Originally offering a roughly 50-50 Turkish/Italian split, Nar Bar and Restaurant now majors on the former cuisine and appears to have garnered a solid fan base even though not every dish is thrilling, and service can be painfully slow.

The Venue
What must the humble artisans whose one-man businesses once occupied the railways arches of Albert Embankment make of their successors today? Joining gay bars and a sauna, Portuguese restaurants, bars and food stores, and one of London’s biggest and shiniest motorbike shops, Nar occupies two adjoining arches, one a restaurant of about 100 covers, the other a bar that can comfortably accommodate about 80. A fresh, modern white and wood decor is personalised with faux brick walls (kitsch but effective), a vaguely Moorish, check-patterned ceiling and a liberal sprinkling of Turkish artefacts.

The Atmosphere
Even on a weeknight, the large and potentially cavernous restaurant is reasonably busy with casual couples and groups. At weekends, expect a good smattering of gay customers wisely lining their stomachs before partaking of Vauxhall’s gay scene. Turkish music plays at a pleasant volume, punctuated by the frequent thunder of trains overhead, lest you forget you’re still in ‘sarf’ London. The waiters are generally competent (although you might have to ask specifically for the wine list), not especially effusive, and sometimes rather thin on the ground.

The Food
A complimentary pre-starter of lemony, garlicky, minty yoghurt dip is welcome, although the warm accompanying bread is rather doughy. A dozen cold and 14 hot starters include classics like hummus, falafel, tabbouleh (all £3.90) and kalamar (deep-fried squid, £4.95) and lamb kofte (£5.95). More unusual options include skewered fried mussels with pickles (midye, £4.25) and pan-fried lamb’s liver with red onion salad (amavut cigeri, £4.95). One of eight salads (from mixed sea food with celery and olives at £5.95 to not-very Turkish mozzarella and tomato, £4.45, or chicken Caesar at £6.95) could also do duty as a first course.

Mucver (£4.25) is a truly massive portion of deep-fried courgette, feta and red onion fritters – half as much would be sufficient. They’re light and crisp without much in the way of identifiable flavours. The accompanying cacik (yoghurt with cucumber, garlic and dill) gives a needed lift. Kiymali Borek (£4.25) is an only marginally less gargantuan helping of slightly doughy pastry triangles encasing minced lamb. The filling is deliciously meaty although few other flavours are discernible. Some dip or sauce would help it slip down, maybe even just more dressing on the salad garnish, which is identical to both starters.

The mains menu is split into fish dishes (eight of them), half a dozen vegetarian options, 10 grills and eight chef’s specials (largely lamb; mousaka, casserole, slow-cooked shank) plus a dozen sides. Tavuk guvec is a chicken, mushroom, mixed peppers and tomato stew (£9.95) with rice. It’s perfectly fine but hard not to damn with faint praise – the meat isn’t tough, the sauce has the pleasant sweetness of tomatoes and peppers, the rice has been competently cooked – there’s little to get excited about. A straightforward dish of sea bass fillets (£12.95) impresses more. Two fillets have been accurately seasoned and pan-fried. Their accompanying spinach isn’t overdone and comes with plenty of agreeably squidgy, sweated onion. A little mound of undressed, grated carrot seems neither here nor there, however, and roast new potatoes have been left in the oven too long, rendering their skins leathery.

The pudding list is more international so expect tiramisu and warm chocolate pudding alongside baklava and Turkish rice pudding. The baklava, which comes with vanilla ice cream (£4.95), though not outstanding, is reasonably honey-soaked and flaky. A trio of sorbets (£3.95) proves a bit uneven. The mango is a wow with a silky texture and deep flavour. Both passion fruit and champagne-flavour scoops are crumbly of texture, however, and you’d be hard-pressed to identify any booze, though the passion fruit comes through. Very fair set menu deals range from £8.95 to £19.45, and there’s a slimmed-down menu through the arch in the bar.

The Drink
The international wine list manages a couple of Turkish options among its dozen whites, 15 reds, couple of roses and five Champagnes plus a prosecco. Three reds, three whites, a single Champagne and a rose are available by the glass, not an especially large selection by today’s standards. The cheapest white, Ca di Ponti Catarratto (£12.50/£3.20) is a perfectly decent, refreshing drop of Italian plonk. It’s worth trading up to the Mirabello Pinot Grigio (£16.90/£4.25) with its fragrant notes of melon and vanilla. Marktree Semillon-Chardonnay (£14.90/£3.90) packs a good, acidic bite.

As for the reds, Zarabanda Rioja (£17.50/£4.45) is deliciously smooth and balanced with a tickle on the finish. No whites burst through the £30 barrier, although you could blow £75 on the Poderi Colla Dardi le Rose Barolo Bussia Cru, if red is your preference. Fizz starts at £24 for prosecco, rising to £125 for vintage Dom Perignon. There’s a reasonable-sized and -priced cocktail list (£5.50 - £8.90), countless spirit and liqueurs, bottled and draught beers, ciders and soft drinks.

The Last Word
Nar is a good-looking addition to Vauxhall’s burgeoning dining and drinking scene where three courses and half a bottle of modest wine can easily be had for under £40. This makes it a useful standby, even though the food needs a few tweaks and you may have to wait quite a while for it.

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