Category: 1. Reviews (London)

Village spice

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Kasturi, SE7

When you read from a food writer (Solange Berchim in the Greenwich Visitor) that the curry she ordered from Kasturi in Charlton was one of the best she had tasted, it is time to take notice.

The Greenwich Curry Club had a mammoth Christmas curry here when it was called the Viceroy, so we clearly needed to check out the venue’s new incarnation. After a couple of warm-up drinks in the friendly White Swan we skipped the starters and headed straight for the mains.

I’m currently on a Vindaloo rush and the chicken one (£6.95) was spot on – well spiced and a decent amount of vinegar. It’s amazing how many restaurants ease up on that ingredient when it’s a core part of the Goan dish.

Elsewhere on the table, the Lal Maas (£9.95 ), a Rajasthani lamb dish, didn’t explode in heat as we expected from the menu’s description, but it disappeared nonetheless, along with a Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani and Mashq-e-Tanjan, the chicken version of the same dish (both £9.95). Considering there were the remnants of a Keema nan (£2.95) and pilau rice (£2.95), an empty bottle of red wine and a few Cobras littering the table, the final tally of under £20 a head was exceptional for this quality.

I particularly like the tight menu, in particular only listing a handful of “speciality” dishes. Now, that is a restaurant that is confident in itself and one where you can be more confident that the chef actually does specialise in those dishes.

Kasturi, 10 The Vilage, Charlton, London, SE7 8UD. Tel: 020 8319 3439. E-mail: info@kasturi-restaurant.com. Open: daily 5.30pm – 11pm.

Scores on the tandoors
Food 8
Decor 7.5
Service and friendliness 8.5
Vibe (early Wednesday night) 7
Value 8

Plenty of fish

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Saffron Club, SE3

Not only does this Blackheath restaurant have one of the coolest names in the curry world, it also has a superb selection of seafood dishes. Sparking my interest was the Punjabi Fish and Chips (£8.95), a twist on the British classic, with Ajwain seeds used with the gram flour for the batter and served with a yoghurt dip. There’s even peas. Spicy I wonder? The waiter did admit that the dish was pretty much standard fish and chips with a hint of spice but then that’s not such a bad thing in my book anyway.

Other tempting fishy delights on the menu are the Mixed Seafood Curry (£13.95) with tiger prawns, salmon, fish and mussels in a Goan sauce and Bulsari Salmon (£11.95), a brochette of fresh salmon with onions and peppers. There are also four different prawn dishes (from £12.95) and Tandoori Trout Fish (£10.95) served with a stir fried aubergine and tomatoes.

To say there’s a fair bit of competition in the restaurant stakes in Blackheath is an understatement but Saffron Club has certainly put its marker down when it comes to fish.

But as this is a Nepalese restaurant specialities such as Chicken or Lamb Hariyali (£8.95) and Himalayan Chicken (£8.95) are also to be recommended. The latter is cooked with Jimbu, a popular spice from the hill regions of Nepal apparently. Not your usual ingredient that’s for sure. And, as can be seen from the photo below, there are some excellent, fresh vegetable side dishes too.

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Saffron Club, 39 Tranquil Vale, Blackheath, London, SE3 0BU. Tel: 020 8297 1071.

Scores on the tandoors
Food 7.5
Decor 8
Service and friendliness 9
Atmosphere 6 (Tuesday evening)
Value 7.5

Popadom and pickles

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Crayford Tandoori, Crayford, Kent

I used this Indian restaurant a lot a few years ago, so I was delighted to see it going strong on a recent visit.

This is a classic small-town curry place: it serves more or less all the old-school dishes in its attempt to satisfy everyone: from young couples getting ready for a night out to oldies making their visit a night out, to groups celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, and all those people in-between (like our jolly table down from London for the night).

And a classic place deserves some classic ordering. So where to start? Ah, the joys of an Indian. No faffing around like in other places; it’s not what to order, it’s simply how many to order.

“That’ll be six popadoms please.” See mum, I can order with no hands (on the menu) now.

Then it’s the pickle tray ritual as people make a grab for their favourites.

“Oh, that’s hot! Try that one.”

“Oh I love that one.”

“Is that the mango? Mmmm.”

“What’s that one? I don’t think I’ve had that one before.”

“Yes you bloody have,” I want to cry. “This is a classic curry house. They’ve been dishing up the same stuff for years when it comes to this bit of the meal.”

In case you haven’t been out since 1978 it goes like this…

  1. The popadoms arrive 18 seconds after they have been ordered. Some people in your group are still removing their coats and before long another member of the group will return from the loo and exclaim: “oh you’ve ordered popadoms,” as if it is unusual.
  2. The amount of popadoms you get will be the highest number that a member of you party asked for. So if everyone asked for six but one person said ten then the waiter will have only have heard him and you will get ten. Nobody argues because it’s not the done thing.
  3. The popadoms will be moderately warm as they were cooked earlier and have been sitting under a warmer tray. Nobody argues because it’s not the done thing.
  4. The pickle tray will include, a) some chopped onion with mint and a bit of vinegar. b) mango pickle. c) lime pickle. d) yoghurt/mint sauce. There is never a variation of the pickle tray in a classic curry house, although occasionally the  yoghurt/mint sauce can be bright green thanks to colouring, which is rather exciting, even though it tastes no different.
  5. Everyone tucks in. There are two ways to eat popadoms and pickles. One is to break off small bits of popadom and put on the pickles one at a time so you can actually taste them. The second is to pile a mixture of all the pickles on your plate and mix them up into a complete mess in a complete disregard for the individual taste of each one. You can then scoop up the mess on to your popadom and wonder why it is dripping all over the place.
  6. After five minutes someone at the table asks for another tray of pickles because they have already been devoured. This is the equivalent of a large bottle of ketchup and mustard being used on a couple of hotdogs but no worry, the waiter will assist us.
  7. The waiter mutters something in Hindi to his colleague. This can roughly translated as “that greedy bunch have eaten a whole pickle tray in five minutes. Thank goodness we charge £1.10 per popadom these days.”
  8. After another five minutes the waiter returns to collect the empty tray but as he touches it someone exclaims, “we haven’t finished yet,” before picking up the last miniscule shards of popadoms and popping them into his mouth.
  9. The waiter says something else in Hindi.

And so begins a classic meal in a classic Indian restaurant, which on this occasion served up an excellent Chicken Tikka Sag (£8.95), Keema Bhuna (£7.95) and Sag Aloo (£3.20), as well as the largest King Prawn Butterfly starter (£5.95) I have ever seen.

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Sag Aloo (left) and Chicken Tikka Sag.

Crayford Tandoori, 4 Empire Building Waterside, Crayford, Kent, DA1 4JJ. Tel: 01322 529 907. Open: Sunday to Thursday 5.30pm – 11pm, Friday to Saturday 5.30pm – midnight.

Scores on the tandoors
Food 7
Decor 6
Service and friendliness 7.5
Vibe (Saturday night) 8
Value 8

If it ain’t broken

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Spice of India, London SE1

A rambling, long menu is often worrying. How can a chef know, and cook, all these dishes properly methinks.

But somehow it seems perfect for the Spice of India. This is a proper curry house. Packed with an adoring after-work crowd all tucking into popadoms and dips and loving the array of old-school dishes on offer, the place is buzzing midweek.

This Waterloo favourite has stayed true to what most of us fell in love with when it came to Indian food – good, tasty food with no nonsense. It may not have that stark (cool, you know) Scandinavian-inspired interior design and astonishing unheard of dishes we can boast about at work the next day as if we are great culinary sub Continent explorers, but it does serve decent curry at decent prices.

The Spice of India might not be new and shiny but it certainly doesn’t feel dated; it’s just happy in its own curry-house skin. And I’m happy it’s there. Chicken Rogan (£8.25), Prawn Bhuna (£8.75), Pilau rice (£3.25) and a nan bread (£2.95) hasn’t tasted so good in a while.

Spice of India, 65 The Cut, South Bank, London, SE1 8LL. Tel: 0207 1286 or 0207 928 5280. Open: daily noon–2.30pm and 5.30pm–11.30pm.

Scores on the tandoors
Food 7.5
Decor 6
Service and friendliness 7.5
Vibe (early Wednesday night) 9
Value 8

Starters orders

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Bhaji, London E14 (Takeaway)

Established in 1997, this friendly Isle of Dogs takeaway serves up decent takeaway food from a great menu. Bhaji‘s Chicken Benjal (£4.95) caught my eye straight away. Jalfrezi lovers would enjoy this dish of tomatoes, green peppers, onions and chillies, although a bit more oomph in the heat level would have been welcomed.

The Mushroom rice (£2.25) was generous with its spices and mushrooms, but best of all was very tasty. The Uri Bhaji (£2.65) was slightly soft by the time we’d got it home, but with light spicing and chopped onions, these green beans make an interesting alternative to the usual veg side dishes. All veg dishes can be bumped up to main portions for a pound extra.

Elsewhere there are some very decent offerings on the menu. It’s not difficult to see why this place has been around for 18 years. There is a healthy options sections (such as Salmon Shashlik for £8.95), some Salads and Dips from £2.50, and, unusually for a takeaway, a decent selection of desserts.

There are also some set meals – and not the usual line up most places offer. For instance, the Staff’s Favourite for One includes Dallier Bora, Naga Chicken, Tarka Dal, Rice, Roti, Rice and Mint Sauce (£10.95).

Then there are Indian Style Noodles (from £4.95), a range of Sag Baltis and Naga Baltis (from £5.95) and Shatkora Doner Kebabs (the mind boggles) as well as the usual curry favourites from £4.45.

There will be return visits. I might even have a lassi (yes, they do these as well).

 

Takeaway essentials
Parking: on-street parking.
Delivery: free within three miles for minimum orders over £10.
Specials: 10% discount on orders over £12 collected. Free bottle of Coke or side dish with orders over £18.
Beer while you’re waiting: The Ship pub is just over the road.

Bhaji, 6 Chapel House Street, London, E14 3AS. Tel: 020 7531 6166/7. Open: Mon–Sat 5.30pm–11.30pm.

Scores on the tandoors

Food 7

Waiting area  8.5

Value 7

Service and friendliness 9

Kofta smofta

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Clifton, London, E14

It’s a famous name but sadly this attractive looking restaurant just outside Canary Wharf rarely seems to have more than a handful of people in it. The times when it does have customers it’s rammed to the brim for parties and this appears to be how it thrives.

The original Clifton Café opened in the 1950s in Brick Lane and became famous for continuing to serve authentic curries as others around it pandered to the tastes of Western palates. Its current incarnation opened nearby in 2005. The E14 branch is large, and together with its sister shop next door, which sells everything a curry lover wants, creates a significant Clifton footprint in the Westferry Road.

The two restaurants continue to fly the flag of authenticity so it seemed the decent thing to order one of the regional specialities of Bangladesh. The Tetul Tanga Bujon (£7.95) promised koftas in a sweet and sour sauce and I went for the chicken version on the waiter’s recommendation. It was the most sweet sour sauce I have ever had in an Indian restaurant that’s for sure and pretty tasty. But where were the koftas? The chicken was nice enough but they were chunks not meatballs.

“That’s the way we do that dish,” I was told with a smile. “But it’s cooked in kofta sauce.” Kofta sauce? Authentic I hope.

The starters were served on round thali trays, which was a nice touch. The Cauliflower Pakora (£2.25) came with salad and sauces, as did the Lamb Chops (£4.95). Oh, the Lamb Chops. Huge, beautifully spiced and tender lamb, with edges slightly charred in the tandoor.

Clifton, 32 Westferry Road, London E14 8LW. Tel: 020 7987 0600 or 020 7001 2999. E-mail: info@cliftonrestaurant.co.uk

Scores on the tandoors

Food 6.5

Decor 8

Service and friendliness 8.5

Atmosphere 6 (Monday evening)

Value 7

Menu expressions

Manjal, London E14

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This classy Isle of Dogs gem has always impressed me with its freshness (see Fast but certainly fresh) – now it boasts a fresh menu as well as fresh food. And what a menu it is.

Dishes are split into sections on the new line-up: as well as dosas, rice and breads, there are veg starters, autograph veg starters, non-veg starters, autograph non-veg starters, with the same format  used for mains. I almost felt sorry for the lovely sounding dishes that failed to be elevated to the autograph status! But there was no need. The Potato Tikka Chat (£5.95) was one such dish and it was delicious. The potato patties were lightly fried and topped with channa dal and carrying an unexpected kick with its spicing.

This was just one of the dishes that will interest vegetarians. Broccoli Varulal (£5.95), delivers the trademark freshness, as I know from previous visits, while the great named Gobi ’65 (£5.95) – an Indo-Chinese offering of deep-fried cauliflower florets – is certain to get a testing in the future. It’s also nice to see dal dishes treated with deserved respect by the menu creator as too often diners see it just as something to moisten up their rice, if they eat it at all. Here there is a choice of Dal Tadka (£5.95), the wonderfully creamy Dal Makhani (£6.95), a popular dal-lovers dish that is cooked with different types of lentils, and Dal Manjal (£6.95), a coconut curry from South India.

But this dockside venue, which had a smart after-work business buzz to it on this visit, has superb choices for those of us who enjoy non-veg dishes as well.

The Mutton Kothu Roti (£9.95) has to be tried. This dry dish of Sri Lankan origin is a mix of meat (there are also chicken and veg versions), onions, leeks, spices and pieces of shredded bread – think of it as a sort of bread biryani. It’s really unusual – each mouthful delivers a spicy mix with tasty chunks of mutton and the odd chewy piece of roti thrown in for good measure. It’s always extremely filling – I could only manage one tier of this nicely presented two-tiered dish. It comes with a side of spicy sauce.

The kottu was, of course, one of the autograph non-veg curries. And it had some serious competition when it came to me choosing my main because others on the menu were the Chettinad Manjal Special Chicken Curry (£8.95), the Manjal Special Fish Curry (£10.95) and the got-to-be-tried-next-visit Manjal Special Lamb Curry (£9.95). Another creation from South India, this is a dish where lamb, liver and bones are all cooked together in a thick masala sauce.

I’m always on the look out for new dishes to try and this menu certainly offers scope for plenty of return visits for that. Having tried the Devil Chicken starter (£9.95), another of the Indo-Chinese offerings with a wow spice kick, as well the dishes mentioned above, I know they are more than worth a try.

Manjal, 3 Turnberry Quay, Pepper Street, London, E14 9RD. Tel: 020 7538 1140. E-mail: info@manjalrestaurant.com. Open: daily, noon–11pm.

Scores on the tandoors

Food 9

Decor 9

Atmosphere 8 (Thursday night)

Service and friendliness 9

Value 9

* The Greenwich Curry Club was hosted by Manjal restaurant.

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Curry base-ics

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The Greenwich Curry Club always like to check out new curry venues so we were delighted to be the very first customer at Balti Base, the name chosen by the new owners of the takeaway at 106 Blackheath Road. Previously Curry to Go, and before that Medina, they have some tough competition with Le Popadom, Indelicious, Green Chillies and Chutney all close.

But the young owners have a spark that makes me believe they could thrive. A smiley, friendly service (I was number one customer after all…) goes a long way, but you’re going to love the prices even more. Old-school curries like Bhuna, Rogan and so on come in at £3.75 for chicken and 50p more for lamb, while you can sample specials like Chicken Honey Khany (nuts and sultana in a sweet yoghurt sauce) for £5.25 or the King Prawn Special with mushrooms for £6.25.

Parking: on the side streets off Blackheath Road.

Delivery: free on orders over £12 although the menu doesn’t specify which areas this covers.

Specials: free Bombay Potato on orders over £15 that are collected.

Beer while you’re waiting: the Graduate is over the road.

Balti Base, 106 Blackheath Road, London, SE10 8DA. Tel: 020 8692 2423. Open: daily 5.30pm–11pm.

 

The scores on the tandoors

Food 7

Waiting area 6

Value 8

Loving the view

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Mountain View, Greenwich, London

Fifteen of the Greenwich Curry Club descended on the newish Mountain View restaurant with recommendations from numerous people still ringing in our ears. The Nepalese recently replaced the Mehak along Trafalgar Road and although its predecessor was pretty decent the Mountain View has raised the bar.

We arrived on what we thought was banquet night only to be told that offer no longer was being run. The Curry Club’s chief grumbler suspected it was because we had turned up en mass but frankly I suspect the offer has been withdrawn because their reputation has grown so quickly they simply don’t need it to attract customers. On the night we visited (Wednesday) the restaurant was packed with a great buzz about the place.

A challenger for the world's greatest samosas
A challenger for the world’s greatest samosas

The food was top-notch and the table heaving with different dishes. Lets start, as so many meals do, with the popadoms. In all my years of visiting and reviewing Indian food the normal process has been for people to break off a bit of the giant crisp, load it up with pickles and fill up their mouths to stave off the hunger pangs before the starters arrived. This is the first time I have ever heard anyone, let alone more than one person comment that they taste so good. I’m not a big fan of popadoms myself and thought they were just a way for the restaurant to add a few sneaky pounds to the bill. After all, who says no to them?

Then came the Lamb and Vegetable Samosas (both £2.45 for two). Well, in actual fact, then came an array of starters but it was the humble samosa that took centre stage. Super plump and well-filled, the samosas are crisp to the bite and the pastry not too thick – the perfect combination.

Well, if a restaurant can get plaudits for its popadoms and samosas then the curries are likely to be a walk in the park. I can’t personally confirm this is the case for one classic dish because our newest (Canadian) member, unversed in the sharing ways of the Curry Club, swiftly tipped his Chicken Tikka Masala onto his plate before you could say, “Where’s the rice?”. But from his clean plate at the end I think we can assume they were as good as other classics such as Lamb Vindaloo (£6.25), Chicken Madras (£5.95), Lamb Dhansak (£6.95), Lamb Biryani (£8.95) and the Lamb and Chicken Jalfrezis (both £6.95), which it should be mentioned were a touch hotter than you’d find in other restaurants but carrying a lovely blend of spice and heat.

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Three happy Curry Club members discuss the merits of Cobra beer

Meanwhile  the Malabar Fish Curry (£8.95) has made me completely revise my view of the Bangladeshi freshwater fish tilapia. Normally dry, this was tender and smothered in a delicious coconut-based sauce. And finally, for fresh veg lovers the Diwani Handi (£5.95) will hit the mark; crunchy asparagus, baby corn and green beans in dark, dry sauce.

Mountain View, 160 Trafalgar Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9TZ. Tel: 020 8858 0227 0r 020 8293 4752. Open: Mon–Thurs 5pm–11.30pm, Fri 5pm–midnight, Sat noon–2.30pm, 5pm–midnight, Sun noon–11.30pm.

 

The scores on the tandoors

Food 9

Decor 7

Service and friendliness 9

Atmosphere (Wednesday night) 9

Value 9

Fast but certainly fresh

On By Daniel FordIn 1. Reviews (London)1 Comment

Manjal, London, E14

Most food reviews have an angle, something to ‘hang’ the piece on. It’s something that stands out, good or bad, a little something to make the piece. Manjal offered so many angles I don’t know where to start, so I’ll list them all… It’s a new Indian restaurant (and a good one); the menu is different and exciting (although bizarrely the two I saw were not identical); the decor is contemporary and bright (and some of the tables enjoy views across the water of Millwall Docks and the twinkling lights of canary Wharf); the service is friendly (although a bit scatty); and the food is tasty and fresh (although it was delivered a bit too fast for my liking).

So let’s dive straight into the last point. There’s an ideal time for food to be served. Somewhat unfairly on restaurants this varies from person to person but the basic rules generally apply: there should be a ‘suitable’ time from taking the order to delivering the starters so diners can enjoy a drink and a chat, then there should be a ‘suitable’ time from clearing the starters to bringing the mains so diners can have another drink, but also so they feel the food is cooked freshly and not pre-prepared (let’s ignore the fact that few places can cook every order from scratch without some sort of prep, but that’s besides the point for diners).

In this country restaurants can safely err on the side of quicker service rather than slower because we don’t linger around a dinner table like, say, many Southern Europeans. But then they don’t like curry as much as us so what do they know anyway.

But no-one likes to get food delivered so quickly he feels like he has suddenly become part of a restaurant race. So when the starters arrive before the ordered popadoms have even reached the table and the mains appear before the beer has barely washed down the last mouthful of starter, then most of us will start dreaming of those lazy Southern European dinners.

But the food was undoubtedly fresh. The Mili Juli Subzi (£4.95) has perfectly cooked vegetables that really did remind me of those picked from my grandfather’s garden. And, joy, upon joy, the meat in the Chicken Karahi (£7.95) was running with tasty juices. Not a dry lump in the house. The starters – just two of a very interesting lineup – were also excellent. Kanaval Pirattal (£4.95) is squid, South Indian style, and the thick, dark sauce will please even the most ardent chilli head. Hot indeed. Even the Broccoli Varuval (£3.95), simple enough, but also very fresh, had a kick.

pic2  pic3   •Kanaval Pirattal (spicy squid)                 •Broccoli Varuval

Manjal, 3 Turnberry Quay, Pepper Street, London, E14 9RD. Tel: 020 7538 1140. E-mail: info@manjalrestaurant.com. Open: daily, noon–11pm.

Scores on the tandoors

Food 7⃣

Decor 8⃣

Atmosphere (Thursday night) 8⃣

Service and friendliness 7⃣

Value 8⃣

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