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Resolutely
modern from its shiny black facade and chilli-patterned glass'n'crome
bar, Cafe Naz is sufficiently confident to allow itself the odd
slash of kitsch such as the splendid, smoking fountain by the door.
After all, this is Banlatown's buzzing Bangladeshi brasserie, and
like the estimable le taj a few doors down, a beacon for pan Asian
culinary modernity and amid the variable phantasmagoria that is
Spitafields brick lane.
Naz vegetable include an excellent Begun masala - chopped aborigine
sautéed with green pepper and tomato, and a deliciously sloppy
Bangladeshi style saag bhajee, pureed spinach, tastefully herbed
and seeded. Add perfect pilou rice and a nice fluffy garlic naan
- if you're planning to sleep alone. The best wine from the aspirational,
mainly French list (which includes four champagnes and a sparkling
pink Aussie, brut tache from the talarni winery, a snip at £14.95)
is a cru classe province rose. Or bottle out with kingfishers and
cobras.
Naz is big, bright and packs 'em into its dark blue leatherette
banquettes day and night. The smart black uniformed staff are eager
to please their mixed clientele - which encompasses everyone from
Asian birthday parties and spitalfields locals to city honchos out
for a dine on the wild side.
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