This is my favourite curry house in London, traditional Pakistani fayre cooked to perfection! The grills are the thing to go for, spicy, succulent and sizzling lamb chops, tandori chicken, mutton tikka and massala fish are a must.... accompany with flat bread and vegetable curry. Bliss. The service is brisk but friendly, and gets extremely busy so be prepared to queue. Tayyabs is a BYO so you can take your favourite bottle of wine or rum! what more could you ask for. We take all our friends and family here and once you have tried it I'm sure you will too. read more

Attended the restaurant last night. Atmosphere was great but a bloody great shame the food did not match said atmosphere. Tayyabs suffers from the age old problem that all south asian restaurants suffer: the curries are all cooked in the same base sauce! There's no authenticity or uniqueness to an aloo saag when compared to a chicken karahi! The food is made to cater to an audience that is either not asian or are so drunk they can't tell the difference between authentic indian food and a restaurants budget-cutting variation! If you're a brit asian like me, you can get better food at home! The mango lassi and sizzling mixed grill starter are banging though! Must try both if you come here. The expenditure is also easy on the wallet! read more

When I visited London last year, my relatives took me to Tayyabs. Now I know for a fact that outside the Indian Sub-continent and Pakistan the best Indian or Pakistani restaurants are in Dubai. Lived there 31 years and know it for a fact. Now in London, my relatives took me to Tayyab and I was quite happy with a good Pakistani Punjabi cuisine. Many people make a mistake and say it's the same, but they are not. The Pakistani and Indian cook in different manner. The day we went into Tayyab was crazy. The queue was so long and waited for an hour to get a table. But it was worth the wait. As soon as we got seated there were these spicy popadums with different chutneys. Had to lick the last chutney off my finger tips. Being a fan of lamb I tried the "Gosh Dal" - lamb cooked with lentils and i loved it. The "karahi bindi ( okra or ladyfingers) were ok..not spectacular. The nan and rotis ( bread ) were great. My overall experience: A good place for Pakistani punjab cuisine. Please and i repeat please have the mango lassi ( mango buttermilk ) like they say in London it's AWESOME.... read more

Good restaurant if you're in the area but not worth a special trip. The lamb chops are amazing, but not a fan of the chicken tikka masala (I recognize that's not the most adventurous dish, but it's a good barometer). Service is good. read more

the crowds are true and the food IS worth the wait. i went home smelling of grilled meats. i had had the veggie samosa, chicken tikka and the saag aloo and garlic naan. all for a mere £14. i was stuffed and satisfied. don't me afraid of the queue. it goes by pretty quickly and once you sit down and order the food arrive on the spot. all sizzling. i'll be back for the ribs. read more

The victim of its own success now, it's just too busy. But if you can get in, get seated and get served the food is absolutely delicious. Can't recommend enough the ribs, the dry meat and the peshwari naan yum yum yum read more

I've been waiting to go here since 2008 when I first moved to London and I've only just made it reality!!!! OMFGGGGGGG. Worth the wait. I was gobsmacked by the whole experience...as you even go through the door you feel like you are in dorsia...the restaurant in american psycho...purely coz its so sought after and hard to get a res. The tables have glasses as its BYOB...and water...free popadoms...amazing food...omg the flavours and tastes....the nan bread...the chicken sag.....aaaaaaa. The service.....THE PRICE....the little chocolates with your bill. Indian heaven. Straight up. read more

Make a reservation. Otherwise, your experience at Tayyabs will be tainted. The line to get a table is a bit ridiculous--you queue inside the restaurant while miserably watching plates of food being served to seated customers. But given that my group was seated right away, we had a fantastic time. The restaurant does a great job of explicitly describing what to expect out of each item in their menu. With four in our table we ordered a chicken, fish, lamb and a vegetarian dish and were thoroughly impressed with each one. For those who plan on going out to an event after dinner here, make sure you allot enough time to shower beforehand because you are going to smell. Don't say I didn't warn you. read more

The grills are nice the currys are ok. You can get better quality in brick lane from other places. There also a queue at night. espc friday and saturday night so reservations are always good to do. read more

The best Indian/Pakistani food I've tasted in years!!! Although very crowded you'll definitely come back here again just for the food. This place is not for comfort or service excellence but pure good wholesome spicy indian food. Prices are great too. I'd recommend it anytime. read more

Have now eaten inside this place on 2 occasions. Once on a Friday lunch time, and then also on a Wed eve. I still cannot see what the fuss is about. The place was noisy as f%$K! I mean, I could not hear a thing anyone in my party was saying, but I could hear the random next to me screaming to his dining partner opposite. Friday lunch time was quieter, so if you are keen to go but want to hold a conversation, try a week lunch time instead. The waiters were friendly and accomodating, if not a bit distracted and distant!.The food was so so, lamb chops were good, but have definitely had as good elsewhere (Delhi grill for example). BYO is always a winner. A few things that let it down... I don't think it's good practice to place poppadoms, sauces & a salad down on the table without asking if it is wanted, then charge for it at the end of the meal. That's like placing a plate of samosa's on the table without saying anything and charging for it! ASK if we want to BUY/ORDER poddadoms or give them complementry! The rice was not good at all. It was gluggy, sticky and wet.The flavours weren't there either. The Karahi curries were nice, good kick of flavour, however, 3 bits of chicken in a chicken curry just isn't enough. There was more ghee than chicken. The naan bread was pretty good & fresh. I know it's an institution, it was probably fab back in the day, however, there are plenty of great places like it now in and around London to give it a run for it's money. read more

This is Lahore's upscale cousin: equally well known, but dressed with nice decor and a place you would actually take your parents to (but maybe only early- there were a lot of big parties near us where it looked like things could get messy). You can make a reservation online, which is fairly simple, and it's BYOB as well, so you are not missing out on that aspect either. I am not an Indian food expert but everything we had was delicious. Will definitely return again soon. read more

One of my most favourite restaurants in town. Not just for Indian food but in general. Top experience every time. Highly recommended

Was on holiday last week in London and was so glad that I ended up here for dinner with some friends. I'm from San Francisco, home of many great ethnic restaurants and this place beats them all. The lamb dishes are just outstanding. I'm definitely coming back to this place the next time I'm in London. Cheers. read more

First overseas Yelp review! Having experienced lackluster British food before on my travels to London back in 2006, I was determined to find good eats the second time around last week. Enter Tayyabs, which I came across back in 2009 when Charles L.'s rave review of this place. Granted it's a bit out of the way from Central London, but it is WELL worth it. Succulent flavorful lamb chops and tandoori chicken on sizzling platters with onions as well as their tandoori paneer made for excellent starters. Their okra and chickpea items were beyond anything I had ever had in the US, and their Tuesday quail special was particularly exquisite. My favorite though was their tikka masalas, and no, they aren't anything like the creamy, neutral-flavored dish that everyone has come to know in the US. No, their version here is much different, and much much BETTER. I ordered both their chicken and mutton tikka masalas and out came pieces of meat in a piquant chile laden sauce that had the perfect balance of spice and heat. Add hot from the tandoori naan and rice and a pitcher of perfectly sweetened, richly flavored mango lassi you get the best Indian meal I've ever had. Me and the fam managed to stuff our faces here not once but twice on our five day London excursion. Now I'm just sad that Indian food will never be this good stateside. *sigh* read more

Good food! I can see why this place is highly rated in the London curry guides. Although it probably didn't quite live up to the hype. Maybe that's my fault for having very high expectations. The service was pretty poor - rushed and rude. They clearly wanted our table asap and it showed. In terms of value for money, I'd say it's decent but not amazing. The main reason it seems cheap is because it's BYOB. The food itself is actually a bit pricey in some cases. read more

Eating Indian food pretty much my whole life, i belive that Tayabs is an Overrated establishment with average food. The waiters do not understand direct instructions and attempted to over charge me and my companions. i would not recommend this place to even a tramp, over all an average restaurant, i would recommend better quality and food service at other various establishments. The experience at Tayabs was disappointing and i will surely not be visiting this establishment ever again. If you do decide to eat at Tayabs, i wish you good luck for waiting in 45 minute long ques and uncompromising members of staff. read more

Food was not bad. Portions are pretty generous and full of flavour. Extremely crowded and busy, and cutlery can be pretty dirty as a result. Don't wear anything nice there because you'll come out smelling of curry. read more

I think this place is GREAT! After a lot of hype and previous attempts at standing in line and then giving up, my friend had made a reservation for Sunday night and all went well. Between the 4 of us, we got 5 dishes and 2 naans and it was more than plenty -- we couldn't eat the last bites. And for all that? £12 a person. One of my favorite dishes as the dry meat of lamb... the name is underwhelming, but it's really delicious. Great that it's BYOB too, so I'm hoping it wasn't the 3 bottles between us that's influencing this review... Minor incident of finding a small rock in one of my bites, but I didn't break any teeth and they were super apologetic about it. I didn't make a big fuss of it because these things happen (at least it wasn't hair), but I'm sure they would have done more had I been upset. So: I recommend making a reservation if possible! read more

Recommended by hotel concierge. Definitely more Pakastani than Indian. Delicious flavors and spices. A very nice change from typical cookie-cutter Indian. The place is huge and was crammed. We were lucky to get a table on a Monday night no less. Very authentic. I want to go back on a future visit. read more

Don't like crowded waiting areas? Then you'll be missing out on the best curry I've ever had. No nonsense, yeah you'll totally wait for at least a half hour even with a reservation, but totally worth it. read more

Great food in a super popular spot. Easily top Indian food I've ever had. Remember to BYOB, they don't have a liquor license.

You can't get better food than this in Londontown. Forget Brick Lane, come here! This place will knock your socks off! Not only is it a BYOB (which seems to be rare in London), but it's also very affordable and extremely tasty! You will not be disasppointed! Just make sure you get a reservation or you could be standing in a very long line. read more

I love this place. The food is never greasy, and with a group of 10 of us eating all we could eat, we still managed to spend only 12 GBP per person. Definitely make a reservation if you want to be seated, and make sure you try their various tandoori related platter. Mouthwateringly, delicious, and I've found myself returning here, despite its rather out of the way location, more than once. read more

The ultimate in Brick Lane area curries. Expect to wait but know the food is well worth it. Especially amazing lamb chops and tandoor chicken. Atmosphere is loud and bustling and the air is filled with spices from hot stone dishes whizzing past. Seriously great stuff. read more

My husband and I tried the food in Tayyab by take away. We ordered the famous lamb chops, saag aloo, seekh kebab, murgh chana and of course the favorite nan bread. Having had Indian food before, I knew it is going to be spicier than many can tolerate. I enjoyed the taste of the food but the husband did not as it was too spicy for his palate. Therefore I get to enjoy most of tayyabs cooking (yay!) all to myself. Though it was definitely flavourful the only fault I could point out is that the dishes were greasy and oily.Otherwise, I will continue to visit Tayyab to satisfy my Indian food craving but perhaps only once a year to prevent the plaque formation in my arteries. read more

If heard great things about Tayyabs, from lots of different groups of friends, which is always a good sign. This Easter weekend I finally got to go. For a friend's birthday a table had been booked at the sprawling Tayyabs which is on a rather gentrified looking street in Whitechapel. You're certain you're going away from civilisation when you suddenly come across it! The seven of us sat and perished the unusually concise menu for an Indian restaurant. We'd all heard of apparently legendary lamb chops so three plates of these were ordered along with a wide variety of mains. The food arrived quickly and at boiling point and was very quickly devoured! It was delicious, flavourful, dynamic and most of all very satisfying without the inordinate fullness you can get from other Indian eateries. Another good point is that the restaurant is Bring Your Own Booze and there is no uncorking fee so feel free to bring all you need/want! For seven of us it was £111 which is pretty reasonable! Id definitely go back! read more

Tayyabs - The renowned Tayyabs lamb chops - Indian Near Me - London, XGL

service is cool, mains are a mixed-bag... but it's all about their lamb chops. it's all you need in life. read more

We had a difficult time locating this restaurant, but the line out the door quickly revealed that we were in the right place. And that line moved fast, a testament to the quick yet attentive service at New Tayyabs. Before you head out, be sure to pick up the beverage of your choice (BYOB), or go the non-alcoholic route with a delicious lasse. All the classic dishes are better than you've had them anywhere else, you really can't go wrong with their menu. All of the meat dishes prepared on the bone are particularly great. And save room for desert, it's worth it. read more

2.5 stars, rounded down for the overall poor experience. (A few friends later told me that this place was a tourist trap). Unless you somehow find yourself in this far eastern part of Zone 1, I would not recommend making a special trip to eat here. This place was recommended by a friend's friend. We had made a booking for an early Saturday dinner, and after reading plenty of reviews, I was definitely expecting poor service, but thought that the delicious food at a reasonable price would outweigh the service. I was also fairly excited that you could BYO here. So Hubs and I decided to take the long Tube ride over to Aldgate East. When we arrived at the restaurant, there was a very long queue inside. We went to the employee who was standing at the front station to check in, but he told us that we had to talk to the man in the blue shirt, who was running all over the place seating people. After a few minutes of observation, we realized that we couldn't stand around and wait until he was free but rather had to chase this guy down. Hubs finally did, and he did seat us very quickly even though we were early for our booking. I wasn't expecting stellar service, but our server was curt and unwelcoming. He hardly acknowledged our existence. We ordered our food, and we made a mistake by asking if we could BYO. The server just said "no" and walked off. We didn't think that much of it, thinking that the restaurant probably recently stopped allowing BYO since they were so busy. So we just left our bottle of wine in the bag. Near the end of our meal, we spotted another couple seated next to us with a bottle of white wine on their table. At first I thought that maybe they had ordered it, but when we saw that our server dropped off 2 more water glasses and the wine opener for the customers to open the bottle themselves, we were peeved! Our server had the nerve to tell us no and then let this other couple BYO?! I know we didn't come here for the service, but at least treat your customers equally poorly? And apparently acting like a civilized human being in this place gets you NOWHERE. The food was good, but didn't knock my socks off or anything. I've had much better Indian food in San Diego. We shared 3 kebabs, the lamb chops, and a small karahi gosht (lamb). We only ordered 1 order of the garlic naan. We could have eaten another piece of naan, but since the complimentary chips were a good vehicle for dipping the sauces, we didn't. Our bill came out to around 20 euros, and we were full but not stuffed. I think we have a pretty high tolerance for poor service in exchange for delicious food that doesn't break the bank...that's how most authentic Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley in California are... but the extremely poor service really ruins a nice evening out. read more

Tayyabs reputation speaks for itself so be sure to book! On arrival don't be alarmed at the chaos of trying to get in the door and let the host know as soon as you have arrived. Its BYOB so make sure you get drinks first! Once seated the service is quick and the food is delicious. Would be five stars if getting seated wasn't such a drama! read more

Okay how can a trip to London be complete without visiting the king of the so called curry mile? It's an experience you have to share just for the sheer feeling you get from walking into a massive restaurant with such fine consistency of tastiness of its curries and meats. read more

DISCLAIMER: I DID NOT EAT ANY FOOD. However, I felt I should review the restaurant based on the experience that made me leave it before having a chance to order. Due to the nature of the food cooked there (in large metal pans, as seen in the pictures on yelp) it is a very smokey atmosphere. Add to that the fact that a lot of the spices associated with the cuisine are quite hot, and you have a recipe for disaster for anyone with asthma or breathing problems. While my friend and I tried to last it out, we both ended up having to ask to be relocated away from the cooking area. Our waiter told us we would have to talk to the manager, who came about ten minutes later. He said of course, and moved us around the corner. Unfortunately, it was still exceptionally smokey and we were both actively coughing. We told him this, and he tried to tell us we were wrong. So we pointed to the inches of smoke clinging to the ceiling. At this point, he offered us a table on the other side (one that we had originally asked for) but we felt put off by the whole experience, and the coughing, so we went back to a standby favorite on brick lane proper. As a second note, the table beside us also had to leave before they had eaten any food because the woman was allergic to onions. We heard their conversation with the manager (as the restaurant does put you in quite close quarters) and apparently, though the waiter had been informed, they were brought numerous dishes with onions, which they kept having to send back. At that point, no longer trusting that things would be cooked in an allergen-free way for customers with health issues, they chose to leave. All this being said, loads of people were there and seemed to be enjoying themselves and the food. Also, the dessert bar looks fantastic. BUT if you have asthma or food allergies, maybe you should reconsider. read more

My boyfriend and I made the mistake of going here in the middle of Ramadan. It was just a buffet layout which you served yourself and I think there were two other people eating at the same time. None of the food was that good and the mango lassi was warm, ick. I wouldn't go back as it was also very expensive for the quality we received. read more

£8 takeaway that is both filling, hearty, savory, and satisfying? This should be a go to stop for every underpaid and broke college student. I loved it! Eating-in isn't too bad either. I'm a fan of their chicken wrap. It's unbelievable how they jam pack so much flavor into one bite! read more

Yum! My favourite London restaurant for fast, cheap and seriously delicious food! You must have the tandoori lamb chops! Don't let the line put you off, it goes quickly although see if you can get a table downstairs so your table isn't in the middle of the line which snakes through the top part of the restaurant. read more

The curry I had at Tayyabs was saturated with oil. So much oil I had pour it off the top of every dish. The Dahl was mushy with no texture due to over cooking, it had no heat despite asking if it was both dry and spicy when I ordered. The Okra was swimming in oil and again mush. There was nothing good about the meal at all. I talked to the waiter and got a wave of his arm saying look how many Indian families love their food (most of which were bordering on obese, so I guess they love their oil). My friends had the lamb chops and the a couple of chicken curries. The lamb apparently was excellent. The chicken curry again was full of oil and had very little punch to the spices or subtlety to the cooking. They left both curries. Do: have the grill Don't: have anything else on the menu unless you love oil, lovely oil. oh and more oil. a big thick layer of oil. on top of, in and oh, go on more oil would be great thanks. Nasty, badly cooked curry. Not good. Brick Lane is notoriously bad for curry and this is no better. I think I'll stick to homemade Punjabi food, Masala Zone or Vijay's Chawalla on Green Street - all amazingly made with very little oil at all and far superior to the rubbish Tayyabs serves as Indian food. Yuck. read more

Fantastic restaurant. We went to a wedding celebration there a few years back. Great food. One of the best place for currys in London!

We wre here for a company party the other day and it was a good dining experience. it's one of the better pakistani cuisine restaurants in town. Their selction of roast meats like tandoori chicken and lamb chops are pretty impressive, must be the marinade. The lamb was tender, not easy to do as a lot of places get it chewy. Nice decor and probably a decent place to bring clients as it looks rather formal read more

Tayyab has the longest queues I've seen since arriving back in london. I agree with another reviewer that this place looks more like a nightclub when you first arrive with blue neon lighting outside and crowds of people waiting around. I wasn't really expecting to see this after a 10 minute walk though the backstreets of whitechapel. We squeezed inside and were invited to join the end of a long queue, however we were seated after 10 minutes when a small table for 2 opened up. I realized the place is BYOB after sitting down and immediately noticed groups of people in the queue drinking wine/beers/cider straight from the bottle. This is definitely not your standard Indian restaurant and seems like a large party was about to break out at any moment. If you after a quiet night i would avoid this place... that is unless you don't mind lots of lots of noise, waiter squeezing past the queue carrying various plates of food over your head and people knocking your jacket from the back of your chair multiple times. The wife got the Karahi Chicken Tikka Masala, however, i blindly asked the waiter to recommend something that was very spicy like a Vindaloo. This turned out to be a huge mistake and i quickly had food envy whilst seeing the waiter deliver plates of sizzling lamb chops to satisfied looking customers all around the restaurant. This appears to be their specialty! Damn i should spent more time reading the yelp reviews beforehand. The Chicken Tikka Masala was very good whilst my Vindaloo inspired dish was just OK but this is not what they specialise in. We were surprised, upon receiving our bill, however, when the total came to just over £20 for the 2 of us including mains, rice, naan and sparkling water. Combined with the bottle of wine from Tesco, this was the cheapest dinner i can remember having in London. On another note, the service was a little sketchy and it was obvious this place was focused in turning around tables, more than providing a fanatic dining experience. It was hard to communicate with our waiter to get recommendations on what to order, we asked for 1 bottle of sparkling water and he seemed annoyed when we asked to send the 2nd bottle back, my main arrived and we had to remind him after 10 minutes that he forgot to deliver my wife's dish (appeared he forgot to tell kitchen), at this point i sent back my spicy dish as there was no spice. Finally when the check came our waiter told us we had to pay cash, then after we didn't have enough to cover the bill, he said that we only need to pay the tip in cash. however, in the confusion he put a £5 tip on the card terminal and when we asked him how much our bill was he seemed to get our bill confused with another table. So we left another cash tip in the confusion.... Anyhow, at these prices you have to left allot of this drama slide. read more