"A January listing of this restaurant said: “if London was New York, then this Kurdish cafe would be the subject of food pilgrimages and glossy weekend magazine features”. Since then, Pary Baban and her family have slowly built a Camberwell/Peckham empire, adding a restaurant on Church Street to the Vestry Road cafe, Peckham Levels concession, and an Elephant and Castle coffee stand — and two glossy magazine features. What marks Nandine apart is the level of soul, skill, and care put into the food on an almost microscopic level: it’s one thing to make hummus well, but it’s another to nail each of the eleven components of their vegetarian mezze, from the vine leaves to the qawarma. Even simple rice or cabbage dishes are elevated through judicious use of fresh herbs like dill, mint, and parsley. Boreks, both triangular and spiral, can be bought from the counter, and a Kurdish breakfast comprising in-house yoghurt, white cheese, fig jam, honey, bread, and salad is somehow simultaneously frugal and completely luxurious." - Jonathan Nunn