34 Highgate Hill,
London,
N19 5NL
0872 148 0785
The ViewLondon Review
Tufnell Park's not the first place you'd think of going for an upmarket curry, but The Parsee has gained a real reputation north of the River for serving above-average Indian fare.
Owned by Cyrus Todiwala MBE, who also owns the Café Spice Namaste brand, The Parsee specialises in (you guessed it) Parsee cooking. Concentrating on meat and egg dishes and with less emphasis on hot spices than other kinds of curries, Parsee dishes, it seems, aim for a more discerning palate.
And maybe that palate's just not mine. Though we started with some great pickles (including an unusual pumpkin and carrot chutney), and the Parsee Platter of starters was delicious, my Masala Nu Rost Gos (lamb shank – a speciality) was bland and came with a sorry-looking heap of standard-issue token salad, much as one gets in a little polystyrene container with a takeaway.
The Vegetable Dhaansaak was perfectly inoffensive, with onion rice flavoured with star anise, but nothing special.
The dessert menu includes Parsee apricot toffee ice cream and Narial na Chaaput – coconut pancake with sultanas, cane sugar, nutmeg, cardamom and vanilla. There are some good wines available, and the menus explain the history and preparation of each dish well – a welcome departure from "cooked with special blend of spices, chef's recommendation".
But food aside, the space itself lacks atmosphere and comfort and could do with a refit – it felt a little like a café and seemed to discourage lingering. There is a feeling abroad that The Parsee has gone downhill of late, and whether or not this is true, it's certainly not quite what this reviewer expected.
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