This place might want to reconsider changing its name to "Masala Twist o' Lemon".
Seriously, when I went in to enjoy the lunchtime "Grand Buffet" (misleading name, I'll explain in a bit) just about everything tasted like lemons or oranges. Not that I don't like fresh citrus flavours but this is an Indian joint - where are the spices at?!
But let us begin at the beginning - the atmosphere. I was greeted by an enthusiastic and friendly waitress who eagerly sat me down and quickly brought me a drink in a place which...well, this is an Indian restaurant. The decorations were highly predictable - warm yellows and oranges (maybe they're lemon and orange flavoured?), the odd picture here and there of Indian people wearing traditional garments, Indian songs playing in the background - standard. But there was a large painting on the wall next to me which I found slightly amusing. It featured five women gathering water from a well; only one of the women looked like she was trying to figure out if she had forgotten something (her water carrier, from what I could see) and another woman looked suspiciously like Margaret Thatcher.
After gazing upon the the curious wall painting, I headed over to the buffet table for my starters and this is where the name "Grand Buffet" shows itself to be something of a misnomer. There were three types of pakora available and some chicken wings, poppadoms and two bowls of salad. Now, the vegetable pakoras and the chicken wings were GLORIOUS as they had the right amount of spices and weren't too citrus-y. But the chicken and potato pakoras were horribly bland and, frankly, who goes into an Indian restaurant for salad? Then there were the main courses...sigh. Horribly disappointing. Yes, six choices is good for such a tiny restaurant. But they would be better if they actually tasted of anything. I was half-pleased with the dregs of the fish curry despite the overwhelming taste of lemon but this was largely due to my love of feeling the carcasses of small animals dissolve in my mouth (yes, I know I'm a monster). The biggest disappointment was the lamb dopiaza which reminded me horribly of the stews that were served in the school canteens when I was a child. No taste. Just very dry chunks of meat in a runny sauce.
But I cannot complain too much. I paid less than £10 for an all-you-can-eat meal and I was served by some of the loveliest people I've ever met in a restaurant. Just a shame about the food. And about Indian Margaret Thatcher leering over me. read more