The hottest takeaways in town

10 April 2012

We are now eating more takeaway food than ever before, a new report reveals. And Londoners more than anyone else are responsible for the surge of more than 50 per cent which has seen restaurant and takeaway dining grow to almost £30 billion, according to the Office for National Statistics. But are we getting value for money? The Evening Standard ordered food from six takeaways and asked

Rowley Leigh,

Allegra McEvedy,

Fish and chips

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Rowley's value for money rating: 7/10
Allegra's value for money rating: 6/10

Rowley's assessment: "Very good quality fish. The chips were typically English ... very soggy, but at least they tasted of potatoes. Classically good fish and chips altogether. Gherkins excellent." Rowley's daughter Daisy, 13, and next door neighbour, Poppy, 14, both got stuck into the chips: "These are good!" they both enthused."

Allegra's assessment: "The oil didn't taste old and I'll give them bonus points for the gherkin. But the batter let the fish down ... very, very soggy. And the chips were saturated in oil."

Lebanese

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Rowley's value for money rating: 3/10
Allegra's value for money rating: 2/10

Rowley's assessment: "When I first looked at the array we had - and I'm a big fan of Lebanese cuisine - I thought, this is the stuff. You could really entertain with this. However, it was downhill all the way from there."

Of the starters, he found the grilled aubergines served with crushed garlic and lemon juice "especially unpleasant", the basturma - smoked fillet of beef with special spices - was "awful", while the hommos with chopped fried meat looked "dodgy and dangerous".

Of the main courses, he found the lahmi mishwi (shish kebab) "a bit bland but perfectly edible" while the shish taouk (cubes of marinated grilled chicken) was "perfectly clean, decent but slightly boring". The farrouge moussahab (boneless chicken chargrilled with garlic sauce) was "a bit raw". His overall reaction: "£45 for what we just had was dire."

Allegra's assessment: the aubergines were "very greasy with no nutritional value". The basturma was "scary looking beef, I wouldn't choose to eat it, but I'll give them six out of 10 for effort", while the hommos "tastes two days old and I wouldn't go near that meat - come to that, I wouldn't give it to the cat".

The shish kebab she "enjoyed a lot", while the shish taouk was "a bit overworked but fine". However, like Rowley, she said the undercooked boneless chicken was "a serious salmonella situation".

Overall she said: "This was a huge disappointment. I have been eating at Maroush since I was 14 and the restaurant food is a lot better than this. It seems that if you have it delivered the quality suffers. They seem to have lost the love somewhere down the road."

Both chefs agreed that the complimentary baklava (honey and nut pastries that normally cost £3.50) was the best thing about the whole meal.

Indian

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Rowley's value for money rating: 7/10
Allegra's value for money rating: 7/10

Here the two seriously differed in opinions - though not in the end scoring - for the first time during the tasting session.

Rowley's assessment: he thought the prawns were "fantastic" while the vegetable curry was "really nice". The naan, however, was "nothing special", but he liked the pilau rice and the lamb bhuna which "had just the right amount of spices in it".

Allegra's assessment: she thought the prawns were "nice, but didn't travel well". She thought the vegetable curry was "superb, the best we've had of these dishes so far", and she loved the naan bread which had "ground almonds in it ... nice flavour". Unlike Rowley she though the lamb was "mutton dressed as lamb - I'm not very impressed" - but the pilau rice was "great".

Both chefs were impressed by the overall quality and nutritional value of the Nepalese Tandoori.

Thai

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Rowley's value for money rating: 9/10
Allegra's value for money rating: 8/10

The Blue Elephant is now not only a stalwart of its Fulham Road birthplace, but has expanded to Brussels, Paris and Copenhagen according to the smartly packaged cardboard container the food arrived in.

Rowley's assessment: of the paper prawns - rice- paper wrapped prawns stuffed with chicken - he wasn't "sure how well it works with the chicken, but it's still tasty". The Thai fish cakes: "Strong, tasty spices, but a bit greasy." The vermicelli salad with prawns and chicken was "basic salad with good quality prawns".

He "definitely liked" the dim sum parcels of steamed minced pork, shrimp and crab meat as well as the chicken satay. The Blue Elephant spring roll was "great, crispy and full of flavour". The Tom Yam soup was "fantastic".

Then - with the arrival of the main courses - things were suddenly not as sparkling. He didn't like the prawn curry much. The Bangkok fish (deep fried fillet with ginger and garlic in a chilli sauce) was "not very nice. Fried food doesn't travel very well - it's best eaten in the street".

However, a mouthful of Emerald Chicken (chicken wrapped in leaves with a sweet and sour sauce) improved matters. "I like this very much," said Rowley. Not so, alas, the Kai Himmapan ( stirfried chicken with baby corn and pineapple and topped with cashew nuts): "Far too sweet, don't like it." Likewise the Massaman curry (lamb slowly braised in a medium hot sauce) was " boring and bland". But finally the Yam Nua (grilled tenderloin of beef with mint and coriander in a lime and chilli dressing) was "excellent, with just the right combination of spices".

Allegra's assessment: paper prawns were "great prawns", Thai fish cakes were "run of the mill stuff. I've had far better". Of the vermicelli salad she thought "the lemon and fish sauce dressing was very good" while the dim sum "could be better but isn't bad". The satay was "good chicken satay just as it should be" and the spring rolls were "good quality, crispy and not greasy".

The Tom Yam was "good, I'll give this soup a happy 8 out of 10". She was disappointed with the prawn curry - "someone's been at this, it tastes like khorma", while the Bangkok fish was her "least favourite - very greasy".

The Emerald Chicken, however, was "excellent, very nicely cooked" and she liked the flavours of the Kai Himmapan. The Massaman, alas, was "overworked and the sauce is nothing to write home about". Lastly, the Yam Nua brought forth a second rave review: "By far the best dish we've had. The beef hasn't died, it's tears-to-the-eyes stuff, good and hot."

Both chefs decided the Blue Elephant overall provided the best food of the night with consistent quality and good value for money. And from Rowley came this accolade: "I don't actually like Thai food ... but this was truly outstanding."

Chinese

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Rowley's value for money rating: "I refuse to score it."
Allegra's value for money rating: 3/10

Here the two seriously differed in opinions - though not in the end scoring - for the first time during the tasting session.

Rowley's assessment: the seaweed he began with was "not very nice stuff". The spare ribs were "sickly sweet". The satay chicken he bit into and spat out again.

The spring rolls he "didn't enjoy at all", while the prawn toast was "a soggy, greasy mess". That was the starters dealt with.

The crispy, aromatic duck with plum sauce and pancakes was "not great". The Szechuan prawns in hot chilli sauce? "Bland and not spicy at all. The prawns taste of nothing." How about the chicken with green peppers in black bean sauce? "The sauce is awful."

Onwards - and downwards - to the crispy shredded beef with chilli and carrots: "I'd almost like to go back to the Lebanese diced rat after this. Disgusting." Finally, the mange tout and beansprouts in garlic sauce was "utterly forgettable".

Allegra's assessment: she was "not a fan" of the seaweed. Spare ribs: "Quality of the meat is terrible." Satay chicken: "Hard work but authentic." Spring rolls: "Quite nice but very greasy." Prawn toast: "Far too greasy."

Allegra, however, did like the duck pancakes, although the Szechuan prawns were "in a watery sauce and not very spicy".

She said of the chicken with green peppers with black bean sauce: "I've had worse black bean sauce, but the chicken is overcooked." Lastly, the crispy shredded beef was "a real loser, very greasy. But I'm more robust than Rowley. I'm not scared of it - and it gets one out of 10." And the mange tout? "No real taste of anything."

Pizza

They called back four times querying Rowley's address in W12 because they couldn't find it on the map. Then they called back a fifth time - 10 minutes after they were scheduled to deliver at 7pm, and said our order was being transferred to a different branch - Acton - because it was closer to the address they had by now ( presumably) located. However, as a result, our order of 24 hours previously would now be treated as a new order by the new branch and would therefore take 45 minutes to deliver. We cancelled - on the grounds we could no longer be bothered with Pizza Hut.