Babur bags best nosh award

After a top-notch trip to Babur over the weekend, BC can heartily agree with Harden's restaurant guide, which has named the Brockley Rise establishment as its 'best inexpensive restaurant' for 2009. 'You just don’t expect restaurants of this quality deep in SE London suburbia', according to the Harden's website.

Well I don't know about the Harden's reviewer but us Brockley residents are obviously spoilt - we've certainly got used to having Babur around. It's the consistency of its excellence which is the key - no slip-ups in the service, quality of food, or surroundings (in contrast to so many places whose bathroom facilities leave a lot to be desired, Babur's are so nice I'd be quite happy to settle in there surrounded by the lovely orchids and wooden carvings for the rest of the evening!). The wine list was impressive (and reasonably priced) and in helping to match drinks to dishes they were enthusiastic rather than patronising (as is unfortunately so often the case).

Special mention must be made of the puddings: the home-made kulfi, ice creams AND sorbets were all delicious (fortunately, being part of a group, I didn't have to order them all for myself!).

And the final touch - they send me a birthday card every year. It's this kind of thought for detail which has turned some of their customers into their best form of advertising; every time I go there I leave feeling a little bit evangelical about the place.