Jaffna House

Love this place, yes the food is heated in a microwave (what do you expect at these prices-there's nothing wrong with re-heating pre-made curry). I've never been to the restaurant but yes, the unlicensed caff is very basic. But this isn't a place for a date, it is a place for very tasty very cheap meals.

The slight sweetnes of soosiam was an addictive start, though the crunchiness of the exterior was compromised by the re-heating- but 80p brings a big starter so be realistic. A mutton kothu curry was also very good, hot but not inedible, the chopped flatbread giving an interesting texture.

On other occasions the vadai have been tasty but a bit solid and something of a challenge to the digestive system, as is anything made entiely from lentils. Mutton fry here is fantastic, and mind-blowingly hot- very addictive. String hoppers are a bit sludgy and I wouldn't reccomend them, though they seem to be like that where ever I've had them.

No one should pretend this is the best food in London, but it makes a real change from Indian or Pakistani places, is simple, very hot and good. The service is very friendly and you can eat an enjoyable different meal for £6.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Sunday, April 19, 2009

Everyone seems to rave on about Jaffna House, but it really is overrated. You can get much better around Tooting Bec. I'll wager 9 out of 10 of the rave reviews on this page are from St George's students who are too poor or too lazy to trek more than 50 yards beyond the back entrance of the hospital to get lunch. I know that's why I eat here so often.

The staff are really friendly, and the food is extremely cheap, but it's always a bit of a let down. The legendary thali is very much hit and miss, and the other meals never really taste fresh.

They really need to get to grips with using the microwave too. The staff seem to think that less than 5 seconds is long enough to heat a gigantic potato dumpling. This happened to me so many times when I went in for a takeaway that I adopted the habit of telling the staff I wanted my food really hot, the result being a lunch that was lukewarm instead of cold. It's a real shame, as some of the snacks are delicious when served hot.

This place could stand out amongst the legions of Pakistani restaurants of Tooting, but they really let themselves down, and have probably left more than a few people thinking Sri Lankan food is bad in the process.
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Gary Masala - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, October 22, 2008

I came to London from Australia and one of uncles took me to this restaurant. It is a very wonderful restaurant. The food is very delicious and cheap, but who cares about money when there's good to food to fill ourselves. The people that work there are very nice. Keep up the great work!
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Shuresh
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Wow. This restaurant is the best one I've ever been too. The food is so tasty and i just wanted to keep on getting more dishes. I'm from Canada and even Canada doesnt have good food like Jaffna House. The food prices are affordable and the curry is delicious.
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Suren
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, July 14, 2008

The restaurant off the side street is dreadful and bleak. Save yourself the bother (and the small amount of money it costs to eat there) and walk on by to the many fantastic south indian restaurants in the vicinity. A subcontinental restaurant that for some reason doesn't have any type of chutney to serve with the dishes it advertises coming with chutney? Rubbish. Especially when the food being served up is so stodgy, bland and lukewarm that the very least you need to try and make it palatable is a little bit of chutney. Speciality Sri Lankan dishes a real let-down and certainly won't have me rushing out to give this type of cuisine another go in a hurry which is probably a real injustice...
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Miku
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Friday, October 05, 2007

Jaffna House is awesome!

Don't expect too much in terms of setting, but the food is delicious! The 'restaurant' is slightly dingey and the un-licenced front area is more like a 'greasy spoon cafe', but I think that just adds to the whole experience - it's simple, cheap and delicious! What more do you want from somewhere to eat!
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Tom
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 10
Monday, October 01, 2007

Hi

I tend to agree with Raf and Co. We read rave reviews into Time Out etc and went there today for a late Sunday lunch. Alone in a dingy back room, the dread began. The starters were Microwave-tastic and cheap but tasty. Then we moved on to Seafood Koftu. Except the only seafood to be found in a bland, microwaved mess were a couple of rather sad value-style prawns smaller than a penny. Not learning our lesson, we also ordered the sherbert thing Time Out recommended. In came a radioactive sugar slop with iceland value icecream and some other stuff. I love Sri Lankan food and wanted to introduce my lady to it. I worry if she will ever trust me or the critics again...

Cheap is not always good value, and with such a low standard of ingredients this is an awful rip-off...
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Jay
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Monday, August 28, 2006

I know what Raf means...here you need to know what they are good at - which is any of the kothu rottis, fried mutton and squid curry. Forget the vegetarian stuff. Also, you don't go here for a romantic evening or special occasion, but as a routine 'pit stop' it is great. Service is polite, but sometimes can be slow by western standards. Don't go to the pub first - have your beers in here, that way it is not too long a wait.
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Siva
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 8
Friday, July 07, 2006