Nandine
Middle Eastern restaurant · Camberwell ·
Flavorful Kurdish cuisine, vibrant mezze, and intricate pastries
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Flavorful Kurdish cuisine, vibrant mezze, and intricate pastries
"Lots of restaurants are run by families, but meals at Kurdish spot Nandine have us Googling legal guardian paperwork. From pomegranate-topped baba ganoush, to wooden DIY shelves crammed with spices and clay jugs, and warm, laid-back service that has Camberwell locals befriending waitstaff, the Baban family have created a neighbourhood staple. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Pause Unmute The Kurdish dishes, mezzes sprinkled with mint and moreish kubba, work best when shared, and each evening, the cheery, narrow dining room is filled with friends ordering second and third rounds of tasty beharat fries. Underneath the orange glow of straw lampshades, and near some foliage or charming knick-knacks, there are no bad seats at Nandine. But if you want something a bit special, one semi-private table can be found at the top of the sort of wooden steps usually reserved for bunk beds. From here you can look out over all the action. Food Rundown Beharat Fries We like all the toppings on these extra skinny, matchstick fries—creamy pink yoghurt (used sparingly to keep things crisp), sour hits of tamarind sauce, and lots of mint and pomegranate seeds bringing freshness. Which is not usually something you can say about fries. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Meat Kubba We’d like the thick coating on these kubba to be crisper. They aren’t unpleasant, but they are a little chewy. photo credit: Sinéad Cranna Tirshyat Pickled vegetables are the Robin to dips and bread’s Batman. You should definitely order this plate for some tangy relief. photo credit: Sinéad Cranna Aubergine Platter There are dips that are afterthoughts and there are dips that could feasibly be the main event—these are the latter. Our favourite bits on the platter are the smoky, quite chunky baba ganoush and the tomatoey chickpeas. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch 7-Spice Chicken Shish Za’atar naan soaks up all the charred edges and juice escaping from this tender chicken. There’s a scattering of amba pickle and lebneh around the dish too, keeping everything in delicious, harmonious balance. It’s a must-order. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Dried Lime Ice Cream Dried limes are sour but this ice cream, with its intense lime glaze, is verging on being unpleasantly so. photo credit: Sinéad Cranna" - Sinéad Cranna
"Nandine is dinner-only, aside from weekends when the big ocakbaşi grill cranks out seven spice chicken shish for juicy flatbreads at brunch, and a winning combination of rattan, foliage, and trays of dolma and juicy koftas make this a great place to start your day. There’s a lovely, comfortable atmosphere, perfect for any night of the week where you’d like to eat some memorably good food." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, daisy meager, sinead cranna
"The second branch for this south London institution, Nandine — “kitchen” in Kurdish — is run by Pary Baban, husband Pola, and sons Rang and Raman. During the day it serves a menu of brunch dishes, meze, and intricate pastries. Technicolored and abundant meze platters served in the evening include kubba (minced beef and rice patties), onion dolma, and qawarma. Pastries like borek, made with a Kurdish pastry called galgali, and baklava are not to be missed. Best for: Go for brunch and get the meze, for yourself." - Adam Coghlan
"Nandine is a cafe and restaurant that serves Kurdish food from one long and tastefully Ikea-ish room in Camberwell. The menu is full of the kind of stuff that makes you go all lovey dovey for fresh and excellent ingredients. The vegan mezze bowls feature no less than 10 component parts, and these are what you should be coming here, and coming back here, for. Not just because they’re a steal, but because the aubergine is addictively smoky and the lentil falafels are always crunchy." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, daisy meager, sinead cranna
"Kaleidoscopic in looks and in flavour, Nandine’s beharat chips are definitely FAVS. You know, Fries As Vehicles. They’re golden, they’re crisp-ish, but it’s all about the stuff on top. Beharat spices, pink yoghurt, tamarind glaze, mint, and pomegranate seeds hit all the marks. They’re smoky, warm in spice, and sweet. And like most FAVS, the chips at this Kurdish spot in Camberwell are best shovelled." - jake missing, sinead cranna