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Camberwell news and chitter-chatter

slowjoe said:
No, there are just too many (Khan's, Cinnamon, Safa, Indiaaah, New Dewaniam, JJ's), none of them massively stands out (whether in quality, or some other differentiator) or, judging by how empty they usually are, attracts many people from outside the area. Everyone went apeshit when I predicted Khan's wouldn't cut it in Camberwell because it looks like just another curry house - well, that blind loyalty doesn't seem to have put many bums on seets.
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I disagree. This closure seems to be unrelated to lack of business.
Plus there was no 'apeshit' response.
 
mango5 said:
I disagree. This closure seems to be unrelated to lack of business.
Plus there was no 'apeshit' response.
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Unless you know otherwise, I think it's fair to say the reason's unclear. It might be unconnected to the lack of business, but equally, it's not inconceivable that a restaurant closing down for this reason would cite 'family reasons' or 'unforeseen circumstances' instead.

What isn't in doubt is that it hasn't been a roaring success, judging by the empty tables I always see inside. And yes, I did try the food, including several of the dishes the Khans advocates recommended, and although it was perfectly enjoyable, it didn't stand out in any way to me. But maybe it was just an off night - what Khan's really need to do is change there menu in favour of unusual dishes the chef does really well, getting rid of the large number of generic offerings currently cluttering it up.

And likewise, whether or not 'apeshit' is a fair characterisation (maybe it isn't), a number of people were certainly keen to find any possible reason why the criticisms I was making, and my predictions it wouldn't do very well, were wrong at best, malicious at worst. But I've only been motivated by a desire to see somewhere on that site succeed, and Khan's doesn't seem to be doing that.
 
mango5 said:
JJs is my favorite Indian restaurant in Camberwell, though I've never eaten in.
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I've had some great food from JJ's, although I've had plenty of disappointments too. I'd much rather go somewhere like Chatkhara at the Elephant, which does a fairly small range of dishes well (and is predictably busy most of the time, and well-used by South Asians), and doesn't ask its chefs to cook a pan-South Asian menu much of which is alien to them.
 
slowjoe said:
Unless you know otherwise, I think it's fair to say the reason's unclear. It might be unconnected to the lack of business, but equally, it's not inconceivable that a restaurant closing down for this reason would cite 'family reasons' or 'unforeseen circumstances' instead.

What isn't in doubt is that it hasn't been a roaring success, judging by the empty tables I always see inside. And yes, I did try the food, including several of the dishes the Khans advocates recommended, and although it was perfectly enjoyable, it didn't stand out in any way to me. But maybe it was just an off night - what Khan's really need to do is change there menu in favour of unusual dishes the chef does really well, getting rid of the large number of generic offerings currently cluttering it up.

And likewise, whether or not 'apeshit' is a fair characterisation (maybe it isn't), a number of people were certainly keen to find any possible reason why the criticisms I was making, and my predictions it wouldn't do very well, were wrong at best, malicious at worst. But I've only been motivated by a desire to see somewhere on that site succeed, and Khan's doesn't seem to be doing that.
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Like I said, you're a fantasist.
 
i know the guy who ran the camberwell khan's is the brother of the manager/owner of brixton khans and he was driving in from luton or somewhere that distanct every day. perhaps it took its toll!
i also gather that the relationship between the restaurant and the hotel it shared its toilets with wasn't great. it's a really crappy little space to be fair.
 
Yeah, they'd probably do better with the Safa location. That hotel is taking the piss really. I didn't like the huge telly, but understand the Khan's people had a lot of timespent hanging about.
I wonder when more South American food will arrive in Camberwell (not sure there is any right).
 
Orang Utan said:
i know the guy who ran the camberwell khan's is the brother of the manager/owner of brixton khans and he was driving in from luton or somewhere that distanct every day. perhaps it took its toll!
i also gather that the relationship between the restaurant and the hotel it shared its toilets with wasn't great. it's a really crappy little space to be fair.
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Isn't the restaurant used for hotel breakfasts in the morning?
 
Orang Utan said:
i also gather that the relationship between the restaurant and the hotel it shared its toilets with wasn't great. it's a really crappy little space to be fair.
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Why is it a crappy space? I know it's not exactly palatial, but it's more spacious and generously appointed than most restaurant premises in Camberwell, having two aspects.
 
really tight tables and chairs, inconvenient toilets. it's kind of a depressing place to sit in. lovely food though.
 
mango5 said:
Yeah, they'd probably do better with the Safa location. That hotel is taking the piss really. I didn't like the huge telly, but understand the Khan's people had a lot of timespent hanging about.
I wonder when more South American food will arrive in Camberwell (not sure there is any right).
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Only thing I can think of is Angels and Gypsies' lunchtime burritos - well, that's Latin American although not South American. They are excellent fwiw, a huge, home-made tortilla filled with organic beef and other good ingredients, home-made hot sauce, and you can get it with a fresh juice for £5.50.

Safa just about ticks over at best, and personally I'd sooner go into Khan's premises where you're insulated behind double doors, than Safa's where you feel a gust of wind every time someone goes in or out...
 
Orang Utan said:
i don't care about this as much as you do
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That's irrelevant - you said it was a crap space, I asked why, you said because of the tight spacing of the tables and chairs. You can care about it as little as you like, won't make your statement make any sense.
 
slowjoe said:
That's irrelevant - you said it was a crap space, I asked why, you said because of the tight spacing of the tables and chairs. You can care about it as little as you like, won't make your statement make any sense.
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Take a tablet.
 
slowjoe said:
That's irrelevant - you said it was a crap space, I asked why, you said because of the tight spacing of the tables and chairs. You can care about it as little as you like, won't make your statement make any sense.
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i think you need to take some ecstasy
 
golightly said:
The Safa is up for sale apparently. We saw it in an estate agents in Herne Hill recently.
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That's a shame, Safa's food was decent and they had obviously put some effort in with the design of the place, even if (IMO) the outcome wasn't that appealing.
 
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