1. Lahore Kebab House
Whitechapel, London
This is an almost legendary Pakistani kebab house - nothing fancy, but they serve fantastic, unpretentious food at unbeatable prices. You may not get a menu or an itemised bill, but go with the fl ow and expect a feast for a tenner. Mixed starters usually include kebabs, spicy sausage and so on. Spicy lamb cutlets are good and roti is essential. Please take your own poison as they will not serve or sell any. There is an off-licence next door. Don't confuse this place off Commercial Road with a couple of similar-sounding ones nearby.
Shazia Mirza, comic : why I love Lahore Kebab House
When I was teaching in the East End of London I would come to the Lahore a lot. It serves good, cheap, traditional food and it's made exactly how they make it in Pakistan. I used to go to Pakistan with my parents and this place reminds me of being in Karachi or Lahore. The curries my mother cooks at home are awful. They all look different but taste exactly the same. She uses so many spices that I always need five gallons of water - or cans and cans of Coke - to take the taste away. When I am writing comedy scripts at home I get a real craving for curry. So I'll nip out and get a takeaway. I only eat halal meat and never drink alcohol. My brother would say I was devout compared to him but I don't pray any more.
2. Sarkhel's
Southfields, London
This is the original restaurant of Udit Sarkhel of Bombay Brasserie fame; he now has another in East Sheen, but it is closed for refurbishment. It's light, bright and modern and the menu features dishes from all over the Indian sub- continent, so you get everything from tender lambshank to Parsi chicken with ground almonds, cashews and poppy seeds. Sarkhel's has won lots of awards. Just a few doors down (number 201) is the Calcutta Notebook, run by the same people and a hidden gem of proper Calcutta food. Some of the seafood and vegetable recipes are amazing.
3. Mem Saab
Maid Marian Way, Nottingham
Not so much a curry house as a curry palace, this place won 'Best Non-European Restaurant' in the Nottingham Restaurant Awards last year. I like the exotic decor, the service and the superb repertoire on its menu. There's a good mix of Delhi and Lahore food and the tandoor work is exceptional. Tandoori salmon is served with mint yoghurt; tandoori scallops are marinaded in spices and flavoured with cloves. The whole place is elegant and spacious - really quite smart.
4. Spice Merchant
Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
This is the flagship restaurant of a small group run on sophisticated lines. It's in Beacons field Old Town and the view out of the front is of centuries-old shops and pretty townhouses. This Spice Merchant is home to the group head chef, Vijay Anand, and the food is very good - some of the Hyderabad specialities are worth driving great distances for. Try the Baingan Mirchi Ka Salan, which is baby aubergines with chilli, peanut, coconut, sesame and tamarind sauce. I like to go to this restaurant on summer evenings, as they have great outdoor seating in a garden with a waterfall and a little bridge over a pool.
5. Gurkha Kitchen
Oxted, Surrey
Gurkha Kitchen is named after the famously brave soldiers from the Himalayas and is my favourite for Nepalese food. The restaurant is small and colourful with lots of handspun textiles, and very friendly. They make some of the best non-vegetarian Nepalese food I have ever eaten - it's even better than in Nepal.
Service is very good. Their Nepalese/Indian dim sums - called 'momos' - are worth making a detour for. They are busy with a refurbishment at the moment and will re-open on 3 August; meanwhile, you could visit their sister restaurant, the Sherpa Kitchen in Esher.
Lahore Kebab House, 2 Umberston Rd, Whitechapel, London E1, 020 7488 2551
Sarkhel's, 199 Replingham Road, London, SW18, 0871 332 8565
MemSaab, 12 Maid Marian Way, Nottingham, 0115 957 0009
Spice Merchant, 33 London End, Beacons field, Buckinghamshire, 01494 675474
Gurkha Kitchen, 111 Station Rd East, Oxted, Surrey, 01372 470777
