Nandine

Nandine has earned its place as one of Camberwell’s best restaurants because, and we can’t think of a better way to phrase this, it’s really very loveable. The Kurdish restaurant treads the line somewhere between quaint, cosy and cool in equal measure; quaint, thanks to wooden-clad interiors that feel a little like a well-intentioned DIY job, and cosy because the intimate dining room just about seats a couple of dozen. The cool element seeps through the trendy and chilled-out staff, who distribute our plates with such nonchalance, it’s almost as if they're blithely unaware of the joy-filling potential of the food they’re delivering. 

The menu is the product of head chef Pary Baban’s travels in her native country of Kurdistan. It’s colourful, sweet, aromatically-spiced stuff that makes you want to lick every plate clean. It’s also honest. A trio of mezze dips, for example, were delivered on a single dish as three bright splodges (no separate bowls here), blending into a vibrant mess as we hungrily scoop each one up with flatbreads. Ruddy-coloured muhammara was intense in both colour and flavour, the sage green houmous had been given a loving pep of lime and the tzatziki was cool, thick and steeped in olive oil. There were fun, never-tasted-before surprises in the form of cracked wheat stirred through warm yoghurt, resembling something close to savoury rice pudding. Crisp cauliflower florettes sat atop a hearty mix of beans and pearl barley, warming and wholesome, while chicken wings arrived drenched in a lip-smackingly sweet-and-sour sauce topped with juicy pomegranate jewels.  

To finish, and this isn’t a choice, you must order the baklava platter, which is a laughable £4.50 for what is some of the best of its kind we’ve tried. Each is distinctively different, one rich with coconut, another heady with cinnamon and the third an almondy mass. Everything about Nandine feels endearingly homemade, from the food to the décor, but it puts smiles on faces. And you can’t argue with that. 

Nandine, meaning ‘kitchen’, in Camberwell is a Kurdish restaurant that brings the authentic cuisine of Kurdistan to South East London. Originally set up by Pary Baban in 2016, the restaurant’s location in Camberwell is where Pary first arrived in the UK from Kurdistan in 1995 after being displaced from her home under the rule of Saddam Hussein.  

Constantly moving from place to place throughout her teen years in search of safety, Pary documented all the recipes and regional dishes she tried over the years, which now serves as the inspiration for Nandine’s menu today. It’s largely based around sharing plates with a focus on vegetarian dishes. Highlights include Kurdish smoked aubergine with slow-cooked chickpeas, garlic and olive oil, loaded Beharat fries with zataar, pomegranate sauce, pink yoghurt, mint, pomegranate and sesame, and Kurdish dumplings in a tomato and spinach broth topped with homemade garlic sauce and sesame. 

Meanwhile, meat dishes are cooked on an open charcoal grill to impart a distinctive smokiness synonymous with Middle Eastern cooking. Highlights include mutton with smoked rice, handmade spiced sausages, the Lula Kebab (ground lamb flank and shoulder kebabs served with zataar flatbreads) and a signature 7-Spice chicken shish served with a labneh amba dip. If you fancy something sweet for after, take your pick from homemade baklava or a trio of halva, which is a favourite candy dessert in the Middle East. 
 
To wash it all down, look out for an array of Kurdish-inspired cocktails, such as Sumac and Pomegranate G&Ts and Kurdish Negronis. Nandine also supplies local craft beers, a wine list and non-alcoholic drinks as well. 

At the weekend, Nandine serves up a traditional Kurdish breakfast with an assortment of cheeses, yoghurt, shepherd’s salad and fresh honeycomb.