Tucked away opposite the Old Truman Brewery in London E1 is Sheba Brick Lane.

On arriving in Brick Lane we were greeted by touts for a host of Indian restaurants all claiming to offer the best meal on the busy East End street. Sheba, however, needs no touts – it has a steady stream of customers literally queuing for the chance to eat at the well-loved establishment.
 
Founded in 1973, this family-run restaurant excels in delivering delicious, hearty Indian cuisine at a reasonable price. We arrived at 7pm to a full restaurant. Many diners seemed to be regular customers judging by their familiar rapport with the waiters, which we took to be a good sign. The bustling, buzzy atmosphere gave a sense of theatricality to the whole experience.
 
The extensive menu was rather overwhelming, with specialties from award-winning chef Gulab Miah, Sheba house specials, a huge selection of seafood as well as all the curry house classics. We eventually decided on kebab ke karishma (grilled meats) followed by the lamb lucklow (lamb shank) and special tandoori korai king prawn.

The main dishes were particularly outstanding. We’ll return to Sheba for the lamb lucknow alone, with its rich gravy of cardamon, tomato and saffron. In fact, the food was so good and portions so generous that we were compelled to take home what we couldn’t finish.
 
Our evening was rounded off perfectly with a stroll back to Liverpool Street station through the charming Spitalfields Market, happy in the knowledge that we would be able to enjoy our Sheba leftovers for lunch the next day.

Sheba is open seven days a week and booking is recommended at the weekend.