May 28 2020

Selhurst Park (Photo: Andy Roberts)

If you’re planning on grabbing a bite to eat near Selhurst Park once the lockdown restrictions are over, there's no shortage of nearby restaurants to choose from.

Of course, if you arrive in South London early, you may just find that you have some time to kill. Thankfully, that entertainment centre in your pocket you call a smartphone provides plenty of ways to entertain yourself.

You might fancy placing a bet on the match. Or there's plenty of other ways to challenge yourself such as playing online slot games. When you're done playing and when the football is over, it will be time to eat. Here are the five best places to enjoy a meal in the area.

Yak & Yeti

Named after a famous Kathmandu 5* hotel, Yak and Yeti provides authentic flavours to its diners. With its fresh Tibetan/Indian/Nepalese cuisine and friendly staff, Yak and Yeti is an affordable and yet fun restaurant with warm and orange colours, wooden floors, and a relaxing bar. Diners are made up of locals and those looking for a great curry.

Favourites include gurkhali chicken, pokhareli lamb, and the momos (Nepalese dumpling made from minced lamb). As there are so many Nepalese vegetarians, there’s a nice variety of dishes for non-meat eaters. While the house wine is very affordable, you might want to try a cold Kathmandu beer along with your meal.

Gurkha Cottage

Gurkha Cottage is a charming and relaxing place to enjoy Indian cuisine and Nepalese specialities. The venue brings a taste of Nepal to the Crystal Palace community the comfortable decor is displayed in pastel colours that create an exotic ambience, while the unhurried service is eager to please. Starters such as lamb or vegetarian momo and hanesh sekuwa are delicious, while the main courses continue the unique flavours. If you have your go-to Indian favourites, you won’t be disappointed with these heavenly versions.

Four Hundred Rabbits Crystal Palace

Enjoy the award-winning pizzas at Four Hundred Rabbits. Their famous sourdough pizza may have been inspired by the Italian original, but they’ve made their own unique version. They bring out one of their tastiest pizzas at Easter time: a sharing pizza topped with a generous amount of Allpress espresso and Beavertown's Holy Cowbell Stout, followed by a hefty portion of whipped mascarpone, grated dark chocolate, and double cream.

Neo India

Just maybe one of the most unique restaurants in the entire country, Neo India fuses the cuisines of Mauritius and India to provide dinners with an unforgettable experience at this exotic venue. Neo India’s contemporary styling offers a nod to its unique origins, with designer wall coverings and dark leather creating a sophisticated ambience, helped by the friendly and attentive service.

Using traditional cooking methods, the kitchen brings together indulgence and spice from the subcontinent with the island kitchen’s seafood-centric flavours. The healthy dishes use no GM and include high-quality ingredients. Of course, as with any of these restaurants, you could always pull out your phone between courses and brush up on your Eagles history. Just make sure to do it discretely.

Palace Spice Gipsy Hill

After opening in 2001, this venue has gone from one strength to another. Just 10 minutes away from Crystal Palace and Gypsy Hill stations, the eatery is popular among local workers and residents alike. The Palace Spice management team, with over 20 years of industry experience, are experts in combining crowd-pleasing food and first-rate service. Applying traditional home cooking techniques from Bangladesh and India, the menu includes specialities cooked in an authentic wood-fired tandoori, using an iron griddle or copper pot to maintain the true subcontinent flavour.