Bengal Lancer moved into the unit in 1984, but before that it was a very different sort of food place - a Wimpy bar!
Kolhapuri chicken (JJ’s personal favourite dish) or dhaba lamb - these are both “really really traditional, hot indian curries.”
Bengal Lancer’s story began with two partners, Stanley and Hussain, who had previously worked together in the leather business. “When everything was drying out in the 80s, they started thinking about moving on to something else. Hussain was a Bangladeshi man, with previous experience working in restaurants, so they decided to open a restaurant in Kentish Town.” JJ started working in the restaurant in 1999.
“Someone once left a paper bag under the table and at the end of the night, when we were cleaning up, we found it and we never looked inside; we just put it in the store room.”
“A week later, someone phoned and said, ‘have you found a brown bag?’ And we said, ‘yeah, we did.’ Then, he said, ‘can you check if the money is still in there for me?’ We were surprised, but the manager looked inside and it was all brand-new banknotes!”
“We don't know what it was for, but he was a businessman, so we gave it back and we were all laughing thinking that we've had that money for this time. We got a £500 tip.”
Come into the restaurant or order a takeaway on their website or through Just Eats, Deliveroo and UberEats.
