5 /5 Locutus Borg: I had seen this place many times before, but never went in, as it always had a slightly old-fashioned look. One day, as I walked past, I decided to go in, and I was hit with a wave of nostalgia, seeing a place remembering 1980s Pakistani takeaways. The food here is good for the price. The lamb curry, meat biryani, and kebabs are quite enjoyable. For a decent dinner or lunch, you can’t really beat this place.
The one thing I like is that they still do small portions of curries, biryanis, and vegetable dishes. Almost all other Indian/Pakistani restaurants have now got rid of that option, which means you would normally be buying more than what you want to eat/pay for.
For example, Khana Khazana on Green Street London E7 also make some decent curries, but the basic portion is more than I could eat, and it costs more than double of what a small portion at Madina Grill would cost. Normally I wouldn’t buy the more expensive curry dishes because it feels like too much of a luxury but here, they are happy to give you a small portion and it is actually enough for a single meal. For me, the main appeal of this place is that the food is sold at a great price, and though never reaching the heights of gourmet cuisine, it is good value for what it is.
The food is always fresh. I can’t believe I never took advantage of this place before. Seriously, there may be fancier looking places, but there is no other similar locally that makes such great and authentic tasting Pakistani style food.
This is not a swanky place, it is like the way Pakistani/Indian restaurants used to be before the age of gentrification, serving traditional food, with a home cooked feel. I would rather have some decent food than get overpriced stuff which mostly seems to charge for the presentation. I hope they continue to sell the small portions because these days it is hard to find decent cheap places to eat, and this place does it well.
The first time I got food from here, I wasn’t sure if it would be any good. The guy who served me said, “if you like our food, every Friday we discount one of our main dishes. We freshly cook it and have a great offer price”. He asked me to come and try the lamb biryani the following week, and there were a lot of people who came in to take advantage of that offer. I was not disappointed. It might not look like much but is not bad.