Cafe Marhaba

Back Piccadilly
Most recent visit Feb ‘10
Marhaba hasn’t been the easiest place to get a grip of.  It’s a bit slow, the supposed rice & 3 deal is slightly misleading and the seating is not great. The first time we visited we were totally mislead with talk that anything on the menu was available and ready and so on.  That way of doing things still exists and is a bit annoying if you’re stuck for time.  The key here is to ask what’s ready and pray that they either don’t say ‘everything’ or do say it and mean it.  In this case we were told ‘nearly everything’. Three of us had rice & 3, ordering lamb, chicken, fish, chickpeas and daal between the three 3s – and 2 roti. Worrying about whether it supposed to be lamb rogan josh or karahi or chicken bhuna or jal frezi is not what this place is about.  Part of the hold up last time was the rice – in this case platefuls of it arrived from the back and were microwaved up individually, curries were then heated individually and added to the plate – this took a while even for three diners. First person took ten minutes to get served, third (me!) took maybe twenty. This is an issue but is part of the character of the place.  There’s only seating for 2 at a table anyway so it’s hardly like big parties will be held up. The food was excellent – the fish was a standout dish, being subtle and tasty. The lamb and chicken were properly cooked – quite a cheap cut of lamb but slow cooked so as to be soft and tender. The channa and daal were both good – but usually are.  The roti were exceptional too – straight form the tandoor – crisp, fresh hot and substantial – about as good as it gets.  Even the rice gets a mention, nicely flavoured with cloves and a few subtle spices – with some chickpeas in too, making it a bit nearer to the Pakistani classic chickpeas pilau.  If you can forgive/accept/ignore the organizational short comings it’s a great place - and at £4.60 for rice & 3 and 50p roti is a bit of a bargain – remember to ask what they’ve got first though.
Key Ingredients 18.0 (out of 20)
Other Food 9.5 (out of 10)
Service Setting 7.5 (out of 10)
Value for Money 4.5 (out of 5)
Range 3.0 (out of 5)
Average Rating 8.5 (out of 10)

Kebab Trip Jan ‘10
After a too lengthy break Cafe Marhaba was revisited today. The previous review criticised how long it took for Rice & 3 to be served as they don’t have curries ready to go. Well this is still the case and I’d be worried about getting that done in a short lunch break – no matter how good it is. However – (this was one of my very few solo trips normally there are two or three of us to compare notes) – I was the only customer at 12pm. I duly, on the advice of ‘b’ below, ordered the chicken tikka kebab. Well obviously there weren’t many surprises – it’s chicken and bread! However it was done very well.  The chicken skewers and bread were done freshly in the tandoor. The salad and sauces, it could be argued, were pretty standard – but that’s not a complaint – they were fresh and tasty.  The marinade on the chicken, although uniformly orange and without visibly individual herbs and spices, was tasty and interesting. The plentiful chicken was perfectly cooked and the tadoor naan was a rare treat - particularly in Pakistani places and particularly in town. Chicken in a tandoor takes as long as it takes, as does the bread – so no complaints service-wise.  Seating (5 very small tables) remains a problem, but so be it. Certainly as good as any in town and better than the majority. There will be a trip return trip for curry.
Scores out of 10
Meat 9
Bread 9
Salad/Sauces 8
Service/Setting 8
Average 8.5

Rice & 3
The assumption with the 3 curries and rice format is that several curries are readily available and eating will commence immediately. Marhaba fails in this regard by having nothing pre-made and ready to eat. The three curries are allegedly any available form their resonably extensive menu, which means that for a meal for two the chef may have to concoct 6 different dishes individually - in practice they were not distinctively different. A wait time of approximately half an hour makes Marhaba bearly vistiable for a lunchtime meal. This is compounded by it only having seating for eight. Once the organisational flaws are accepted the food is actually rather good and plentiful: lamb, daal and bread from the tandoor in particular. Definitely due a revisit, but the time it takes here is an issue.

Key Ingredients 14.0 (out of 20)
Other Food 9.0 (out of 10)
Service Setting 5.0 (out of 10)
Value for Money 4.0 (out of 5)
Range 2.5 (out of 5)
Average Rating 6.9 (out of 10)