Getting saucy at Nora's

Fast food outlets seem to have a taste for putting a face to their product; we are greeted by the bespectacled bearded Colonel Sanders at KFC, the McCheesy grin of Ronald at McDonald's and now the flame-haired Nora is set to tempt us into her newly-launched kebab shops.

Islington residents are the guinea pigs for this new style of kebab house, which is hoping to tempt even the most health conscious consumer through their doors with the promise of fresh ingredients and low-carb, low calorie offerings.

Out goes the dodgy décor and unappetising rotating meat on a skewer, and in comes a fresh, funky interior and tempting options such as yellow fin tuna burger with dill tarragon mayo or haloumi cheese and vegetable shish.

The sauces include lemon and herb, teriyaki and yoghurt and mint, there's a range of extras such as potato wedges and houmous and customers can decide whether to be tempted by the stodgy mini doughnuts or remain virtuous with the grilled fruit kebab.

We opted for the Caerphilly cheese and leek quarter pounder, which was pleasant enough, though could have done with a bit more of a kick to it. Our low-carb salmon shish was presented in a tortilla wrap (how shocking) and had to be returned for the offending carbohydrates to be removed before we broke out into a flour-induced rash.

The hastily repackaged meal, sans wrap, consisted of three inch-wide strips of salmon on a bed of salad. Not particularly filling. Thankfully, we had ordered some chunky chips (Atkins, what's Atkins?) to fill the gap, although these arrived some time after our main orders. We also had to pester the staff for our teriyaki sauce and extra salad but were kept entertained during our wait by the mini jukebox on the wall and by the 'little extras' on sale.

The promotional material for Flaming Nora's is littered with innuendos such as thrill on the grill, cheeky burgers, sexy salads and 'bits on the side' and describes it as a place for 'punters that like to get fresh'. This, they claim, is a reference to the food, but a quick scan of the shelves reveals that there are a few little extras on offer.

Customers, presumably the drunken variety who are stopping-off for the obligatory midnight snack, can pick-up cigarettes, Rizla packets, condoms and various lotions and potions with names such Bender Mender, Are you looking to get picked-up? and Snog Me Senseless.

It seems that Nora is getting saucy in more ways than one.

Flaming Nora, 177, Upper Street, N1. Open 11am until midnight, seven days a week. Tel: 0845 835 6672. Visit www.flamingnora.com

Flaming Nora's
177, Upper Street, N1