I had no idea what Kurdish food was like, Nadine was going to change that. In my ignorant ways, I guessed it would be similar to Turkish (they sound similar).
So Nadine was bustling, warm and inviting. So, the opposite of how I present usually. Rustic wooden tables, busy staff, happy customers. These are things which I like to see even if it is so far from my natural demeanour. As the alternative, metal beach tables tables, idle sulky staff and hangry customers does not bode well. Even if it is a more accurate reflection of my inside.
Aubergine platter, three way aubergine, aubergine strip salad, smoked baba ganoush, aubergine, chickpea, tomato qawarma. I have a particular weakness to aubergine. This platter served that liking well.
Za’atar flatbread. The flat bread together with all of this was a delight. The smooth almost meaty taste of the aubergine in its various guises together with chewy and fulsome bread was enough to make me feel like the dinner could end right now and I would be happy. Or perhaps that is perhaps demonstrative that I have been starved for good food for quite a while.
Kubba, Kurdish rice dumpling, spiced plant based soya meat with mushrooms, spiced beef, topped with spring onion, turmeric, chilli sauce sides. These reminded me of deep fried morsels arriving in dim sum. The exterior had that same bouncy exterior, the soya meat actually tasted fairly closed to minced pork. It was great test for meat lovers (like me), decent but not something that would mean that I would move towards a plant based diet. Things were that stupeoudous yet.
Baharat fries. Fresh fries with various toppings of onion, herbs and salt. Crispy and enjoyable.
Lula kebab, two fall-off-the-shish lamb kabab, with grilled tomato, peppers, onion and sumac salad. Amba pickles, chopped parsley, labneh, lemon, za’atar naan. The most tasty dish of the day, it was definitely extremely tender. However, the lamb sadly didn’t seem to have that deep a flavour. It felt more like taste had been sprinkled on top, kind of of like those instraram videos of salt being bounced off an elbow onto a steak. Distasteful videos they are.
Biryani kurdi, Kurdish style biryani with sauteed walnuts, almonds, golden raisins, vermicelli and fried potato toppings. I think this was the stand out of the meal. A massive carbohydrate overload but delicious in that way. Rice with potato toppings and vermicelli. I had heard of carb on carb before but not carb on carb on carb. This sounds like a food coma in the making. Delightfully filling, smooth, nutty, buttery and tart, this was a collection of my favourite things.
Dandok, cracked wheat slow cooked in tangy fermented yoghurt. Topped with caramelised onions, golden roasted garlic and tomato. Finished with a drizzle of warm spiced oil from the roasted toppings an a light sprinkle of zatar. A strange dish. Don’t know if it really won me over.
So at the end of a very full meal, I sat back and had a think. Over my bloated stomach I re-assessed my thoughts of Kurdish food. As I glanced around the room, I could see that many people were letting off some steam, sitting back and forgetting the troubles of this world. This place does remind me that good food can conquer many evils. Or at the least the memories of that.
A quiet eating 8.5/10.
Dinner (3 course equivalent) was about GBP30 excluding drinks and service.
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Nandine
45 Camberwell Church St,
London SE5 8TR
