This long-standing North African restaurant offers all the key ingredients for a fun and filling night out.

The Venue
Despite being set in a distinctly unglamorous part of Shepherd’s Bush, Adams Cafe is now part of local dining folklore. Operating in this spot for more than 20 years, Adams Cafe is standard big-breakfast cafe by day but international getaway by night, offering a menu of authentic Tunisian and Moroccan dishes at dinnertime.

Though largely unremarkable from the outside, the inside of Adams Cafe is a getaway to a different world. Ceramics come in vibrant blues and whites and look homemade, even a little fragile. A series of paintings look out onto scenes of soft sand beaches and clear orange sunsets while low, candlelit tables and light, bright local music complete a sense of being whisked to some romantic, hidden scene is some faraway city.

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere is an open and friendly one, with the tone for the evening set by the staff. Their welcome rings immediately with charm and warmth. Adams Cafe is a relatively small space and hosts a mixed clientele of local singles, couples and families. Once seated, however, it is easy to forget its small size and to fall into the informal, enjoyable flow. Service throughout is always timely, smiles broad and dishes explained and presented with real pride and passion, so that even on a busy night, it can quickly feel that yours is the only table.

The Food
Most diners order from a well-priced set menu, with one course and a hot drink coming in at £11.50, two courses at £14.50 and all three for £16.95. Before all that however, and offering more of the taste of home that the restaurant is clearly so passionate about, are a range of complimentary appetisers. Tiny, spicy lamb meatballs have an intense meat taste which suggests slow-cooking by an old hand; they work wonderfully well in combination with the fresh bread, sun-scorched harissa and pickled vegetables that come too. This is a fiery and fantastic pre-starter that serves to get the taste buds truly moving.

Where those tiny treats deliver fire, a medium-sized but diverse list of starters offers an array of different ideas - sweet, strong, spicy and more - making choosing just one hard. Fish bisque is a smooth soup but, after the power of the harissa, lacks a really full flavour that might linger for long. Similarly, chicken pastilla, a thin filo pastry with a sweet chicken and almond filling and dusted with icing sugar, is fun but perhaps just a sprinkle of seasoning short of a really powerful dish.

Mains are a choice of meat and fish grills, couscous-based dishes or tagines and stews, with flavours and ingredients – from steaks and sausages to lentils and pickled lemons – that will offer something for everyone. Presentation fits with the honest, homely appeal that applies to the rest of this restaurant. Tagine de poisson comes with large, soft chunks of monkfish, potatoes and peppers and is swathed in a thick, deep-orange saffron sauce. Gargoulette Tunisienne, a spicy lamb dish, is similarly packed with inviting pieces of meat and veg and cloaked in the dark-red of stewed, smoky tomato.

Both are dishes that are easy on the eye, tender to touch and with round flavours that make them just as simple to swallow. Though the flavour of the saffron sauce on the fish dish and the fresh mint and spices with the lamb might both be turned up a notch, these are dishes that cannot fail to satisfy and will invariably end in a clean plate and satisfied smile.

The Drink
You can bring your own bottle of wine to Adams Cafe, with corkage at £3 a bottle. For those looking to fully immerse themselves in the moment, the restaurant also offers Moroccan wines from as little as £3 a glass and beer from Casablanca at only £2.80 a bottle.

The Last Word
Family friendly to the core, Adams Cafe is a great middle-ground restaurant, offering something different and interesting and yet inoffensive enough so that even the most churlish of children or prudish partner will find something new to try and enjoy. Though it might fail to deliver a real bang for others more accustomed to trying new flavours, the hugely welcoming atmosphere, authentic presentation and accessible, variable menu are reason enough to keep coming back for more.

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