Paradise by Way of Kensal Green, Brent

19 Kilburn Lane, Kensal Green, London, W10 4AE
Telephone: 020 8969 0098
Website:  Click Here

Cost for Sunday Lunch – £14.50-£16.50

Claire and I have been to The Paradise once before, for a birthday celebration dinner. We enjoyed it so much, it had to go on the list to be reviewed for Best Sunday Roast…

Firstly, the website is very informative with a great style. They have a lot of events happening at The Paradise, from music (such as La Roux) to comedy and even workshops for gentlemen and ladies, like repairing cars (for men) and self-defence (for women). It definitely feels like a place I would be proud to have as my local.

Booking a table was nice and easy, a quick call and all arranged. We arrived with friends (Dave and Tania) and had a quick drink in the bar. An extensive wine list was available, which included English Sparkling Wine (at £52 a bottle, very much a treat). The venue style is absolutely astounding, with bird cages hanging from the ceiling, wonderful chairs and sofas, faux book cases, and their very own religious statues (such as The Virgin Mary). It is so unique and is absolutely marvellous!

Going through to the dining room, it’s a similar situation with wonderful decoration and ambiance. We were shown to our table and passed menus. A good selection of Sunday lunches, including Roast Beef, Roast Lamb, Roast Chicken and even a vegetarian option. I did know the pricing beforehand, but it is quite expensive at around £14.50 – £16.50 per Sunday roast, but we thought it would extremely special, so went for it!

After a couple of minutes, a waiter came over to take our order. Claire decided on the chicken, Tania the lamb, Dave the beef and I copied Tania. After we ordered, the waiter brought over some water, which was a nice touch. Previously, Claire and I received some excellent bread and butter, unfortunately this wasn’t the case with our Sunday lunch. The food came out literally within 5 minutes of placing the order! Normally, I am very happy with quick service, but we weren’t in a rush this time, so I was a bit disappointed we couldn’t just relax (cannot win with some people ;-))

The first impressions were very mixed. The lamb and beef were slabs of meat, around an inch thick! It was literally a steak of lamb. Claire’s plate hosted about half a chicken. 3 roast potatoes and a yorkshire pudding each. The vegetables were a bit of a disappointed though, with a small portion of buttered cabbage, red cabbage, mashed carrot and a solitary quarter of a roasted parsnip. Lastly, a drizzle of gravy. The menu did offer extra vegetables to order, but let’s be honest, if you are paying £16.50 for lunch, you’d expect more of a selection.

Both the lamb and the beef were very good quality, cooked to perfection. Unfortunately, Claire was disappointed with the chicken as it had no flavouring or seasoning. The vegetables definitely tasted very fresh, but the potatoes were quite dry and the yorkshire seemed a bit stale. If we had more gravy, it would have been a lot more enjoyable though.

A comment on the cutlery choices – with steak, you are normally given steak knives, we had to cut lamb with normal knives. This made it extremely difficult to eat and I know we could have asked for other knives, but there shouldn’t have been a need.

After Sunday lunch, we were asked about desserts. It took a long time to actually place the order, as the waiter brought over the menus and then disappeared for about 10 minutes. A good selection of desserts were on offer, including knickerbocker glory!!! Tania went for the cheesecake, I went for the sticky toffee pudding, Claire went off the dessesrt menu and decided on a glass of Processco. Desserts came out after about 10 minutes, and wow! Whilst the Sunday roast didn’t seem good value for money, these definitely did! My sticky toffee pudding was to die for, and the cheesecake looked and tasted fantastic (I was greedy enough to sample :-)).

So, to wrap up: The Sunday roast was a bit of a let-down, especially with such a high cost (we would have been happier with the cost around £11.95), but the desserts were fantastic. The ambience and style of the gastropub is very unique.  I have to take into account that Claire’s birthday dinner was probably one of the best meals we have had out. So, with this in mind, we think the Sunday lunch isn’t good value, but definitely go for a special meal any other time of the week or one of the events.

John

Rating:

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