Restaurant

Name: Sheba
Area: Brick Lane
Address: 136 Brick Lane
London E1 6RU
Phone: 020 7247 7824
Website: www.shebabricklane.com

Visits to this restaurant ...

1. 29 Jun 2000|2. 25 Jan 2001|3. 26 Sep 2002|4. 31 Jul 2003|5. 25 Mar 2004
6. 29 Jun 2006|7. 25 Feb 2010|8. 29 Feb 2024


Fame at last! Extracts from our website displayed in the window of Sheba on Brick Lane.

Visit Report

Visit Number: 41 (visit 4 of 8 for this restaurant)
Date of visit: 31 Jul 2003
Cost per head: £16.50 (2 beers)

Serv Amb Beer Start Nan Rice Main Veg VFM Score Comments
Overall 4.8 5.9 6.6 7.1 6.7 6.5 7.1 6.2 8.4 6.66
Dave 6 7 7 7 7 7 5 7 8 6.6 See Dave's comments
John 4 5 8 3 9 8 9 5 8 6.6 See John's comments
Graeme 5 6 9 6 6 6 6 6 9 6.5 See Graeme's comments
Mark 4 6 4 8 7 7 9 6 10 7.0 See Mark's comments
Paul 6 6 7 8 8 7 7 7 8 7.1 See Paul's comments
Alex 5 7 7 8 7 7 8 8 9 7.4 See Alex's comments
Jon 4 5 7 8 7 6 6 6 9 6.5 See Jon's comments
Richard 4 5 2 8 6 7 8 6 7 6.2 See Richard's comments
Robin 5 7 7 8 5 4 6 6 7 6.2 See Robin's comments
Tim 5 5 8 7 5 6 7 5 9 6.4 See Tim's comments

All Comments

Dave - Disappointed overall - not up to the usual standard set by the Sheba. After a long wait for my main course (Chicken and prawn curry), I found the chicken slightly 'rubbery' and the sauce a bit bland. Still good VFM.

John - I think that the Sheba has taken it's eye off the ball! Not as good as previous visits. I started with chicken chat which was luke warm. The main, a girly balti chicken tikka masalla was excellent. I don't remember having any chick-peas although we did order them - did we actually get them? Draft cobra was very refreshing - in fact Frankie commented on how refreshed I was when I got home! VFM excellent but the free Guinness beforehand probably had something to do with it.

Graeme - Overall, I was a little disappointed as it didn't live up to the very high standards set at previous visits. However, it was still a good meal and unbelievably cheap - I only gave it 9 for VFM as the food wasn't quite as good as it could have been but I don't think we could beat that price anywhere. All the food was OK but not special. The service was very slow although everything came as ordered (and there were 10 of us). The draft Cobra at Sheba is a definite plus point.

Mark - Considering the poor service, due to too many people, and the fact I had to send my beer back, the overall mark was fairly high. This is due to the fact that the Sheeba always delivers when it comes to food and value. A generous helping of tender chicken tikka to start with preceded a main dish that again contained the Sheeba speciality of large slices of chicken rather than the normal small lumps found elsewhere. Overall experience not up to scratch but unbeatable for VFM. Anyone want to buy a reversible Guinness fleece?

Paul - A very pleasant experience for my first time out. Nothing too special about the restaurant and the service was somewhat surly, however, the food was very good especially the prawn butterfly starter. Was good value, although not masses of food. Did we ever get that second tray of pickles?

Alex - Slooow service but amazingly low bill!

Jon - A somewhat disappointing performance by the Sheba – not up to its usual standard although at £16.50 with an average of about 2½ beers, you can’t complain about the price.  The reshmi kebab starter was excellent but the vindaloo was not that tasty.  Service was poor – they obviously didn’t recognise us from our photos in their window.  They only provided one sauce tray with the popadums, and ignored requests for a second.  Must be close to a record turnout with 10 – we might have to start booking in advance if that continues.

Richard - This was my first visit, and hopes were high, and as far as the food went, the Sheba matched expectations. The Chicken Chat starter, and the lamb Rogan Josh were excellent, with a fine supporting cast of rice, nan, and veg. The lack of a tout outside trying to drag you in, combined with very reasonable prices also boded well. Ambience was fine, with an interesting erotic mural. Where's the "but" I hear you say? Well, one of my Cobras had a nasty flavour (as did Mark's), and the waiter refused to accept that 10 people eating 20 popadums should have more than one relish tray, and the food was slow to come. It's a shame that such good food in a classic curry house should be let down, but it's high rating is in danger.

Robin - Rather disappointing compared to previous visits. The service was very average, the mixed fried rice somewhat undercooked and the plain nan a bit dry and chewy. The reshmi kebab starter was very good, as always. My balti king prawn rogan was okay but not as aromatic and spicy as I'd hoped. The two draft Cobras that I had were fine, but a couple of cloudy pints were sent back by less fortunate members. The prices are still very competitive so my overall VFM mark reflects that, but I'd prefer to pay more for better quality food.

Tim - A mixed experience at the Sheba. Cobra on tap was good. I liked the spicy popadoms, but the plain ones tasted as though they'd been left out for a while. There was only one set of pickles for the ten of us, despite asking for another set. Starter of reshmi kebab - keema covered in egg, with salad was nice. Main course was fine; good quality meat. The peshwari nan was OK, but I thought the plain nan was a bit doughy. Some of the vegetable dishes could have been hotter. The scenes painted around the walls were rather harshly lit with some red, green and blue lights. Overall then, a bit inconsistent, however I can't fault the value for money.


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