Harden's says
New from Sambal Shiok's owner Mandy Yin (and handily just next door), doing for rice what she's already done for laksa. Rice dishes with flavours from Malaysian, Chinese and Indian dishes are available to takeaway.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Fantastic laksa – available in vegetarian versions” – is a crowd-pleaser at Mandy Lim’s hawker-style Malaysian spot on the Holloway Road. Her authentic version is in the ‘campur’ style found in Malacca – combining Kuala Lumpur’s curry laksa with Penang’s fiery assam. If you don’t like noodles, rice bowls are also on offer.
Summary
“The food is simply wonderful, from fiery laksas to cool and piquant gado-gado” at this “buzzy, crowded, hawker-style stall” on the Holloway Road, presided over by Kuala Lumpur-born Mandy Lin and her team. “One of London’s increasing number of properly good Malaysian restaurants.”
Summary
“Spiced, zingy laksa to die for!” – Kuala Lumpur-born Mandy Lin’s “bustling” Malaysian street food bar on Holloway Road bar provides “an object lesson in how to keep people happy by doing one thing and doing it well”. “Authentic, delicious laksa arrives with different levels of spiciness”, hitting the spot “when you need a laksa fix”. Sambal to Go has replaced the short-lived Nasi Economy Rice next door, leaving the main restaurant focused on a slightly less high-turnover eating experience, with greater ‘table time’ and more extensive menus, including rice bowls and noodle salads.
Summary
“Fantastic new arrival in N7” – Mandy Yin’s “always crowded, really buzzy” laksa bar (her progression from street-food markets) has ridden a wave of good reviews; fans say, “if you like laksa, chilli and spice, you won’t find anywhere better for this type of money”. That’s the majority view anyway, although there is a minority who feel “it’s not worth the time queueing”, citing “hype” and clumsy cooking (“either they changed chef, or they’re too busy”). There’s also some disagreement over the booking slots policy: supporters say “the 90 minute time allocated for the meal is plenty because the service is so fast”, but others feel “very rushed given the fixed arrival and departure points”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Sambal Shiok?
171 Holloway Road, London, N7 8LX
Restaurant details
Sambal Shiok Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Small simple Malaysian restaurant serving tasty food and good service "
"Oh my word, great laksa - the 'hot' will blow your socks off. Friendly service. it's a bit cramped, but it's only a cafe really, so don't expect too much"
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £38.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £0.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 12.50% |
171 Holloway Road, London, N7 8LX
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 5 pm‑9 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑9 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑9 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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