alex

I was too when I moved to Lordship Lane in '99. It was great - and so was Day of the Raj (now Pistachio Club). LL looked a bit different then. Nick Weston still had Spaghetti Western (now Gourmet Burger King) which I think he should have kept as it was - it had real character. Franklins was called SE22, The Palmerston was called the Lord Palmerston and was a spit and sawdust down-to-earth boozer. The Bishop was called The Forresters - same kind of thing. Then there was the original Somerfield which was a LOT more basic than the air conditioned shop you've got now. One of the nicest places was Redgewells - which is now Green and Blue - you could get a great cooked breakfast in there.

Oh ok - I see what you meant! Preem on Brick Lane is really good - I went there with a mate recently and the food was exactly as described on the menu. You could taste all the spices and there was very little grease.

I'm glad someone else agrees with me on this. It's definitely food for when you've stayed a bit longer than you'd intended in the Bishop and don't fancy cooking. I'd disagree that it's like that all over the country though - there are some excellent places on Brick Lane. I only went back to CC because I thought it might have improved but really there's not much to choose between the curry houses on LL. I've tried them all and they're really hit and miss - even TN can be disappointing if they're having a really busy night. There's a lot of corner cutting going on too - you order a sag dhall and then find it's been bulked up with sweetcorn instead of lentils.

Well I went to Curry Cabin last night and got a takeaway. It was really quite poor - the nan bread was limp, and the chicken was really bad quality (the kind that disintegrates when you stick your fork in it). I suppose it's either that or pay through the nose at BB.

I've not been to the Curry Cabin in a long time. I must say though that my experience of curry houses on LL is that they start off great, then when you become a regular they become really lazy. Surma used to be my regular for my Fri night takeaway. The first few are great then after a while you think, 'I could go to Somerfield, buy some chicken pieces and a jar of Pataks sauce and get the same result'. Had the same experience with ED Tandoori and Pistachio Club too. The same generic 'three pot' sauce. Best place for a curry - Preem on Brick Lane.

He does know about the Forum - I mentioned it to him a while ago when people were praising the shop. He was genuinely touched.

Well, there were two waitresses there, both blonde and both absolutely lovely. My friend and I were rather smitten!

Went to Green and Blue for the first time today. It was absolutely great - had the meat platter which was delicious and great VFM at ?6. Lovely atmosphere and the staff v. friendly. Really recommend it to everyone.

I think you mean the Dulwich Cafe, Louisa. Not been in there for a while but it seems to have had a refurb. The other good place to go is The Lane Cafe which is opposite the Thomas Moore building. My favourite has got to be The Bishop pub - great fry-up, pint of Abbot Ale and a really friendly atmosphere.

I passed White Stuff on the bus on Friday and noticed that where they've started stripping away the shop fronts, it's revealed old signs saying Lordship Jewellers and another one for a tobacconist. It just appealed to the nerd in me!

I use that bus stop too and have done for years. It's funny - the same people tend to use it, and there's an occasional bit of eye contact, and just as you're about to offer a little smile in acknowledgement, they turn away quickly. Must be my intense stare!

I used to eat at El Passo - one of my ex-girlfriends was Mexican and she also thought it was great too. What stopped me from going back was the night they slapped a compulsory 10% service charge on the bill and got very difficult when we refused to pay it. (There were only three of us, so it wasn't like we were a party of 12). It totally spoilt going there - shame really as the fajitas are lovely.

Haven't tried the Coriander yet but will have to. I've been going to Surma recently - good curries but don't order a pint of Cobra. I did and it tasted like battery acid! I used to go to Pistachio Club and - this seems to be the thing with a lot of the takeaways on L Lane- the first couple of meals were delicious, and then once you go regularly, they start getting a bit lazy. I stopped going to PS after ordering a veg balti which turned out to be almost entirely onions! Their eat-in menu is good though.

This is my first post on the forum...have been reading for a while and thought it was time I joined up. Now that we've got GBK here to stay, does anyone know what's happened to the previous owner, Nick Weston? Last I saw of him he was cruising down L Lane in a posh convertible. He was a bit of a character, old Nick - I remember when that place was Spaghetti Western. He changed it to Westons, then Dulwich Brasserie. The customers gradually dwindled - how many times did you walk past and see DB closed? Must have done well from the sale though.