Streatham - Gerry Louis Review

Oh my God, this branch is so small....

We got there about 8 pm, opened the door and there was a queue literally behind the door, not great for anyone coming in. Mr Host said a ten minute wait for a table but it was a bit longer because he hadn't cleaned it. I decided to wait in the long queue whilst that was being sorted, getting bumped as I did.

17 minutes later, I was able to order. Only a quarter chicken mango and lime, sweet mash and garlic bread with peri chips. It arrived in 18 minutes, not too bad considering how busy the branch was. The food was good. The mash tasted nice without me adding any sauce to it, and it was a steaming hot and in sufficient supply. The garlic bread was lightly toasted so no burn marks, the chicken was a little brown, I opted for the breast piece which I normally find too hard to eat but this portion was very moist. There was plenty of chips on the plate which was great, this branch was not stingy on portion size.

The branch is separated into 3 sections. As you enter, the till and grilling area are directly ahead, 3 tills and the grill to the right. The queue was so long because only 2 tills were open but apparently there was a method behind the madness. They didn't want all 3 tills open because then there would be a delay with the food as there would be too many orders to process and some would get missed out. To the left is the waiting area and about 4 booths for up to 6 people. The toilets are also that way but it was odd that as soon as you open the door, there was no music, the hallway was cold, it felt like I was somewhere else. Reaching the toilet there was music again, but it was strange. One toilet was clean but had no tissue, the other toilet was dirty but had tissue...

To the right is a section of about 7 tables for couples only where we sat. There is a glass wall separating this bit from the people waiting to order but they can see you eating which is unfortunately where 'Kevin' had us sitting. The back is separated by the sauce and drinks station. The back is lowered down and is for maybe groups? I didn't really get to look.

All in all it wasn't too bad a visit. Long wait time to actually order, and the food arrival didn't take as long as it could have. The branch looks big on the outside, but is actually quite small inside which is a bit misleading. I got here by bus from Brixton which is easy enough to get to, and there are overground stations to Streatham but I'm not sure which one to get to get you here. Sorry!