Setting The Standard high in east London’s Brick Lane

HALAL STATUS Fully Halal food menu • Alcohol served

While there’s a number of Indian restaurants on the famous stretch of east London’s Brick Lane, there’s only one that was recently taken over by a legendary curry house.

The owners of Sheba situated only a few doors down have brought their considerable experience to bear on the award-winning establishment The Standard.

With renovations having been completed since they took over earlier this year, this family-run South Asian restaurant hasn’t looked better with seating for 120 on the ground floor and an additional 70 downstairs in the basement.

While the Sheba boasts plenty of accolades since first launching all those many moons ago in 1974, The Standard, which opened in 1989, has a fair few awards to boast about itself.

Having last year been voted ‘Best in London’ by Travellers Choice, it triumphed again this year by winning the ‘Best on Brick Lane’ award.

Award-winning South Asian cuisine with plenty of variety

The Standard certainly lives up to its name by offering an exciting array of the very best fully Halal dishes originating from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

The Standard’s starters demonstrate exceptional knowledge and use of Asian spices, with the combinations perfectly adjudged to ensure that they play their part where necessary, while allowing the main ingredients to shine.

As such, it wasn’t so much the grilling technique that made their succulent Mogul Tandoori Lamb Chops so good as much as it was the robustness of the marination, which just kicked.

Take also the example of the vibrantly orange Chilli Ponir, whose “special chilli spices” allows the diner to really savour these tender pieces of marinated soft cheese.

As for the mains, then what really makes The Standard stand out from the crowd is the number of seafood dishes available, including this spectacular Chef Lankan Lobster.

A superbly crafted dish that was driven by the richness of the herbaceous onion gravy, with the lobster being a delight to pry apart and enjoy.

Another dish that needs to be ordered as a matter of priority is the King Prawn Tawa for £20.95.

These crustaceans will come out perfectly plump and juicy, and smothered in a lightly spiced gravy of onions and chopped peppers that really help accentuate the natural flavour of the prawns.

And it’s easy to understand why The Standard’s Bengal Lamb Shank is one of their most popular items when being presented with these pair of beauties below.

The secret behind their success is the Bengali-style in which they’re cooked, being slowly roasted with carrots, aromatic herbs, spices and saffron to deliver a taste overload.

And given how good the lamb chop starters were, you’d be remiss not to order their signature Standard Special Lamb Chop Bhuna for £19.95, which really delivers on the flavours.

What we have here are tandoored chops that help to impart a magnificent smokiness to a medium-spiced bhuna gravy that is finger-lickingly good.

But if you’re after a dish that’s quintessentially popular across the Indian subcontinent, then it has to be the Chana Gosht Bhuna which, although available in chicken, should be had with the lamb chunks.

The balance of spices in this are superbly balanced, with the lamb pieces achieving their tenderness through slow cooking, and the split lentils being infused with chilli, garlic and a chef’s special sauce to leave you reeling.

As a healthy vegetarian option, then then the Chana Daal Fry Indian Split Lentils punches way above its weight in terms of its depth of flavour, with onions, garlic and spices in full force.

Having recently been renovated by the new management, The Standard is even better than it was before.

With plenty of other dishes to enjoy, this place justifies multiple visits to really appreciate just how accomplished the chefs are at this place.

The Standard
71 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL.

T: +44 (0)20 7646 2705 | W: @thestandardbricklane | E: [email protected]

Opening Hours: Mon-Sun 12:00-23:00