Babur 119 Brockley Rise, SE23

South-east London isn't known for its restaurants. As you travel beyond Brixton, Camberwell and Peckham, into the hinterlands of Zone 3, the buzz of town shakes hands with suburbia and small plates turn to ash in the hands of tired middle managers.

- BY JOSH BARRIE

But there are wonderful restaurants to be found here. Characterful, neighbourly places that serve their community and draw ardent fans from farther afield. Visitors might take the Overground to Honor Oak Park, a fairly leafy pocket of London below Lewisham.

It isn't a postcode devoid of good food.

There's quality sourdough pizza by way of Bona - never not funny - and Franklins up the road in Dulwich which still qualifies as local. But Babur stands alone. This family-run Indian restaurant is celebrating 40 years of trade in 2025, no mean feat anywhere in London but especially commendable here.

The place is every bit a grand fixture in an unassuming part of town. Entirely fronted in glass and with an enormous fibreglass tiger standing on its roof, what was once a large end of terrace was converted into a modern restaurant four decades ago. Today, a ruby red flag announcing the restaurant's 40th birthday hangs in the wind and drop-lighting creates a fuzzy glow emanating from within.

From the Mughal Empire to SE23