New Tayyabs

Very nice food, especially the naan bread. However, a bit chaotic at times, and waiters far too impatient and aggressive in pushing you to order within seconds of having sat down. Nice food, but definitely not a place for a pleasant relaxing meal with a bit of conversation thrown in! Sad really, as some of the food really was tasty!
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William Mc Cready
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Worst Experience I had in a busy Indian Restaurant, We pre-booked for 8 person and still we had to wait 1 hour on que, Waiter's were very rude, thought food should be nice, but turns out cold Nan bread and curry, I will never recommend to go to this restaurant and have bad taste of Indian food.
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Ashraf Zaman
0 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, July 08, 2011

People had been telling me for years how great Tayyabs is; what were they on? massively unimpressed. as other reviewers say, shocking service, tables not very clean, nice naans but the rest of the food distinctly mediocre. i won't be back. yes it's cheap but you get what you pay for.
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HW3 - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Thursday, June 09, 2011

yes i am sorry to say things are going down hill as well. after a reasonable (albeit very greasy) meal yesterday lunchtime...we had to suffer two parts of the course being delivered to the table 20 mins after the first parts of the meal (this despite twice asking for the dishes that were late) and once we complaned i was passed from person to person who all said they were in charge (until i wanted to have something done) then i was passed on...then marched to the till in an effort to get rid of me quick...not even a small discount or a drink to make up for the lousy service...(we were first in at 12 noon before it got busy)

they have lost my faith and i will not be making the journey to the east end to be put through this again
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wayne
4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Oh dear, oh deary me. Tayyabs used to be a favourite, I regularly gave it 10/10, but boy has it gone downhill. I used to be a regular when I lived nearby over 10 years ago and seen it become bigger and more popular over the years...standards slipped a little over time but it was always a cut-above Brick Lane.

However, a visit in the early evening on Tuesday 17th May left me extremely disappointed. Despite a booking and plenty of free (but slightly bigger) tables we had to wait 30 minutes while "regular" Bangladeshi families/groups some the same size as our group without bookings got to sit down straight away. A gentle reminder that we had a booking was treated with aggressiveness.

Eventually we were offered a table downstairs in the "VIP area" (which had a surprisingly large number of free tables given our wait upstairs).

Now to most people the VIP area might look like cellar with an interesting bubble feature on one of the walls but no this is where all their important customers are taken to apparently. Bottles of warm overpriced spring water await you on your table. Now I am happy to pay for mineral water I like the taste of but spring water is often no better than tap so thats what I asked for. "We don't serve tap water in the VIP area" came the abrupt reply. "But you do upstairs?". "Yes". "We asked for a table upstairs and we were told that none were available for 2 people, despite our booking, can't we just get some tap water down here". Walks off no reply.

So to the food. Which of course is why everyone goes to Tayyabs after all. Yet more disappointment. Quail (yes I know, an optimistic choice but Tayyabs used to be good honest) despite an attempt at being obliterated in spices still had a not particularly nice aftertaste. I think it was just Quail that had gone a bit "fruity". Dry meat, an old favourite, was disappointing. Too sweet, cloves overpowering and the ghee had a cloying taste as if it had been used just a few too many times....strange for the start of the evening.

Kebabs and tikka were ok but nothing out of the ordinary.

Writing this review is a little sad...it reminds me of when a relationship comes to an end, the memories of all the good times want to tempt me back but it is perhaps best we say goodbye.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Good food but a little chaotic getting in. I didn't particularly appreciate a party of 10 being squeezed into such a small table and the music desperately needs turning down. Turning it up louder and louder over the evening so that you have to yell to have a conversation with the person just next to you is ridiculous. WAY TOO LOUD!
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5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 6
Sunday, May 15, 2011

Great place for lunch.....go there early as they often have to queue to get in....

excellent table service..... good value....not expensive.
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9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, May 13, 2011

The absence of free and abundant parking spaces outside is an outrage and something Tayyabs ought to be held directly responsible for, quite clearly. However, if you go there by public transport or walk like 99 per cent of the customers, I reckon the downsides (congested and noisy restaurant, long queues and brusque staff) are more than outweighed by the marvellous food.

I'd park my car on double yellow lines, wait for 2 hours, sit on the floor to eat and suffer regular verbal and physical abuse from the waiters just to consume a plate of the lamb chops. Indescribably good.
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ANDREW PENDLETON
7 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Friday, May 13, 2011

I was a bit worried when I saw the zillion of people waiting both inside and outside. It is definitely not the place for a meal, if you want to also have a conversation... There was 12 of us, in fairness, a very large group! We waited outside until the whole party was assembled and were taken down to a large table in the basement. It is very noisy, with music like "I'm too sexy for my car", etc...

We had no time to look at the menu, the waiter was already taking orders and was actually quite rude to a member of our party who had not had time to even look at the menu.

The dishes were served promptly and I must say, mine was very nice indeed. The naan bread was just out of the oven, the chicken tikka (mild) was very flavoursome and the mango lassi went down well.

As soon as you have finished your last bite, though, they litterally kick your butt out... That's why I was worried about the crowds. The waiters cleaned the tables in one second shouting "thank you" to make us leave. They did it twice in 2 minutes and after another minute, the waiter told us we had to leave.

Nice food, but the service is as bad as it gets...
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5 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Went there because of the hype. Tried to book on the same day (a Friday) but were told they do not take same day bookings.

When we got to the restaurant we could see there was a significant queue so we asked how long the wait was, we were told approximately 30 minutes.

45 minutes later we asked again how long the wait would be from our position in the queue, this time the wait was an additional 22 - 30 minutes.

Considering we had already waited 45 minutes, this would have meant we would wait at least 1 hour and 5 minutes before being seated. Seems like each time you ask the standard response is "30 minutes sir", no matter where in the queue you are or how busy they are. Rubbish. Its clearly a ploy to keep you interested.

2 hours later we were seated and the food in no way lived up to they hype. It was OK but there are at least 20 places in London with better food.

I would never go there again.
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6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Monday, February 07, 2011