Tayyabs seems to instigate very strong reactions in people who know of its existence, either really liking it, or disliking it. Their offerings are really simple and clear – a selection of Pakistani and North Indian appetisers mostly served on a sizzling platter, a variety of different curries, standard bread and rice and a small selection of drinks including a very generous sized lassi (I highly recommend the Mango one).

They don’t sell alcohol, instead opting for a Bring Your Own (BYO) licence so if you want wine or beer, you can really have whatever you want.

Service for food tends to be very prompt, almost on the side of excessive eagerness and pressure to both order and clean up at the end. This is completely understandable when you look at the long queue of people inside, and often outside. One of the diners I was with found it a little on the rude side, although I think it just comes with the territory of the restaurant wanting to please all and is a way for them to keep the prices down.

This restaurant is easily accessible from both Algate East and Whitechapel tubes, and just a small walk away from Brick Lane. I reckon it offers much better foods than many of the other places on Brick Lane, and made much better without the constant harassing or pressure to come and dine. This place knows what niche it fills, and that it doesn’t need any more advertisement.

Their prices are extremely reasonable and I’ve found their quality consistent enough to want to recommend to people who don’t mind walking just that little bit further away from brick lane. Thanks to Simon and Fabio for a great night out!

TheKua.com Rating: 7 out of 10

As much as I wanted to like this place, I just don’t think this place worked its magic for me. I went along and didn’t really take note of the "Japanese noodle and sushi bar" title, their menu focused on various forms of ‘men’ or noodle soup with everything from udon noodle, ramen noodle and wonton soup as well a number of other classic "Japanese" dishes. They also offer a number of "set" menus, and I ended up going for one of faves, the pork katsudon (breaded pork on rice topped with an egg-based sauce) for £8. Looking back, I really should have got a noodle soup instead.

You order at the entrance of the store, something that became an obvious bottleneck with the single menu taped to the counter causing people to crowd around it as they’re deciding what to order. After ordering, you then find a table or a counter seat in my particular case.

They served me a glass of tap water automatically, a plus on their side although unfortunately it wasn’t topped up throughout. Fortunately this isn’t a place that collects a service fee on top of their dish – what you see is what you pay.

When the katsudon arrived, it had been garnished with some seaweed – not too much to overpower the entire dish. I could see immediately that it was going to be a dry dish, where instead of a saucy egg based sauce, I found traces of egg and what still looked like very white rice untouched by any type of sauce. Admittedly there was plenty of rice and consider it the pork a generous serve to match the amount of rice yet I found myself desperately wanting something to moisten the palette. Much to my surprise, they also served the katsudon with a bowl of miso soup, and I definitely appreciated the offer.

Although there were plenty of signs this place should have been good – plenty of Japanese people and reasonable prices, I don’t think I’ll be going out of my way to head back there anytime soon. My table had obviously been wiped down, yet remained sticky to the touch, the katsudon was far too dry and unsatisfying despite their generously sized portion.

TheKua.com Rating: 2 out of 10
Found at: 84 Brewer Street, Soho, London W1F 9UB

I went along today to the Nordic Bakery to escape from the hustle and bustle of Regent street and it did not at all disappoint. Its interior is spacious with tall ceilings and large wooden panels lining the walls around you. Small warehouse down lights brighten up the space, bringing focus to the nine dark stained tables you sit at. Continuing on in this clean cut, Scandinavian style, only two hanging features adorn the walls, on one side, two green canvas bags also for sale, and a large rug hanging opposite it.

Their menu is simple, with a combination between some fresh foods based around cakes and sandwiches, and other items that you might think about stocking in the pantry. The focus for their food is quality food although you may be expecting larger portions for sandwiches that cost up to £4. Amongst their offerings is a serious of traditional Nordic ingredients presented atop a heavy, dark and flavoursome rye bread.

Their "fillings" include smoked salmon, gravadlax, egg and achovy, pickled herring and something more for local taste, cheese and pickle. Each sandwich is pretty satisfying as mentioned before, you may be expecting something more. My server offered me the other piece of bred to turn the open sandwich into a more proper one. My lunch, the gravadlax at £3.75, was extremely tasty and it seemed like they used high quality ingredients, with most of the sandwiches freshly made.

I tried their coffee (a latte at £2.20) with my lunch, who’s only fault was that it had far too much milk for my liking. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite cut my "Where’s the best coffee?" series of places although I would probably drink it again if I returned to this place.

I also couldn’t resist trying one of their pastry/cake desserts, trying out one of their cinnamon buns (£2). It was surprisingly heavy, and the warmth gave away that it had been freshly baked. Although not as excessively sweet as I had been expecting, it was slightly doughy and really only half would have been enough.

The Nordic Bakery is quite a treat, and unlike many of the other upmarket establishments, somehow keeps an air of serenity without feeling excessively bland or boring.