Yadas
Kurdish
Arch 163 Rye Lane, Peckham, SE15 4TL
£
With no website, and a questionable location on google maps, it would seem that Yadas doesn't really want to be found. Despite this, the delicious Kurdish food at cheap as chips prices means that it continues to draw a crowd of both local regulars and puzzled first-timers.
Not only are Yadas' prices cheap for the capital, they also employ a BYOB policy with no corkage fee! We maned to book a table for 4 of us via Facebook chat, after a couple of calls had gone unanswered, for a Thursday evening at 8pm. When we arrived, the restaurant was busy, with people even sitting outside in a gazebo-esque setting, despite the cold temperature. We were seated next to a couple who had what looked like an epic meat platter between them, as well as a couple of interestingly coloured dips.
We decided to order the pistachio hummus (£5), red pepper dip (£4), meat platter (around £20) and lamb kebab (£10) to share between four of us. The dips were delicious: I was a particular fan of the pistachio hummus, as it had all the original flavours with a super garlicky and green twist. The meat platter was huge and contained pulled chicken, diced lamb, lamb mince, as well as lots of other little meat parcels, and was served with salad, dips and rice. We also got a veggie dish Yaprakh (£9) which consisted of various vegetables stuffed with rice, herbs and spices.
This was, in fact, one of those rare occasions where the veggie food pulled it out the bag and managed to outshine the meat. In all honesty, the meat was slightly on the dry side and needed a generous helping of delicious sauce to accompany it. The vegetable dish on the other hand had a diverse selection of many different tasty nibbles, which burst with flavour and kept themselves moist and juicy. More and more places are catering extremely well to veggies, vegan's in particular now, and Yadas is definitely on that list of the best.
Overall, the bill came to around £45, which was amazing for 4 of us leaving absolutely stuffed. The service is quick and friendly and the dark and casual atmosphere really chilled out and inviting. It is safe to say I will almost definitely be back, to have some tasty veggie fare at an even tastier price!
OVERALL RATING: ****
