Armenian Taverna

Our review:
The Armenian Taverna is defiantly uncool. Hidden away in a basement off Albert Square, the restaurant might be within minutes of Panacea and The Living Room but this tiny restaurant is a world away from bland beiges and chrome. Everywhere you look there are bright colours, bottles of spices, awful murals. Everything clashes. Everything is loud.

But in a completely bizarre way, it's rather wonderful. The décor hasn't changed since the seventies so it has gone full circle from fashionable to laughable to ironically kitsch. Sitting in the restaurant, it's easy to remember that friendly place you found down a sidestreet when you were on holiday. Or it could be that it puts you in mind of something in Only Fools and Horses.

Either way, something about the way the Armenian Taverna quite clearly doesn't care about the 'in' crowd makes you relax. There is no point in trying to look cool, sexy or sophisticated in a place like this. And, seeing as how you're not trying to be sexy or sophisticated you may as well go ahead and indulge yourself – three courses, more garlic than you can shake a stick at, plenty of red wine to stain your teeth? Go on, then.

We're talking, of course, about the Armenian Banquet. Given that most people aren't familiar with Armenian cuisine (it is somewhere between Turkish and Greek), the banquet is a good way to discover it. You are brought three courses for the modest sum of £15.50. There are ten dishes in the starter course (from hummus to binirow borek), followed by a selection of four grilled kebabs served on a mountain of rice and accompanied by grilled vegetables, and then coffee and Armenian delight. Everything is cooked to perfection and with obvious enthusiasm, and the portions are so large that we seriously advise fasting for the day before your reservation.

The Armenian Taverna may be an odd little restaurant but it is an absolute classic too. The food is delicious, the service is exuberant and the Armenian band on Saturday nights is a treat too. It may not be at the cutting edge of style but we think it's pretty cool, and judging by the signed photographs from famous customers over the years (from George Best to Elvis Presley) we're in good company.