Tayyabs in Tower Hamlets

Endless waiting, cheap food, rude waiters all completely with a night spent in the bathroom with diarrhea because something was definitely contaminated and made me feel terrible

The lamb tasted amazing, fantastic experience

What a great meal. Tasty all round and delivered with speed, staff were good and we didn't feel rushed at all. Will definitely go again.

Amazing food specially one of the best kebabs in London

Food quality and Taste was absolutely top notch. The ambience is good .. Overall Great Value for Money.. Must visit restaurant for all..

This is the best place to eat Indian food in London. I lived next door for years and I've just been back again. It didn't disappoint. Don't expect something fancy, that's not the point here. It's just delicious, well priced food. With BYO drinks too!

Definitely an experience, they were so busy but dishes were flowing from the kitchen smoothly. Great delicious dishes. Really good , I personally do t understand the low rating on google, they deserve more

The food was delicious, really good service - friendly and attentive without being overpowering - and it had a nice, family-friendly buzz when we were there on a Thursday early evening

This used to be a good restaurant and I have been there a number of times but over a period of time, they have been becoming arrogant. Today when we sat down, they insisted that we place the order for the night in one go. We were not comfortable with it but we had no choice. Half of the starters came quite quickly but the balance half took more than 45 minutes. When we asked, there was no courtesy and they simply said kitchen is busy. My main issue is not with waiting but the arrogance.

Food is consistent. Good greasy curry and fluffy naans. Excellent lamb chops. BYOB! What else does one need? Yum yum!

Fantastic experience. Absolutely rammed on a Tuesday, a fantastic sign for a restaurant in the area. Service was decent, food fantastic. Good vegetarian options

A classic for a reason, lamb chops to die for, and really strong Lahori flavours!

I went in both times without making a reservation, but by the time I left, there was a long line, so depending on the time of day you might have to wait quite a while. The taste is very delicious. Alcohol isn't on the menu, but you can bring your own.

This place is just not worth the hype. The taste is avg and the staff are just don’t care. You are definitely better off going to a local restaurant who take double the care in attending to guest and advising. We ordered a dish and then the taste was not good so we called the steward and he said you should not have ordered it’s not a good one to have. I wonder why they then have it on the menu or if they know it’s not good then why they don’t improve it. Don’t waste your hard earned money.

One of Great place in hosting to enjoy the food with family and friends.

Visited on 11 October 2024 at 4pm. The restaurant has a nice location and offers tasty food for adults, though it’s too spicy for kids, leaving them with only bread and salad. The facilities also need attention, with an ill-fitting toilet seat, a flooded sink in the women’s restroom, and spider webs adorning the lights above. The Karak chai tasted more like tea-flavored water, which was a letdown. But the real cherry on top was the waiter’s unprofessional comment comparing my short hair to my daughter’s long hair, as if hairstyle determines character—perhaps he could take a break to think before he speaks next time!

Saw an online recommendation. We were so glad we went. Wonderful in all respects. BYOB.

Great food, great prices and the service was bang on. It's BYOB with no fuss but they don't have pint glasses to share so be prepared to use the quarter pint ones if you have a beer.

Great food at a great price, and they still allow you to bring your own drinks! A bit empty on a wed night.

Good food, variety of dishes available, pretty quick service, gets very busy on weekends so worth booking. It's a BYOB restaurant so a great place for team socials.

Full of energy, great vibes, and a great mix of customers.

If you don’t have a reservation the wait can be a bit long but the food is definitely worth it. King prawn curry was my favourite, can’t go wrong with a mixed grill either

Visited this wonderful place with work colleagues Absolutely loved the atmosphere and experience, busy with people enjoying the food Simple dining wonderful food great hospitality and staff

Tayyabs over the years has lost their setting and position in this field. I was going their since it was 16 (1996) and I remember still struggle to get a set inside. I drove my Uni friend all the way from Hertfordshire to eat there and stopped going to Lahore (1999). With my dad his loyalty was Lahore, as he was a social worker in Tower Hamlets, his team always went to Lahore, so my dad was known. I last went there 2010 before moving, I returned with my children to feel a bit of my history this year so they can taste what I experienced 12 years ago. I told them how successful this establishment had become and I saw them buy their first big cars and named them Tayyab 1 and 2 did not see then that day LOL. Thinking about the food mouth watering, excited seeing the buzz telling my children Tayyab still got it. We ordered my favourite Lamb Sheek Kabah, Lamb Chops and a few other dishes. Boy I was disappointed Red Tandoori spice (WHY?), Where is that lovely natural colour spice and look? The sheeks did not melt in your mouth anymore! It was more bulky in size and chewy. It was busy we where being ignored and the food came separately, the tandoori roti came 30mins after the sheeks were served at the table. We where looking around to see what happened. We ask one waiter he says 'I will see,' and disappears, we are just waiting with the sizzler on the table. We then realised the sheeks were starters and the roti will come with the chops and the other mains. We did say we want it all together? They did apologise, but we had to eat the sheeks on its own. Tayyab food has become normal high street food nothing extraordinary, over priced due to the established name. I recognised one of the owners I think, asked him if he was here since 2010. He said yes, tried to give him feedback, he said 'time has changed.' Yes it has, Tayyab has become more commercial and lost its USP. People will still go eat at your restaurant, but your legacy customers will remember the past and say 'I remember Tayyab when it was....Now I will not go, as I have found better cheaper near me.'

Lovely food but on Saturday night it was like queuing to get into a club! I guess that's London for you, most things seem a baffling ordeal!

What a beautiful food and Eastern hospitality...

Top Punjabi cuisine, and with so much competition around in Whitechapel, still a standout.

Restaurant is busy no doubt about it. However service and staff attitude is totally wrong. Specially with their attitude, they force you to finish your food and empty the table because they are busy. They need your table for other guest. If you go somewhere to eat with your group of friends you wanna enjoy the food and enjoy the time while you eating and staff attitude are like this. So I am sorry. I am not going to dine there anymore.

It's a bit of legendary place. The tasty food just rolls and so do the people. It's crowded, it's noisy, it's busy and yet it's a special place. Worth the experience!

This restaurant was just minutes away from our hotel, that's why we made reservations for our dinner on our busy arrival day. Partly also because we saw a crazy amount ouf people queuing up to get a table. This is the noisiest, most overcrowded ... restaurant we ever went to 🙉🙈🙊 But the success is on their side. The recommended "signature dishes" were a hit and miss. The "lamb chops" weren't tender but tough/impossible to cut/low quality, the "dry meat", also lamb, was tender but both dishes were over spiced, much too hot, which ruined the taste. Pilau rice was served lukewarm. Service was very fast, as we left plenty of food on the plates, the waiter asked "how was it" we told him about our deception .... but no action, no comments from him😱 It is a very busy, noisy, cramped ... and also "cheap" place which we don't recommend. Also many loud, disrespectful, drunk ... customers who abuse the BYOB system 🤪

Service was very good and a nice place to go. However…Limited choice of dishes and food was average, especially for the price. Turned out it didn’t agree with me either. The endless stream of sizzling dishes they were knocking out also made breathing difficult at times.

Underwhelming 2nd attempt at this popular Indian restaurant. Despite having a reservation we still waited 40 minutes, without an apology it a gesture of goodwill. Naan came thin and hard. Pilau was fine. The lamb and bhindi curry was pretty bland. The meat curries we had were really tough, it was such a shame as we thought our first experience was just an anomoly. We were seated downstairs and it was so smokey from the dishes being brought out your eyes would water and people would cough. Just a really unpleasant dining experience overall. I knew it wasn't a real punjab restaurant when they don't offer onion salad or lime pickle. We won't be coming back.

An East London institution; I've been dining here nearly 30 years, and watched it grow and grow; the unchanged menu and recipes have had me coming back every time You might be disappointed if you don't stick to some guidelines... If you go when they are at their busiest, then your reservation probably counts for nothing, and the quality of some dishes can dip... however, when they fail to deliver, they are only ever a victim of their own success Their strong suit is the grilled starters, so I always get plenty of those and I don't worry if I don't order too many mains... For maximum variety I find it optimal to share all food amongst a table of 4 or 5, and if you've spent over £30 per head you might struggle to finish it all! If you're sitting down by 18:30hrs, you'll be good, any later, then experience may vary

Wow! Late Sunday afternoon and luckily got a table for 2. Lovely staff who helped us decide what to order - lamb chops and sheish kebabs followed by dry meat and karahi lamb with garlic Nan and rice. It was absolutely brilliant - the lamb chops and dry meat being the highlights. So tender and is now up there with our favourite Bradford curry houses - no mean feat in our opinion. All staff were friendly even when passing - the opposite of so many reviews. A wonderful experience which ensures we’ll return on future London visits.

We went to Tayyab last monday, not bad service,we ordered within minutes the lambs chops arrived,it was not fresh must be left overs rewarmed and sent to us, the meat was chewy as rubber ,the bones were not fully braised some were still uncooked,the Karai Lamb gosh was disgusting again was not freshly cooked so much oil dripping from it made me sick on the stomach after i have eaten a bit of it. The mango lassi and sweet lassi was had a funny taste again it was not freshly made,the quality of the food at Tayyab sadly the quality has gone down the pit. I know Tayyab in the little shop with 3 tables only and i remembered fully when their old parents were cooking authentic briani and the over all food was exquisite,i am talking 40 years ago, now it is a waste of money and time, i think they really don't care about quality since they expanded, the customer is good, the oumph is missing i have decided not to go there anymore. Sorry guys this a very honest opinion, also they push elderly customers to go by stair, no lift service ,i got arthritis in both knees i struggled to go upstairs and again another small flights of stairs which put me at risk of falling and it is with dim lights.I think greed has caught them big time. SadlyNever again. In the old days i used to buy the special briani for all my family,now if you look at this tiny little plate of briani, it looks like dog food .

Great kebabs and chicken Tikka from the starters. Garlic Naan and Prawn curry were tasty. I thought there would have been some biriyani on the menu. That was the only let down.

Absolutely delish karahi chicken and dry lamb dish. Salahuddin was attentive, warm and helpful. The samosa was a bit greasy.

The mango lassi was extremely sweet- not nice at all. The lamb chops were tough and chewy. The lamb curry was too salty. The waiters were nice.

The only item that tastes 😋 nice was Mutton kebab. Mutton chops were not tender and same with mutton tikka. Two currys we ordered were King prawn karrahi and lamb karrahi l, both curried were below average. The picture attached is leftover both karrahis which self explains 🤔. There are a lot more places serving Pakistani food with great taste.

Was looking forward to this place and managed to finally go, but the experience was absolutely abysmal! They kept us waiting for the table even after booking because one of the guests was late, even when they had several empty tables. The Maitre d was SUPER rude and won't even talk properly. I don't understand how you get to be in the hospitality business and act like that. The food was everage, at best. Do yourselves a favour and give this place a miss!

Food was excellent and reasonably priced. BYOB so we left a good tip. But.. 1) all courses came at once, starters and mains, even when I had asked for them to come later 2) 5 minutes after we had finished our mains, we were handed a bill -- we were originally going to order some lassi and desserts Clearly you are rushed out the door here when it's busy. Fair enough if there were bookings (we didn't have one) but this should be communicated to the customer beforehand. It spoiled our dinner experience, although the food was good

Great food and service. I always go in the afternoon when it’s more quiet.

Food was really good and the atmosphere was busy, this is a very popular place so it's in out. Go with people so you can create your own vibes and enjoy some authentic food.

The food was really nice, but it was missing the wow effect for me. This place is a bit of a touch and go, lots of people rate it and others consider it average. I was somewhere in the middle, I don’t think it was bad, but nothing outstanding and not enough for the 5 stars in my opinion.

2 words....Lamb Chops! They were delicious. Other dishes were good too, but the chops were extra!

Disappointing food and service. I sent back the lamb Karahi and spinach paneer for lack of flavour, although it came back more flavoured, it was unbearably spicy and almost inedible. Poor service and food, do not waste your money here.

Tayyabs used to be a good place, but sadly I have to say that things have changed. Portions are tiny considering what you’re paying, but the sad truth is that after been eating there me and my family all felt sick. It’s a farewell.

So busy but so damn good! They somehow also manage to fulfil bookings with hundreds of people queued up(all with bookings, don't bother without a reservation! The "platter" may not be on the menu but try it and be amazed😃

Absolutely amazing pakistani/ indian food in London. A must visit for an authentic curry that has the perfect combination of spice and karahi. It's great, home away from home!

I actually thought the service was pretty good! Waiters were friendly and helpful, ordering was easy, food came very quickly. My only real service complaint is that the tables were packed too closely together. But the food wasn’t very good at all. Karahi chicken sauce was watery and the meat was overcooked and dry. It wasn’t *that* spicy, and other flavors were pretty weak. Kebabs were better, but still nothing special. Pilau rice was very expensive for a tiny bowl (no other rice option on the menu!) and tasted like nothing. I didn’t know it was possible to make pilau actively flavorless. Papadam sauces were overly sweet and uninteresting. Just kind of bad. Spicy enough to wow people accustomed to British Indian food, I guess, but lacking in every other way.

Tasty Punjabi food and nice ambience.The mixed grill and dry curry were excellent Don't forget the Rasmallai for dessert too.

Firstly, we entered, and the floor manager was very arrogant. I understand if you are busy, but there is always a way to speak and accommodate customers. This place is only for people who want to drink alcohol and eat cheap and cheerful food. Not for families. Very disappointed. The other thing I found a bit stupid was that the Manager walked backwards up the stairs. The owners really need to pay attention to all the bad reviews.

I used to come here a lot but now both food and service is just average. Small portions, extremely oily and the quality has decreased massively. Not recommend at all.

One of, if not the best best curry house in london

Service is on point, food is delicious, and it works out so much cheaper than expected due to complimentary poppadoms and bring your own booze. Love this place!!!

2x lamb chops, 2x seekh kebab, 2x dry meat curries and 4 plain naan please. Perfect, every single time.

They have no option for people with food allergies (dairy). I ordered dal with brinjal . Which was so raw that I had to change it. The person serving us was quite rude.

Shocking fall from grace. Terrible service beyond belief, actual morons running around like headless chickens. Lamb chops still hold up but the rest of it is terrible

Average food, unfriendly service. Would ask you to leave before you have even finished your food.

Great that it's split into 3 sections so never gets noisy. Service friendly and efficient. Food tasty

Four floors of excellent food, quick service, and classic East London curry house vibes. Round the corner from brick lane so a little less touristy which was nice. It’s bring your own booze (no corkage). Highly recommend the saag paneer - one of the best I’ve had in the UK (and I’m south Asian!)

One of the best curries we have had in a very long time. Authentic Pakistani cuisine. Four of us went and chose a variety of dishes, including starters, breads, poppadoms and mains. The food was exceptional and very tasty. The service was fast and polite. The main menu is slightly limited, which was a good thing, making it easier to choose. There was a very large selection of deserts and pastries. Overall a very good experience and great price. This all came in at under £20 per head. The price was helped by the fact that it is a bring your own alchol. This can be bought from a Tesco express just a 4 minute walk away.

Food was top quality all-round. Service deserved full stars because of their patience and accommodation of our needs. Can also feel the history of the place. Highly recommend!

Abysmal service and food! When I entered, the staff, along with their manager, were completely apathetic. There was no acknowledgment whatsoever. I ordered seekh kebabs with naan bread, and it was ready in 15 minutes, even though the manager had said 5 minutes. The kebabs appeared to be raw on the inside, and the naan bread was burnt and crispy on the back. The kebabs were dangerously overloaded with chilli powder in order to conceal their poor quality. After consuming it, I experienced a stomachache. My advice to anyone who values their health and well-being is to absolutely avoid this place.

Food is delicious! Amazing dishes. The tables are on top of each other, and waiters bump into you when serving. It's extremely loud/noisy, so I wouldn't recommend it for a romantic or business type meal. It's on two levels and many tables. We didn't wait long to be served, and our orders came out quickly and cooked perfectly. Will definitely be back.

The food was really good and not too expensive. The staff was really nice and took care of us even though it was a busy Sunday afternoon. I had a great first time there.

One of the best South Asian restaurants in London. This place is tucked in on a side street in Whitechapel but it somehow always seems to be busy. A big plus is that they allow people to BYOB. If you come here, their mango lassi is the best (no overpowering yoghurty taste and just right on sweetness and mango flavour 🥭😍) Sizzling Seekh kebabs are a must for starters!

Service was fast! Food delicious. Prawns are amazing and naan. Everything really is great. Bring some beer with you and it’ll be a fun night.

The waiter spilled mango lassi over my phone and wallet when serving food. Two waiters gave me tissue to clean it up myself and left the soggy tissues on my table. Didn't offer a replacement drink or knife. On arrival there was a glass bottle filled with water. They refill these. I was disgusted to see the cashier drinking from one of these straight from the bottle. The water cup was stained. The drink didn't come with any glasses so had to use our water cups for this. The meat tasted like it had been reheated. It was so loud I couldn't have a conversation. If I wanted a nice catch up meal with someone then this would be on my avoid list.

Delicious food and good service. A bit busy inside, but that added some atmosphere

Way too noisy, used to be good but now it’s terrible because everything is mass made. Dhal was like stones in a nice sauce. Everything comes really quickly but nothing is hot or fresh. You have to ask for everything regarding service and it is so expensive for the portion.

Pathetic experience with family. Low quality food. Will never go again.

Fabulous from start to finish. Speedy, attentive as and essicjent We had lamb chops, lentil and aubergine and dry meat. My Japanese friend loves curries and picked Tayyab.

Really good service and food Lovely 3 floor restaurant

The food here is outstanding and the price is amazing. We rolled out of the place and the price was so low I thought they'd made a mistake. The service is fast and functional. Only 3 stars for the atmosphere cos it's very loud. You literally have to shout to talk. I would definitely return but I would recommend you research the menu as the service is fast and furious. You definitely need to book but if you're a fan of Indian cuisine you should try it

It's a huge place, so they serve food at scale here. I think there are better places to try for from that part of the world but I'll not say it was bad. Just okaish.

By far best Indian food in London. However yesterday our lamb chops came very small(almost no meat to eat) and burnt. It was disappointing as that's one of our favourite dish from Tyyabs, hopefully it was just a one off mistake.

A quick call to check availability and next 30 mts we were siting down. Great food at fair prices. Me and the wife enjoyed a great meal and we will be back for more. Really tasty food.

Semi decent classic restaurant in a downtrodden area of East London. The food has been watered down for the general public and I can't say that it's full on authentic Pakistani food. The mixed grill was really nice however, the lamb and chicken karahi were average to below average. If you have a low tolerance for spicy food then you will love it here. For people of Indian and Pakistani heritage I'd say you will be disappointed. The mango lassi was great. The poppadoms were stale and flexible rather than crisp.

This is by far one of the best curry spots in London. Hosted over 3 floors spanning a large footprint. The food in fresh, tasty and the service is like a well oiled machine. A bonus is that it’s a BYO

Unfortunately very disappointed with food taste. We dimed after 17 years and food quality gone down badly. We ordered mix grill which had no taste and was dipped in masala. Chewy chops and curries had no taste

The hype around this restaurant is not worth it. It’s not well priced, the food is drowning in oil and has no taste. It’s purely a venue to sit and drink as they don’t have any limits or restrictions on BYO alcohol. Don’t bother coming here to eat, your stomach will thank you for it.

Visited tayyaba after a long time with family but I was surprised as the atmosphere of restaurant is totally changed and this place not fit for failmily lunch/dinner. It was so noisy and staff behaviour was also not good.

The tikka starters were nice, but unfortunately that is where the positives end. Curry house must-haves were poorly done: the pilau rice was flavourless and had no cumin/cardamom, the naan breads were overwhelmingly greasy and every bite tasted like butter, and poppoadom sauces were clearly watered down. The atmosphere was fine, if you long for a party vibe and to not hear your dinner guests, but it was not for me. If the meal had been good, it would have just about been worth the price.

Mutton tikka was too hard and chewy.. Meat pilau is very average and meat is hard as well. Complained to the waiter but no response or refund offered. Lucky I didn't get tummy upset. Not sure what happened but food quality is not as good as it used to be.

As someone who grew up eating curries, I can truly say that Tayyabs nailed every dish I’ve had there so far. Absolutely amazing chops, kebabs and dry meat curry! I was I’m London for about a week and ended up going there on three occasions!

Great place - lovely food and great (and hardworking) staff

Best curry in London. No debate to be had on the matter.

The staff are very friendly and the service is fast! 💫

Ordered the masala fish, it was dry and over cooked. Chicken Tikka masala was bland and sweetish. Lassi was actually chaas which is a watered down version of Lassi. Only the tandoori roti was nice. Do not recommend.

Absolutely delicious! We'll go again with family!

I was looking forward to eating here for a while. However, most of the bad reviews are true. Food: Bland, cold and worst of all - we ordered starters and mains. 30 seconds after the starters came out the mains started to arrive??! Staff: The bad review unfortunately are true - rude and uninterested. Decor and ambience: Crammed tables, ripped and old seats with poor facilities which was probably the only authentic part of this restaurant. Price: BYOB with no corkage is a plus. Overall its poor - You only hear of the bad reviews normally so some people must really like it - if you have a eat to live mentality then it probably fine. Me being an live to eat found it disappointing.

Delivery was late and driver was waiting 30mins for order, as they forgot it. Portions did not compare to restaurant.

Must visit if you are in town for indian/Pakistani food... Pros Awesome food Simple menu Can buy liquor from the store beside Fairly quick service Clean Cons Can't find any, but can get crowded in the evenings

The best lamb chops and peshawari naan I’ve ever had in a restaurant. I’ll definitely be back the next time I’m visiting London.

Best kebabs and tandoori food. Loved the flavour and the presentation. The kebabs were literally sizzling. The curry was amazing and the peshavari naan as well. Would definitely recommend the mango lassi to go with all the amazing food. Be prepared to eat fast as there is a huge queue of people waiting. We reached a bit early for dinner hence got a table quickly and didnt have to rush but others were not so lucky.

Delicious food and nice sized portions. Definitely one of the best Indian restaurants I've eaten at.

Food was delicious but very noisy.

Where do I even start *sigh*. Apparently there is an option to reserve a table at google maps but no one ask for it at the restaurant. I was at a table upon asking for it and had to call someone after waiting for 20 minutes only to hear from them “Oh I thought you had already ordered”. As soon as I ordered, food was brought in within 5 minutes, which looked to me was already cooked beforehand and just reheated. I ordered chicken tikka cubes and Dhal Karahi. Chicken tikka was a 3/10 and Dhal a 1/10. I could only swallow dhal because of onions and chicken tikka. Overall, a very bad experience and don’t plan on visiting them again.

I ate in this restaurant, many years ago. And this time I took my kids with me and they loved the food and restaurant as well. we ate prawn and chops for starter and ordered Chops karahi with yummy naans and prices are also amazing. I wish they have location in city center so we go every time we go there.