Ilford Lane, London

Afghan, Pakistani, Indian and Middle Eastern dining

I've lived around Ilford Lane for a while now, it's home to loads of halal restaurants but I've never managed to visit Watan, I've been to the one in Southall around 5 years ago and wasn't impressed. However, every time I go past the one in Ilford Lane there are queues going out the door.

The weather was nice yesterday and we just fed and changed the baby so I said let's go for a walk and check it out for lunch.

The menu has a lot of options (swipe 👉 for menu) but I decided to stay on the safe side and try a Afgan Mix grill for £32. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much from here.. But I was pleasantly surprised!

The kebabs tatsed really good, the first bite of each different item was full of flavour and juicy, they have been marinated in well balanced spices, seasoned well and more importantly not overcooked, something that used to be typical in places like this. Finally, chefs are realising that cooking meat to medium makes it tender, soft and taste better overall. Also, they don't remove the fat off the lamb chops, which means you get that flavour hit from your first bite. Lamb chops, lamb tikka, chicken tikka, seekh kebab and reshami kebabs, every item was good

It's served on a gaint naan and comes with 2 types light and delicate rice. Portions are good, we had plenty of food left over for take away.

Overall, for a first time visit and quick lunch I was impressed and enjoyed the meal. Lunch time was good to visit as it wasn't busy, I see why its busy in the evening as there's not many tables, maybe 45 people max. Decor isn't fancy, modern and clean and the service is basic.

And yes, I know I should of tried the Chapli Kebab.

All food halal. No alcohol. No service charge added. I paid for my meal, not a invite.

Food 8
Value 7
Atmosphere 6
Service 5

@halalfoodguy's review of Watan Ilford on Instagram

Watan Ilford Restaurant

Excellent restaurant. Comfortable seating and great customer service.

Food is exceptional and very affordable for a night out.

Will definitely be back.

Lovely place. Lovely minimal decor. Staff were nice and attentive. Food came fresh, hot and tasty. Would definitely be going there again

Good food and taste amazing.
Love how the kitchen is exposed and you can see how your food’s getting made.
I hope they will increase the seating area and keep on top of the cleanliness.

Food was amazing. The service by Taj was superb and the waiting time was minimal. We went as a group of 12 and the service was highly efficient. Highly recommended 👌

Nice food and best service, Only issue is seating capacity they should start taking bookings to avoid the long queues outside. Food is delicious will go again and again.
Defo recommended..👍🏻👍🏻

Watan

Wazir Restaurant

Some of the nicest Turkish food I've had. It wasn't too heavy very light and super flavourful. The pita was hot and crispy, the hummus and yoghurt dip were very refreshing. The mix platter was huge and everything was piping hot and flavourful. The Turkish tea was complimentary and delicious and the chocolate cake was rich and a huge serving it was really difficult to finish for us 2 people after food. The staff were lovely and accommodating they showed us to multiple tables indoor and outdoor to our preference.

"Wazir Restaurant offered an exceptional experience! We hosted a gathering of 130 people, including service users and staff, and the service was impeccable. The food was beyond excellent, leaving everyone delighted with the flavors and variety. Their convenient location with ample parking space made it incredibly accessible for our group.

The staff deserves special appreciation for their friendliness and exceptional help throughout our visit. Their warmth and assistance added to the wonderful atmosphere. Overall, it was an outstanding experience, and I highly recommend Wazir Restaurant for its fantastic food, great location, and amazing service”

It was my first time at this restaurant, the ambience is good and the food choices quite decent. The service is OK, portions are fairly good too. We enjoyed the time while tasting our food. We will be back again.

This place used to be good, really good. However it appears it has gone down drastically. I suspect it has changed hands and the food preparation is done completely differently than how it was done before.

I ordered a Koubideh Kebab (2 skewers of minced lamb). This is usually served with some butter, grilled tomatoes etc as you can see from the photo there is no grilled tomato it is missing and no butter to moisten my rice with.

After the Koubideh skewers were heated i could smell something was different, something was wrong. It smelled almost sour which indicated the meat had gone off. I wasnt sure. Having tasted it, i was even more convinced something was wrong.

The Lahmachun was ok and the wings were fine. Plenty of salad to fill our bellies but i still couldn't get over the dissapointment with my main meal.

Asked for tap water, was told they can only provide bottled water. Even then the bottled water was not of any quality, its the cheapest kind usually given out for free or you can get these for as little as 30p.

Kubideh Kebab
Grilled wings
Lahmachun
Water bottle

All came to over £40.

Im not impressed, very dissapointed with the quality of food.

We used to visit Wazir Turkish Restaurant frequently and while it used to be really nice, I feel like the quality of their food has declined recently.

The some of the dishes are undoubtedly good, with satisfying portion sizes. The Adana kebab and mix grill platter stood out as flavorful choices. Their starter salad was fresh and sauces were also delicious. My sons particularly enjoyed the shawarma wrap, although it didn't quite capture an authentic Arabic shawarma taste. While the rice flavor wasn't to my liking, the overall experience was decent, even if not mind-blowing.

Wazir

UberEats UK

Went to check out the new menu from @loadedburgers who now also offer HMC certified halal aged Angus steak and its at a decent price. Pictured is the beefy burger, beef patty, melted cheese, caramelised onions, chill  beef and the usual fillers. I liked the gooey and messiness of it, but I didn't get a strong taste of that beef, however, I was really hungry and ate this burger so fast I didn't take the time to taste it! Also ordered a Moijoto, which was flat, lacked freshness and sweetness. The chilli beef fries where decent. I did recommend the ribiculous burger to a few friends, some liked it some said it was too sweet, I like sweetness in a burger. Anyway, hope you all have a blessed weekend. Salams. 
#food #foodpic #foodporn #foodie #foodgasam #instagood #instafood #halal #halalfood #halalfoodguy #yum #london #instagood #instafood #photooftheday #foodreview #review #foodblog #foodblogger #london #yum #yummy #goodfood #burger

@halalfoodguy's review of Loaded Burgers Ilford on Instagram

Loaded Gourmet Burgers and Fries

It looked quiet so I stopped in for some eats while I was in the area. Burger was lovely, loaded skinyy fries were delicious, can't fault it enjoyed the whole meal, well cooked, arrived fast and tasted delicious. Will definitely return.

Very filling and wholesome burger, quality is on point, just what you're looking for in terms of delicious burgers the way it should be! This place has been around for ages and the food speaks for itself. Portion sizes are very generous and the atmosphere is comfy and cool. Definitely recommend for your burger fix! I ordered the Americana burger with hand cut fries and the texas bbq wings which were sweet and crunchy.

Ah man, this place was so awesome.
Very good burgers. It is very good concept to build your own burger , order it , and enjoy. Food was not over priced. Service was good. This is a place where I will go again if I ever visit GB again.
Awesome restaurants guys.
Ps. Doors in finland opens to different direction.

Very good burger place, the burger patties was well cooked.  Been here before, the price is reasonable and good customer service was provided by staff members.

I could spend ages trying and I wouldn't be able to find anything negative to say about this place and their food. Staff is great, quality of the food is superb and it's been like this every single time I went there. My tip: add beef to the nachos, you'll thank you later

We are HMC approved. This means our entire menu and supply-chain is certified Halal according to HMC standards. No traces of pork or alcohol in the store.

Loaded Burgers

Naan Staap

I  visited Naan Staap over the weekend. The ambiance, environment, and hygiene were pretty impressive. It was not crowded and had a good seating capacity.

We orderd Barbeque Chicken Naan and Chicken Achari Paratha. Both were scrumptious.

However, for an average foodie, one naan/paratha is not stomach filling. You may need to order multiple items to fill your stomach.

Secondly, I found prices are not reasonable compared to the quantity.

Went there with my partner and we both loved it. The place has a very cosy feel to it with some really nice decor.

The guy who served us was really patient and helpful. We had to wait a bit for the order to come through but that’s because they serve you freshly made naan which are worth the wait.

We tried few different naan breads and they were all absolutely delicious and I highly recommend you try their cinnamon chai because it was just way too good.

Customer service is really good and but taste some time up and down. I don’t know why it’s because of Chief or Busy time. I really hate waiting time period as it’s too long. That’s why I just give 3 Star and might changed if been serve next time earlier.

Great experience at Naan Staap.
Club Sandwich was great (good portion). Chicken Cheese Paratha was only decent. Also ordered their Lemonade. Ambiance was really pleasant, staff was nice and helpful.

Overall: 8/10
Will go back

First time I been here..very nicely done up clean and looks very hygienic place.price wise it's not bad . Went with a friend we orderd a plain naan with chanay, and a aloo stuffed naan.spices were perfect to eat.will definitely go again .highly recommended.

Haweli Restaurant Ilford

Haweli

@halalfoodguy's review of Nova Parlour Ilford on Instagram

Nova Parlour

Enjoyed an evening dinner tonight and the new menu is amazing! We ordered a Rib eye steak, Korean chicken burger, chicken fillet, loaded fries and butter chicken pasta. All dishes were well cooked, beautifully presented and scrumptious!!! Well done to the Nova team.

Nestled inbetween the plethora of various eateries and shops on Ilford lane is Nova. What feels a little out of place for a restaurant like this.

We were seated downstairs although we asked if we could dine upstairs however we were told no and so reluctantly sat downstairs.

Staff were helpful and our order was taken when we were ready. Generally food was good and portion sizes were also good too. Felt the wings could have been more substantial and the mock tails were a little weak for my liking, but family were happy with theirs.

Definitely worth a revisit.

Amazingly yummy food at a excellent price, decent portions.
Quality service and talented chef. (Highly recommend)
= Happy wife 👍🏼
Only starters and drinks shown in pictures but we enjoyed our mains too much to take pictures.

Amazing food, excellent service and family friendly environment, would highly recommend! Desserts were heavenly!! Can't wait to come back! My new found favourite in Ilford 11/10!! ^_^

Setting is unique, a little dark but nice for couples.
Food was really good and full of flavors literally.
Desserts were great too but the only downside for me was the ice cream as it's their homemade one and not the usual vanilla ice cream.
Still would recommend the place as food overall was really good and price was NOT extortionate

Beyond Boba Bubble Tea

Great, speedy, and friendly service! The beyond brown sugar milk tea is a personal favourite of mine, and this is my new favourite place to get it from now. The best place for Bubble Tea in the area. Would highly recommend.

I’ve been here a few times now and love it. It’s so beautifully decorated and spotlessly clean. The drinks are always amazing and the staff are so friendly and polite. Well worth a visit

Amazing bubble tea! The staff are extremely helpful and on hand to suggest the perfect drink suited for me. I personally loved the fruit teas, had a much larger variety of topping flavours than other bubble tea shops I’ve been to before. My favourite is their unique frozen fusion menu, again something other shops do not sell. A great twist to your traditional bubble tea! Overall a classy and modern store, would definitely recommend.

I have now come here twice and the drinks are the best! I got the Beyond Brown Sugar which is immaculate, good balance of sweetness and the tapioca is soft and good!  I also got the Beyond Blue frozen fusion which was refreshing and different compared to what other boba shops offer :) The fruit teas are also just as good and will keep coming back

Best bubble tea place! Deffo worth trying the honey peach tea. You will be left wanting more !! Also love the brown sugar milk tea x

All our bubble teas are suitable for a halal diet.

Beyond Boba

JustEat UK

Grillford

Great taste restaurant.
Nice guy on counter very cooperative and funny.

Would certainly recommend eating here. Excellent vibes, fresh food, great service. Fantastic work.

Jungle Grill Ilford

Being honest, this place is really good however, only because it was half price, the bill was reasonable. When it comes to every day prices the menu, seems very unrealistic. The chips aren't good quality and same goes with the grill chicken burger. There was a lot of wait,(1hour+) but that is because of the half price offer. It is just like any other gourmet burger shop in Ilford, just slightly cheaper.p

New Gem discovered on ilford lane. Naveed was at best with his customer service, and rest their food will talk.
Give a 1 Try to this new gem. Em sure you won't regret.

Jungle Grill

Eden Peri Peri Ilford

The 1st few times it was very nice, fresh and hot! The last 2 times it's been cold! The burgers were "ready" within 2 minutes of me placing the order and the excuse for them being cold was they add salad and sauce! The rice was microwaved within an inch of its life and was rock solid! I don't like writing negative reviews but the meal wasn't cheap and was very disappointing! Won't be back!

So far I've only had takeaways, but this place is great. Food is always hot and tastes great. staff are always friendly when I go in to pick up my food.

Avoid  this place! Bad service and the food wasn't even cooked properly.  Pink chicken and rice wasn't even boiled. Notified the manager left the food as we couldn't eat it and then still charged us full price! Better off in Nandos!!!

I would say they have the best Lamb burger in town. They make it in the shop with fresh meat. Top service

Food is absolutely delicious and the customer service is fantastic! Will definitely be ordering again

Eden Peri Peri

Burger Base® Ilford Lane

Amazing and eye catching place. Ilford is one of the luckiest place to have Burger Base indeed. Ordered a Big Dipper and amazed by the crunch of it and magic onion did the rest of magic with the sips of special Guava drink.
A lot of options from beef to chicken, salad, mouthwatering sides and desserts.
Highly recommend this place. Will come again with friends.

have passed by this shop multiple times now as its new, thought id give it a visit and i can say the Food was on point, portion size was good everything inside the shop is really clean. the staff were really friendly especially Louisa she recommended me what to get ....she really knows her stuff! cannot complain will come again

I saw this restaurant opened this week and I though I should give this it a try . Trust me I have now ordered food from burger base three times this week . The food is amazing and excellent customer service . Perfect juicy burgers . Texan BBQ and Mexican Crispy Burgers 👍👍👍👍This is something very unique and different. I am  anxiously waiting for the fish fillet now. Highly recommended!!!!  Must try it .

Came in this afternoon and the first thing i noticed was the interior design its amazing, very modern. I proceeded to place my order to a girl called Nida, she was very helpful and nice, she helped me pick food that she thought would be the tastiest for me and my kids. she was patient enough talk to me through all the items. She was bang on with my order. The food was amazing and she made sure all the sauces and tissues were in the bag before i could even ask, which is forward thinking. Amazing decor, food and staff. Will be coming back again.

Great burgers. Great chips. Great Drinks. Absolutely fabulous and delicious. I would 100% recommend you to go and check this place out. You won’t regret it.

Burger Base

Fresh and fast noodles with lots of options

Oodles Ilford

Staff are very friendly and efficient young person. However, offer meals separate allowing adults to taste everything before ordering huge portion.
Deserts, hot drinks and lunch time special meals.
Food is delicious, halal, and platter everything inclusive.  Mini boxes £2.00 meals taster or starter.  I can never eat whole box waste of food  money.  Small portions variety. Everything mixed layers.  Waiting time reduced especially lunch time.

It’s a great experience. The ambiance is very welcoming and charming. Staff are extremely knowledgeable and make great recommendations.
If you're spicy food lovers, i definitely recommend this restaurant. you can enjoy normal spicy food test as well.

It was really good  experience at oodles with my family.
Staff are very friendly and helpful.
Food was well cooked and nicely served.
Keep it up
Well done chefs 😇

Chinese lamb curry is fantastic here.
With that egg rice and vegetables noodles and crispy chicken awesome combination.
Generous portions sizes
Best communication
Loved it
Cheers guys

As I am vegetarian I always find very hard to eat outside but this store made me addicted to their veg options. Staff is very friendly here and make your food in front of you so you know everything kept separate
Very satisfied with the service and food test
Thanks guys keep it up.

Oodles

Achari Keema Chicken Parmesan from the new restaurant in East London @manjaros.london. A popular restaurant in Birmingham has opened up here in London and I checked it out in opening night .

The place has just opened up so I don't think it's fair to officially review the food. This place is good if you are fan of Sahara Grill and those type of places. Family friendly. No alcohol. All Halal and they have a lovely prayer room.

@halalfoodguy's review of Manjaros Ilford on Instagram

Manjaros Restaurant Ilford

Visited this place on a cold and windy evening! It was super busy but as soon as we entered we were greeted and shown to a table by a staff member. Once we ordered the food came quite fast. Food was full of flavour. There were a few of their own house sauces on the table that were delicious. The portion sizes are generous and priced well. I will definitely be visiting again to try all the other dishes they have on their menu!

I would highly recommend the place. Excellent food which was timely delivered and hot! Kids loved it too. Halal menu and also pray place available. Would visit again and great ambience too.

Been meaning to try Manjaros for a while now.

Decent settings, very friendly staff. Definitely one of the pros of Manjaros. Hold on to them decent friendly staff are hard to come by these days.

Now the food I'll be honest, my family all enjoyed their meals, but I wasn't to keen on my dish. I ordered the tandoori chicken Parmesan. Now I do like cheese, but this was overly cheesy for me. I will definitely revisit maybe order something with no cheese in it all.

I've had food from Manjaros through UberEats on many occasions, mostly it's been great, there has been a few times where it's come cold, but this was probably down to a few factors, be it cold weather, delivery person not having the right bag etc., My impression of Manjaros has always been good. 👌💪

Decided to eat in with a couple of friends, we went around 10pm, it was still very busy, quite late for Dinner, but it's probably the best time you are likely to get a table within 15-20 minutes of waiting. Between 7-10pm it's way too busy, and unless you got tabe booked the wait can be over an hour.

The restaurant looks good, clean, spacious, really nice decor, lighting, it's all round a very well maintained place. The one positive about the service was it was consistent, and not in a nice way, it was consistently bad, from the moment we walked in to the last. We walked in, guy said wait is 10-15 minutes, we waited, then after 15 minutes later a girl comes to the front and asks if we are waiting, we said yes and already in the queue, further 10 minutes later we get a table, not too bad so far. We get seated, no one seems to acknowledge us or wants to take our order, 10-15 minutes in, we have to call a waiter to take our order, still not terrible so far. We order, food comes pretty quickly, more about the food further down, we finish our food, no one seems to want to clear our table, 20 minutes after we finish eating, a lady comes to clear our table, we ask for couple of containers for taking away our left overs, she goes to get it, disappears, 15 minutes later we ask another waiter to give us some containers. All the time we are there, staff never make eye contact, don't seem to want to acknowledge the customers, never ask if we need anything, never ask if the food is okay, never ask if we are finished, and even in the end, we had to ask where we pay, they never once said we pay at the counter when we finished 🤦🏽😏

Food wise, we had the Lamb Chops, the quality of the meat was terrible, really poor, hard, chewy, you will have a workout cutting it with a knife, maybe it was a bad day for lamb chops, the Mini Mix Grill was okay, and the 2 Lamb Chops meat was better with the Mix Grill, the chicken, beef and chicken wings was also really good with the Mix Grill, maybe they use a different marinade, the Chicken Rasta Pasta was really nice, along with the Gourmet Burger, they were by far the nicest dishes. The Chips were soggy and wet, not crispy at all, really poor showing. The Salad was well below standard, the cucumber looked like it's been there for days. Overall the food was okay at best, it's a shame that the take way delivery food has been much better from here, pretty ironic as it should have been the opposite.

Overall, I think I will stick to take away if I want Manjaros, and will not be eating in here again, and recommend the same to everyone else 😂

Amazing food and drink selection, great customer service, delicious food and open till late (1am closing time I believe).

Why the four stars? That’s because the music is unusually loud, and the air conditioning vents always leak on people

Enjoy!

Manjaros

@littlefoodiethoughts's review of Bim's Ilford on Instagram

BIM'S Ilford

Decent food if the staff took their time to correctly prepare it. Ordered a Double Fumy and it didn't have the turkey rations. Wasn't impressed. The person who does the quality check is clearly not doing their job properly

Food is decent but on the expensive side. Prepared relatively well but a long wait.

Worst burger, tasteless, only thing OK are the French fries. We came today for the first time, there was  good reviews I was confident, unfortunately I have to say that its like they took every cheapest thing for their menu, beverages, Sauces, even if you eat in they don't have trays, they give you a take away bag.... I tried burger Tower and chicken tower, all same. Otherwise, staff is professionnal, and food came hot and quickly. I don't understand why people are coming back, sorry its disappointing.

Good quality of foods. Must try double Fumey burger and triple Cheese burger! Also try the fries with Algerian sauce. 🍔🍟

Food was very good. Service was excellent by manager sulaiman, who looked after our bill when we made a mistake on ordering.

Bim's

Eclectic mix of British and South Asian cuisine, fusing traditional and classic English meals with spice from the subcontinent

I had my doubts when I heard a pie shop in East London started to run a weekend breakfast club.. But they smashed it. The Fully Loaded full English and Eggs Royale from @pie_factory my go to place for breakfast! #breakfast

@halalfoodguy's review of Pie Factory Ilford on Instagram

Pie Factory

Great service, friendly staff and atmosphere, nice breakfast

Extremely tasty home cooked food and amazing prices!

Nice selection of pies and sides to go with. Service is fast and good location. Annoying that it's cash only though so need to take cash out from nearby.

Deliveroo UK

Franzos Ilford

Had to wait a little while as it was pretty busy at the time. However well worth the wait!

Good service, great service and pricing I believe is fair. 

Plenty of sauces to chose from, menu has a decent variety.

I would highly recommend!

One of the best restaurants in town .. the service is amazing and friendly. Atmosphere is cozy.

Chicken special is great and i consider it one of my favorite trials at Franzos.

Not to mention the amazing taste of food here.
Highly recommended.
Hala food 🙏

Chicken was marinated and cooked properly. Juicy and tender, just the way we like it. However,they need to add some variety in the sauces section. Overall great experience.

First time visited Franzos with my family only to receive the most shocking customer service. Don't get me wrong, the food and atmosphere was really nice, but the customer service was terrible! The staff were unprofessional, especially the guy who took our order. He seemed miserable and seemingly poorly trained. The girl who brought our food just dumped it in front of us and left. She didn't bother to bring us any plates and cutleries so we had to get up and ask another member of staff for it. I appreciate the place is busy but for £40 this was the least welcoming and satisfying experience ever. Coming from someone that have worked in hospitality, I find this treatment towards customers unacceptable. Sadly this place like many others is actually operated by a bunch of people who plainly don't care. Won't return and certainly wouldn't recommend the place to anyone. Very disappointed.

Food is great here. Fast service too. Fairly priced. A great place for family and halal seekers. A range of food options to choose from. 

Prayer space at the back. Good social distancing. Place is generally clean. However...

As well as sanitising the tables in between customers, the staff should also ensure they clean the conditment bottles before the next groupof people are seated. That didn't happen yesterday. Those bottles are handled by many people throughout each day. A tad bit off putting. But I am sure this happens most of the time. 

Thanks

Everyone on our menu is Halal. No alcohol or pork served.

Halal restaurants in Ilford Lane, London