back, will not be going again

We were worried at first because it was empty but we trusted that by the pictures and reviews of other customers it must be good. It was amazing! Friendly staff, too! It doesn’t look very inviting from the outside but if you are looking for Indian food, don’t walk past.

We was Rather concerned that the reviews were over three months ago but Wow the food was amazing and good value. The service was also good and fast. The atmosphere was amazing. People were happy and jovial 😊 When visiting again we will keep this place in mind.

Out for a quick dinner and food was excellent. Had tamarind land which had excellent flavour. Good selection of rice dishes to accompany it.

Sorpresa en todos los sentidos , la comida espectacular al igual que el servicio. Manteles de tela impolutos y los camareros profesionales, con ganas de repetir

Really enjoyed this small restaurant on Kennington Rd. We had a dinner (family of 4 with 2 teens) on a tuesday evening. Quiet room, lounge lights. Close tables are separated by a plexi (Covi-19 remains) and it's a good idea as we can speak without disturbing the party beside. Cheerfull staff and tasty meals : biryani lamb, chicken tika masala (a classic for teenagers), vege tika, plain and garlic naans. All was perfect for a reasonable price. I highly recommend it.

Cadre agréable, restaurant spacieux et soigné avec légère musique d’ambiance. Le service est rapide et agréable. Assez déçus par la saveur des plats (nous y sommes habitués) : butter chicken notamment (4 petits morceaux de poulets) et cheese nan trop cuits et ne sentants pas le fromage. Prix élevés habituels aux restaurants indiens.

DELICIOUS! Me and my boyfriend couldn’t find a good Indian for months until we went here. We haven’t gone anywhere since. The food is amazing! Whenever we have people in London, we always bring them here and they say the same! Definitely recommend!

Very nice food in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Reasonably priced and a great selection on the menu. Don’t let the dated restaurant decor put you off this gem if you like good Indian food.

Leave behind Brick Lane and Thier pushing seller... Here I found the tastiest (and hottest) Naga and Tikka Masala ever. It might be because usually they always find a table to accommodate us at any hour, it might be because it's away from all that...

Lovely food. Friendly service. Lush.

Goodvalue food. The Naag chicken was very good

First time at this restaurant and the best curry I've had in a long time. Friendly staff, wonderful food and great value.

Friendly service and fresh food. Turned the music when we asked. Saag Bhaji was delicious, and off menu chilli cheese naan was good too.

A classic style London curry house. Nice food and friendly

I have used Cafe Ishaq for takeaway in the past as they do a lamb naga curry which is one of my favourites and an even hotter Lamb Naga phal. Yesterday I visited to dine in and as with most places at the moment it...

Every aspect of the food was balanced and delicious, the portions were just right, the beer was cold, the service was friendly and quick, but they gave us our privacy. We love this place!

We haven't been in this restaurant since the new owner as taken over so a few years now ,what a lovely experience served by the owner himself the service was excellent he is very helpful and recommended some lovely dishes,most importantly the food was very good and we highly recommend it definitely going back

I'm not Indian, so maybe I don't know, but this was one of the best Indian meals I've ever had. I've eaten Indian all around the world. The nan was incredible; definitely made fresh. My kids loved their chicken dishes and the lamb was tender and flavorful. Our waiters were fine, not sure about all the reviews saying it was not good. I thought the prices were fair for London. The restaurant is not in central London where all the tourists are, but was close to our hotel (ten minute walk).

Best curry in London. Authentic Indian with very friendly staff. Highly recommended! Food is delicious and price very reasonable.

Always tasty. The Great deal on Tuesdays and Sunday's is particularly good value. Best nan bread EVER!

Excellent service, really good portions, tasty food, and at such a reasonable price!

Amazing! 🙌🏼 Was nice and quite as we come on a Monday evening but booked a table just incase. Got seated straight away and food come out quickly. Meals were incredible, one of the best Indians we’ve ever had. Amazing value for money aswell, shocked...