The Parsee

I went to the Parsee last night with my partner and two friends and I won't be returning. Things started out promisingly, with the short and poetically descriptive menu and some lovely aromas eminating from the kitchen.We started with a basket of very nice and authentic poppadoms with some fairly tasty home made chutney and pickle, however things went downhill from there. My starter of Sheek kebab was uninteresting to say the least and used poor quality, rubbery meat. My partners prawn dish was spicy and nothing else, Our companions fared better with potato cakes and vermicelli and an interesting chopped liver dish that was tasty and subtle in flavour but unpleasent in texture (although I admit liver isn't to everyone's taste). Then on to the main course where I was served one of the worst curries I have ever had. A chicken, chickpea and coconut dish which despite its long list of ingredients was a flavour vacuum. One of my friends tried it and commented that all he could taste was rice. My partners lamb dhansaak contained about 4 pieces of lamb and the gravy had a similar aroma to medical plastic. One friends lamb shank looked promising, however the meat was tough and tasteless and the gravy inoffensive but uninteresting. Another friends prawn patio was sweet and not much else, and a shared dish of what was supposed to be deep fried aubergine and courgette turned out to a be a rather slimey and sweet ratatouille. The waiting service was friendly and efficient however service from the kitchen was slow, with a wait of 20 minutes between starter and main course, despite there being only 4 other people in the restaurant aside fom our party. Total price for the meal including 2 large beers between 4 was £26 a head. I could have had a much better and more interesting meal for a fraction of the price at one of the more generic curry houses in Crouch End.
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Amy
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Sunday, May 20, 2007

Over priced and most dishes bulked out with potato.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Monday, May 08, 2006

i liked it it was scrummy
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bodelia
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Having heard a great deal of good things about this restaurant, as well as about the wide-ranging tastes of Parsee cuisine, I was decidedly disappointed with the atmosphere and quality of the food. The place would benefit tremendously from increasing its seating area, which is currently very small and tightly-packed. The waiter was a little rushed, and the food was cold and only somewhat tasty. The master chef was clearly absent.
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Farzand Abbezadeh
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 5
Sunday, December 18, 2005

Having had a memorably different and delicious meal at parsee last year I went with two friends this week. What a sad disappointment. The service was indifferent and very slow, especially considering that we were one of the first tables of that service. The food was cold and insipid. My partner had their signature main course, dhansaak - the lamb was tough and the rice very overcooked. My chicken dish, which was described as mild was tasteless. Clearly, inconsistency is a real problem.
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Saturday, October 22, 2005