Safa
22 Camberwell Church Street SE5 8QU
Tel: 0207 701 6004
A bias towards the joys of SE5’s other great Indian eaterie, JJ Caterers, had led for some time to our unjust neglect of Safa. However, despite the excellent food at JJ’s, it is not a place for a romantic meal. Which brought us one Saturday evening to Safa. With its muted lighting, inobtrusive jazz music, and crisp white tablecloths, Safa provides a very pleasant Camberwell dining experience. Particularly as it is clearly popular, filling up as the evening progressed with people of all ages and races (which can be unusual in some SE5 dining establishments), and interestingly, with more than one male couple. The staff are pleasant, with polite touches, such as placing a cloth napkin on my lap, though seemed a little brusque at times. Service was prompt and attentive; we did overhear one couple complaining about being unable to summon a waiter, but we had no problems. The menu is not particularly innovative, but has something to suit most palates, and a few interesting choices, helpfully split into meat, fish and vegetarian. We started with poppadoms and dips. The former were freshly made and satisfyingly crisp, accompanied by a fairly standard selection of dips and pickles. On to the main course, one of us had a vegetable and lentil dish in sweet and sour sauce, which turned out to be slightly more spicy than anticipated, but was very tasty. The other had paneer balls containing potato and onion, which was unusual and delicious, if slightly too soft. The rice was particularly well cooked, and the presentation of the main courses was quite elegant. For dessert one of us had lemon sorbet, the other opted for white chocolate mousse. Both had clearly been prepared in advance: the sorbet was on a plate that was freezer-temperature, though the taste was just right. The mousse had clearly also come from the freezer, rendering it not especially mousse-like in consistency, and it was served in the plastic container in which it had clearly been purchased, rather than being made in the restaurant. Nevertheless, it was delicious. There is a reasonable selection of drinks. We opted for Kingfisher beer which went nicely with our food. A nice touch on leaving was that all female diners were given a red rose., and the bill came with a chocolate. The food is perhaps not quite as good as that at JJ’s, and while the service is efficient it is less friendly. However, in terms of atmosphere, and a good choice for eating out on a Saturday night, Safa wins hands down.
Food: 4
Service: 3
Ambience: 3
Gay-friendliness: 3