It’s Monday. Scarcely a shaving of black truffle in the larder, and one is holding very little of the folding, as my cheerful Cockney chums always say when they come in to fix the boiler. The Husband has assembled what’s left of his features into a mask of emaciated misery. His whimpers threaten to drown out the Archers. He needs feeding. 

What to do?

Obvious. Revisit one of Church Street’s finest value-for-money eateries: the Anglo-Asian eat-’til-you-explode’ Monday evening buffet. (My friend Sarah swears blind she’s raised three children exclusively on Anglo-Asian offerings. She may have been exaggerating, but not by much, I suspect.)

On buffet nights, you get your standard nibbles and condiments, the AA’s traditional glass of sherry (never entirely my cup of tea, if you follow, but needs must …), and a small but well-chosen selection of starters and mains. It’s a clever idea: select some of your most popular dishes, set them out for the punters to help themselves, stand back and – see the restaurant fill up on what would otherwise be a slow Monday night.

We were offered a choice of bite-sized chicken tikka, an onion and potato dish and dall soup for starters, baby chicken bhuna and lamb jalfrezi for mains, with sag aloo and sag paneer for the non-carnivores, and plain or pilau rice and plain or peshwari nan on the side. Nothing nouvelle Indian, to be sure, but popular wellcooked staples. Simple fresh fruit to finish.

Even the Husband - normally a little wary of anything hotter than black pepper on neeps and tatties - found second helpings curiously easy to consume. Shamelessly, I sampled a little of everything, and liked it all. Who needs to eat on a Tuesday anyway?
And all for a basic £6.95 a head. Excellent value.

The Anglo Asian, 60-62 Church Street, N16 0NB, 020 7254 9298. The buffet is available Sunday lunchtime (noon-5,30pm) and every Monday and Tuesday(6pm-11.30pm). Your bank manager will thank you…

Bodrum, located a few doors down Stoke Newington High Street from the White Hart, is one of the gems among the many Turkish restaurants/cafe bars in Stoke Newington.

On walking in from the drone of the A10 and the wail of sirens, you are sedated by the soft Mediterranean colours and clean, uncluttered layout of Bodrum (which, incidentally, is a beautiful tourist area on the Aegean coast). The atmosphere is relaxed, pleasant and conducive to sitting over some great food and a long chat or sitting alone, unbothered, poring over all the day’s papers from the racks.

During the day the menu is comprehensive, including a full range of breakfasts along with the best value quality special in Stoke Newington. At 5pm the atmosphere subdues slightly for the evening (although the only change to the menu is that breakfast stops).
The food is delicious, fresh and plentiful and the service friendly and efficient. Keep a check while you’re there on events that are going on downstairs in the cosy venue, which usually includes traditional music, spoken word events and what seems to be a residency from The Big Fibbers.

Excellent.

Bodrum, 61 Stoke Newington High Street, N16. 020 7254 6464.