Drummond Streatery

Drummond Street is home to a diverse range of humble family-run restaurants. As London welcomes a restriction-free summer, The Drummond Streatery project has been launched as a collaborative effort between Euston Town BID, Drummond Street traders, Jan Kattein Architects and Camden Council, to celebrate the revival of one of London’s oldest food hubs.

At just a short walk from Warren Street or Euston Square station, you’d find vibrantly coloured booths set up for outdoor dining. Bright yellow, orange, and red hues were chosen to reflect the diverse culture along the historic NW1 street. We were invited along to the Drummond Streatery Summer Street party, where participating restaurants offer a special £5 dish that they feel best represent their food. Essentially, it’s a taster of what they do. These restaurants are some of the best hidden gems in central London.

Here are the restaurants we tried:

Disclaimer: the food was complimentary for us but all thoughts are our own.

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Raavi Kebab

Raavi Kebab is a family-run Pakistani Punjabi restaurant that’s been around for over 40 years. Its unassuming shopfront meant it’s normally not one we would step foot in, but then we would’ve missed out on some of the best Pakistani food in town if not for Drummond Streatery.

For their £5 taster dish, we were offered half a mixed grill and they turned out to be some of the best grills we had. The chicken tikka was ridiculously tender and succulent, while the lamb seekh kebab completely had us head over heels. Spices were dancing beautifully on our palates, featuring a fantastic kick to the taste buds, and simply a flavour party.

Halal status: all meats are halal at Raavi Kebab

Drummond Villa

It’s one of those moments where you open your box and the aroma of the dish just washes over your senses. The drool-worthy fragrance pretty much says it all for Drummond Villa’s nihari. It’s got an outstanding kick of spice and the meat was cooked to a really tender, fall-off-the-bone texture.

Halal status: all meats are halal at Drummond Villa

Masala King

Masala King was actually the first stall we hit up as we sat down at one of the outdoor tables that happen to be just opposite the restaurant. Their taster offerings include chicken lollipop plus lamb biryani.

The chicken was well-seasoned and generally tender, though not particularly juicy. We loved the chutney though, which complemented the flavours extremely well with its tart citrusy touch. The lamb biryani was a decent affair. I personally find it slightly on the drier end but it was overall nice.

Halal status: all meats served are halal.

Milkman

Last but not least, we finished off with a milkshake from Milkman. You just can’t go wrong with a classic milkshake to curb that little sweet tooth after all the food and spices.

In summary…

Drummond Streeatery has been a lovely initiative and brought these small local restaurants into the spotlight. They would’ve otherwise gone out of radar to most, including myself, so it’s great to uncover some hidden gems in town through the project.

For the summer street party, there were Bollywood dance performances and a DJ with music for the evening. Unfortunately, it was gloomy and sprinkling with rain on the day. But, all in all, some great efforts for reviving the area and the business around.

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