Delisserie

Golders Green, Finchley and Temple Fortune form the backbone of a slightly spread out Jewish community in North London. This is where some of the English Jewish community settled after they moved on from their initial village in the East End. Leafy North London is much more conducive to a thriving restaurant scene. In food terms, there are 2 main types of restaurants, places that do kosher interpretations of ethnic food (kosher Chinese, kosher Indian), and ethnic kosher restaurants (places that showcase regional Jewish cuisine).

Delisserie
1 Belmont Parade
Temple Fortune
London NW11 6XP
+44 (0) 20 8458 8777

or

Delisserie
88 The Broadway
Mill Hill
London NW7 3TB
+44 (0) 20 8959 0330

Delisserie is New York's representative. There are 2 outlets - one in Mill Hill and the other in Temple Fortune. I frequent the Temple Fortune outlet, and these comments apply to there. It does New York Jewish deli food, and in a comforting homely sort of way. It serves a mix of traditional Eastern European Jewish and New York Jewish food (a lot of which, in fairness, originates from Eastern Europe in the first place) in a deli / diner restaurant atmosphere.

Typical starters include chicken soup (yes, the famous "Jewish penicillin") with lockshen and kneidel (noodles and dumplings) or a salad. The salads are par for the course, although I can report that their coleslaw is made with home-made mayonnaise, not the stuff out of a jar.

The sandwiches are the best bit. You can choose from a Reuben (pastrami and sauerkraut), Bronx (chopped liver, salt beef and caramelised onions) or a New York (rare roast beef and caramelised onions). And you can also have latka, chips or the aforementioned coleslaw. I particularly like the Bronx and the latka, but, in deference to my ever expanding waistline, not together. There are also grills, bagels and Jewish versions of the full English breakfast. The Pretty Lady likes the bagel and lox.

They also do a selection of non-Jewish dishes. For example, there are merguez sausages, wraps of many descriptions and burgers. Everything's kosher though, so no cream sauce pastas. Drinks are also fairly international, with fresh pear juice available.

I generally come here with the Pretty Lady for Sunday brunch. We should really book, but we've only ever had to wait for a table once. It's quite noisy and lively usually, with teenagers having lunch with their grandparents, and families with young children adding to the atmosphere. Helpings are big, the food is comforting, and it's Sunday. It's hard to beat.

Scores:

13 August 2008: TFQ = 21, CS = 22, S = 16, AD = 6, VfM = 7. Total = 72 points.