Tag: Swindon Indian restaurant

Carrying on up…

On By Daniel FordIn 2. Reviews (Other UK)Leave a comment

The Khyber, Swindon

There is a little part along Victoria Road in Swindon that can lay claim to being Little India, with a string of spice restaurants along a tiny stretch. It would seem the Khyber was the place to kick it all off. The restaurant proudly declares itself as Wiltshire’s First and last year celebrated 50 years, the year when it was named the south west’s Caterer of the Year by the BCA. It has been in the same venue all along.

One thing that has certainly changed in that time is the decor. The long, narrow space is designed smartly in a contemporary style, with the mostly muted creams and whites offset with dashes of red and brown colour used on some of the seating. It works well and certainly looks a ‘night out’ place for couples.

Wonder how many of these they've dished up over the last 50 years?
Wonder how many of these they’ve dished up over the last 50 years?

So why after 50 years (plus one now, of course) haven’t they got the food right? The Chicken Patia (£5.95) was sweet but not sour. Or was it the other way around. Oh, I can’t remember, it was just a curry without any distinction. Which, as readers of the previous review of Jack Spice will note, is becoming a bit of theme in this town. The King Prawn Madras (£7.95) had decent-sized shellfish but was the most insipid madras I have ever had. Neither spice, nor kick, just a curry again.

This came with a tiny bowl of pilau rice (£2.35) and even the waiter chuckled when I asked which of the seven dwarves was joining us for dinner. The keema nan (£2.60) was decent enough but, again, fairytale sized. If you want to see a decent nan then check out the elephant ear.

Sometimes I can forgive a bog-standard curry when I’m hungry, especially if its good value but here the bottled Cobra is priced at £5.25 (they have draught beer at less eye-watering prices we discovered after the fact) and the popadom tax was 75p a pop.

The Khyber, 5-6 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3AJ. Tel: 01793 523992. E-mail: info@thekhyber.co.uk.

The Khyber snapshot

Food 4⃣

Decor 7⃣

Value 5⃣

Atmosphere (early Friday night) 5⃣

Service and friendliness 6⃣

Nice name, shame about the food

On By Daniel FordIn 2. Reviews (Other UK)1 Comment

Jack Spice, Swindon

You’ve got to love the name Jack Spice. Unfortunately not so the food. There was nothing really wrong with it, but there wasn’t much right with it. Plenty of jack, not much spice.

The attractive, cosy little restaurant was buzzing. This appears to be due to the Sunday to Thursday special where you can order paps, starter, a main, a side and rice or nan for £11.95. Everyone around us was making hay. It seems to be such the norm that the (first) waiter didn’t even bother giving us the option of anything else and was somewhat baffled when we turned down the paps (“but they come with your meal” he said, simply assuming we’d go for the special).

Jack Spice is one of those friendly places that thinks you want to meet all the waiters and owners within minutes of arriving, so one by one they all made their way to our table in quick succession, clearly not having a clue what we’d said to the previous waiter. Let’s be kind and say they were just making sure.

Chicken Shally. Sweet and sour dish with chipped potatoes on top
Chicken Shally. Sweet and sour dish with chipped potatoes on top

I wish they’d told us the Chicken Shally (normally £5.50) is not really like a Patia as it says on the menu. A well-cooked sweet and sour dish is always a delight when you get that first rush of sweetness then a kick to follow. It’s certainly not easy to balance such different tastes admittedly, but this was just a medium curry with absolutely no balance of spice. The shally bit, by the way, are fine potato crisps on top of the dish, which works remarkably well.

I can’t remember the other dishes because they all tasted like medium curry as well, although there was some sweetness in the end thanks to the Peshwari nan (£2.50). But by then we didn’t give a jack.

Jack Spice, 61 Fleet Street, Swindon, SN1 1RA. Tel: 01793 488098/613309. E-mail: contact@jackspice.co.uk. Open: daily 5pm-midnight (later on Fri-Sat).

Jack Spice snapshot

Food 4⃣

Decor 6⃣

Value 5⃣

Atmosphere (weekday night) 8⃣

Service and friendliness 5⃣

Let there be (chandelier) light

On By Daniel FordIn 2. Reviews (Other UK)Leave a comment

Jewel in the Crown, Swindon

On a short stretch between the old town and new town of Swindon you will find a glut of choices for your spice needs. The Jewel in the Crown, we were told, was the one to choose. And clearly everyone else knows it.

The restaurant has many inter-leading rooms so the atmosphere remains intimate enough for a big place. And the big place was buzzing with couples and larger groups of friends out for a Saturday. In return they get good food, attentive service and, wow, glitzy decor (including the waiters’ outfits).

The interior designer certainly took the name of the restaurant to heart, possibly even a little over the top for some. Chairs are beautifully carved and upholstered, the dish warmers a notch up from anything you’ll usually see, and there are more chandeliers in here than a lighting shop. Waiters are dressed in traditional long, white shirts with fancy, colourful waistcoats.

It was a nice touch to serve a ‘shared’ Sheek Kebab (£2.90) on separate plates, each with their own salad, rather than the usual one plate-two forks version elsewhere. And it was tasty, top-quality meat too. These different touches continued. As dishes are wheeled to each table a single-ring gas burner is used by the waiters to make sure each dish in a Karahi is bubbling hot. Then there is the complimentary brandy, of course.

Eyes down from the decor for a moment and you could enjoy a Large Vegetable Biryani (£5.90) served with a large Vegetable Curry, or a Gourmea Garlic Chicken Massalla (£6.95). The food’s as good as the decor.

Jewel in the Crown, 14-16 Victoria Road, Swindon, Wiltshere. Tel: 01793 522687 or 511943. Open: noon-2.30pm, 5.30pm-midnight.

Jewel in the Crown snapshot

Food ① ② ③ ④

Decor ① ② ③ ④

Value ① ② ③

Atmosphere (Saturday night) ① ② ③ ④

Service and friendliness ① ② ③ ④