kebabish Original 230 Mile End Road, London E1 4LJ

Kebabish Original, also known as The Thrill of the Grill is a chain of fast food restaurants which now has over 60 branches throughout the UK.

 

The restaurant sells grilled food and curry.  This combination is no stranger to Stepney Green.  Stepney Green and mile end is full of rather scummy Bangladeshi restaurants selling low quality chicken, burgers and curries made from dodgy packet ingredients.

 

Kebabish Original is really rather a mixed bag.  It is often quite busy which is partly due to the fact that the chain is fairly well known in London and partly due to the fact that some effort has been made to employ people who can actually speak enough English to help people with the menu and generally make people feel welcome so, surprise surprise, they seem to have been successful in attracting students and others in the area who want quick cheap and cheerful food.

 

Kebabish Original is probably a bit better then than the worst of the chicken places along Mile End Road.  It is probably in competition with outlets such as Lollipop Limited next to the station and Grillz Base (formally Barbecue  Base.

 

Some of the products sold by Kebabish Original, in particular the grilled chicken, the pakora and the samosas are excellent.  The chicken is crispy and it has that nice smoky just off the barbecue taste.  The samosas are unusually large and they are full of vegetables or meat.  The pakoras come in a large portion and they are full of vegetables.  I’d also recommend the sheek kebabs.  They are dense and made from reasonable quality lamb.  The lamb chops are also spicy and generally not too over cooked.  The grilled dishes are served with onions and they reach your table on a sizzling platter which all helps with presentation.

 

I have had the curries from Kebabish Original.  I had a lamb karahi and a vegetable curry.  They were not bad I suppose though they were a little greasy and I suspect that packet sauces play a part here. 

 

The grilled dishes can be served with chips which are fries and they are disappointing.  They are just cardboard, thin  and taste like they are cooked in cheap oil.

 

Kebabish Original sells a chicken tika burger which is really quite pleasant but the quarter pound beef burger is spongy and I doubt it’s 100 percent beef.  If you want a beef burger go to Lollipop limited near by or at lunch time the Greedy Cow on Grove road at Mile End does burger chips and a drink for £5.95 which is excellent value.

 

Sadly, the lamb doner meat is some of the worst kebab meat I have had anywhere, even in Stepney!  It was soft and spongy and very processed.  Hot Lamb Luncheon meat!

 

In general, the food at Grillz Base just down the road a bit towards white chapel is better quality food all round but it is a lot more expensive.  The owners of Kebabish Original seem to want to do a good job and initially the restaurant has been popular so I wish them success.  If they have any control over it however, they do need to up the quality of lamb doner kebabs and beef burgers.  On the whole though Kebabish Original is quite clean and staff are helpful.  I give it 6.5 out of 10 and with a few better quality food products  such as curries and kebabs the  mark could easily go up to 8.