Watan — Restaurant in London

As a very loyal and regular customer of Watan Restaurant, I am deeply disappointed to share what was the worst dining experience we’ve ever had. My pregnant wife and I traveled all the way from outside London just to dine at Watan, believing in the quality and service we once appreciated. Sadly, it’s clear that Watan no longer cares about its customers or their experience—it’s all about making money now, and they’ve completely lost their touch.

From the moment we arrived, the red flags were everywhere. We were forced to place our order while standing outside—utterly disrespectful and inconvenient for a family, especially when one member is pregnant. Despite spending years as loyal customers and bringing significant business to Watan, there was zero care or acknowledgment from the staff.

We ordered a mixed grill, fish with rice, and daal mash, expecting the high standard we were accustomed to. What we received was nothing short of disgusting. The food was cold, as if it had been sitting out for hours. The chicken was bright red, half-cooked, and completely inedible. The fish, however, was the worst—it smelled so bad that we couldn’t even look at it, let alone eat it. It was beyond appalling and made us question their hygiene standards. Even the daal mash, which should be a basic staple, was subpar and lacked any flavor or freshness.

To make matters worse, the staff made us feel rushed throughout the meal. We were pressured to finish quickly because they had other people waiting outside. This isn’t just bad service—it’s outright insulting to paying customers who came for a family meal. It felt like they were running a conveyor belt, shoving people in and out with no regard for their experience or comfort.

Watan has clearly forgotten its loyal customers and completely abandoned the quality that once made it special. Today, they’ve lost us as customers forever. This was our last visit to Watan, and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone, especially families. If you value your time, money, and health, avoid Watan at all costs.

There are plenty of better restaurants where you’ll be treated with respect, served quality food, and given the chance to actually enjoy your meal. Watan is no longer that place. Don’t waste your time—it’s simply...

I have been eating Pashtun food for the past 13 years in the UK so I am basing this review on true experience. I visited Watan on a Wednesday night with my family. Service was polite and courteous and our food came in good time. We ordered the Afghan Mixed grill, Chappli kebab, 1kg Peshawari chicken karahi and 2 naans. Mixed Grill: Chops, boneless lamb, boneless chicken & mixed seekh kebabs topped with ground anaar and corriander laid on a large naan - super tender and delicious - very well cooked not over or under just perfect - very tender and juicy. Chappli kebab - again perfectly cooked some places burn them but this one was on point and very well seasoned. Peshawari Chicken Karahi - hands down the best karahi I have ever eaten, every single mouthful was just amazing - perfect balance of spices, black pepper, tomatoes, ginger and those cut green non spicy chillis were a delight. We didnt want the karahi to finish! The price came to £64 which included drinks - this is slightly more than what we usually spend on going to the upper class of local Ilford restaurants but in my opinion the price is justified because you can tell the ingredients are top quality. For example any rival pashtun restaurant will never give you a selection of on the bone chicken pieces, it is usually the off cuts but with Watan it is the entire chicken (leg pieces, wing, breast, neck and thigh. The flour used to the naans is quality too as they are not stodgy and the grilled lamb pieces were of very good size and quality. The environment is pleasant and very clean. no negatives at all, highly...

We visited the very popular Watan restaurant on ilford lane for my husband’s birthday. I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed. The restaurant is on the smaller side but clean and well maintained. It’s actually quite nice inside. We were seated promptly by our polite and friendly server. We ordered paneer biriyani, naans, chicken sheesh kebabs, masala fish, and tarka dahl mash. The food was delicious and portion sizes were perfect. Above all the food was served hot. The tarka dhal being the only exception, the portion size was very small. The masala fish was tasty but the sauce was very tangy and heavy with tomatoes. I would suggest that they go easy on the tomatoes. We ordered our large bottle of still water but hardly needed drinking because the food was just right spice wise. We had 3 different servers and they were all lovely people. I only remember Armaan, he is such a polite lad. Watan Chefs should think about increasing their vegetarian options because the few vegetarian dishes that they do have are amazingly delicious. The place is wheelchair accessible but you will need to ask staff for assistance. Thank goodness i ignored some of the negative comments on the reviews and visited this restaurant with my husband. I would definitely recommend this place highly to anyone who hasn’t yet tried proper Afghani food. One more thing, visit during the week when...