Sahara Grill

£9 for 5 buffalo wings? In Leyton? Go to The Grill in East Ham instead. Sahara's Pepper Chicken steak was rubbish as well. Overpriced and not worth what you get at all. I'd happily pay that for amazing food but it ain't amazing. Jungle Braii is better as well come to think of it. Anywhere except here.

On the flip side, nice decor.
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Shamima
5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Monday, January 30, 2012

Went back to Sahara grill last night after a long time. It was spot on they have really improved their service. Food was delicious as usual. So many places have come up recently but Sahara still at the top of their game and always setting the standards.
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Saleem
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, January 29, 2012

I have been to better places with better food and for much less money. I'm sorry, but this place is very over priced which includes a room charge of around £30. I have many friends and relatives who have been to this place and have been put off by the over pricing. We go to many restaurants up and down the country due to our business but we will never go here again.
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Dr sajad khan
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Great food. Great value for money. £5 for a sahara burger which is huge! the people complaining about the price should go to a fast food chicken shop if they want cheap food! this is a restaurant so do not expect to get a burger for £2!!! the staff are friendly and the place is very clean an hygenic. ive been going for years and i love the food. if i could give 1 criticism it would be that the leyton branch is very small so sometimes u can end up waiting a while if u go in the evening. overall great place great food
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Zee
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, March 19, 2011

Sahara grill just gets better and better. So many other grills have opened up since these guys at sahara set the trend. But I must say still they are second to none keep the good work up guys.

For those who have not experienced the spectacular food all I can say is you don't know what your missing out on!!!!
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Michelle
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Saturday, February 19, 2011

Sahara Grill has gone downhill, there are many restaurants that have open similar to Sahara Grill cheaper and better quality of food. It's a shame, I really used to like this place then I realised how expensive it is. Just not worth it expect to pay central london prices in Leyton.
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Ahmed
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I have been to Sahara Grill on numerous occasions and have always left satisfied. The servie is good, the food cooked to perfection, I admit that the food does take long to come to the table but then again that is because the food is prepared when you order it not prepared hours in advance and just heated up so im more than happy to wait!

May Sahara Grill continue to prosper Inshallah.
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Sadeeqa
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Friday, October 22, 2010

overpriced and the portions getting smaller.

customer service is very poor, expect 40 min waiting
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2 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Sunday, August 15, 2010

peaple can say wot they want, the food at sahara grill is fantastic. i have been eating there for years.
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9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, June 06, 2010

I think that when we are writing a review its important that we are critical but we must compare and contrast. It is no different from a road test which are popularised in shows such as Top Gear. An important rule that you can deduce from how they do is that they look at things in its overall class and do not make wild assumptions or have unrealistic expectations. So you don't find Jezza Clarkson comparing the Suzuki Swift with a Porsche Boxster just because they are both small cars. Hence they are treated within their class of car when road tested and comparisons made as such.

So to proceed with this in mind, the class that I see Sahara Grill (S.G) in is not the Boxwood and not even in the class of Carluccios. Its class is the small independent local restaurant, aimed at the 'no fuss' eating out clientele. Leaving behind the issues pertaining to the beliefs of the proprietors or majority clientele that seems to feature in other peoples reviews it has to be noted that S.G does provide both authentically non stunned slaughtered meat and private 'family' rooms which clearly caters for their main customer base.

It has been on a number of occasions that I have eaten in both branches of S.G. since the original opened some four years or more ago. Thus this review is based upon a longitudinal study and not a simple single evenings dining. It is clear that the first matter concerning the restaurants performance is the issue of Customer Service. As is known the catering industry is known for a high turn-over especially in Customer facing roles. S.G from what i can see has maintained their core staff over these four years although there have been some changes. This may well account for those reviewers who felt that they had not received the standard that they were expecting.

I can only offer my opinion that in all cases I have food the staff polite, clean, and knowledgeable of the items on offer. The main criteria that Michelin and other reviewers look for is consistency both in food and service and on the service front I would suggest that they achieve a consistency that is good. Excellence it may not have been but to consistently perform at that level in the UK then you are truly looking at our premier restaurants. It comes back to fair comparison; so to return to a fellow reviewers choice, I believe that just on the issue of presentablity between S.G and Kabbabish ( any of their branches) their is really no comparison. SG consistently performing at a good level whereas Kababbish with a speed at the expense of presentabilty continuum achieved a poor rating. That is without even considering the vast difference between the actual cleanliness of the place compared to SG.

Now to move to the really important issues of food standard ,variety and pricing. It is worthwhile to return to the fact that S.G unlike most of its competitors uses meat slaughtered by hand and which is stun free. This is equivalent in Muslim dietary concerns as to compare chickens raised free range with those in massively constructed barns with no natural light or space to forage. Most other restaurants who grill and/or roast chickens do not use meat of this method due to the extra costs involved. Further the burger meat is from cuts of beef ground and formed, again this is unlike the patties served elsewhere. Lastly they freshly prepare their sauces with the exception of the Bar-B-Que. Again chips are of an outstanding quality unlike those presented in similar classes of eateries. Their salads are always prepared to order and appear fresh and crisp. Fish on offer can be grilled to your specification as it is cooked to order so for those like myself who are particular that fish be grilled just 'on point' are able to request that as nothing is pre-cooked.

Their smoothie machine produces a wonderful accompanying 'desert' The mango smoothie which comes with a unique straw come improvised spoon which is a nice touch. It is thick and yes quiet sweet therefore i found it best taken at the end of my sitting. During the courses there are a number of Sodas to avail yourself of if you have a thirst however Alcohol is neither served nor is it allowed on the premises due to religious reasons. Overall it is fair to say that in its class the menu offers a wide variety of choices and that the ingredients and cooking methods as well as the presentation of teh food is of a very good standard. To see so many beards around you would be expecting to find one day a stray hair as is the case in many a restaurant with less bearded gentlemen working the Grill and pass. However to this day neither me nor my guests have found one. That is unlike the TGI Fridays I ate where I did find one. Here it is fair to say that as far as the consistency and standard criteria go SG is up there with the High Street reasonably priced chains and in some areas beating them.

To concentrate on value for money, it certainly isn't somewhere that one would be taking his whole family whenever they are caught out hungry whilst shopping in Leyton High Road. Firstly it’s not likely that you would be out shopping in Leyton High Road and secondly it’s not really geared towards such foot fall customers. It is however family orientated and ideally would be pre-booked for a family visit. This means that it’s likely that as a customer you will either be celebrating a special occasion or just getting together the whole family for a chance to eat out somewhere that the kids as well as the adults will enjoy.

Therefore keeping in mind its class I feel it offered good value for money. On three separate occasions I ate there as a group (3 persons 4 persons and six persons ). In each occasion the bills of £25 £30 and £35 pounds fairly reflected what was ordered and the quality of it.

By comparison I recently ate with a friend at a similar establishment in another Muslim dominated area of Tower Hamlets. It was poor, dirty and cost £40 with one dish having to be returned due to the appalling quality. It was a most upsetting experience to see the waiters in shirts and ties which clearly were not washed less than fort-nightly.

The Fixtures and Fittings are of a good quality and kept clean. It is really nice to see both the food prep and cooking areas visible to you the customer. It is certainly going to be reassuring when you have to send something back which invariably you won’t in SG.

No fair review would be complete without mentioning an area where there could be improvement and that is with the climate control. In the Leyton branch where the mixed upstairs open plan is lit it can become hot. On a plus side the management were aware of it and had plans to rethink the spot lighting used.

I continue to be a returning customer although not weekly or even monthly that is more down to my love of variety than any other issue. If left up to my six and five year old we would eat there every day. Sadly this cannot be the case with any restaurant until I strike rich.
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Independent Foodie
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, November 21, 2009