Curry House (Bristol)

...of we sped to the Curry House, a mere 2 minutes from the train station. I'd not been there before but it did get a good review in the local paper and my sister in law had recently been there for her birthday and approved, which is always a good sign.

Stepping inside is quite a surprise, gone is the Asian music, the red drapes, the little booths, no Asian landscapes and most shockingly, no bowls of Bombay mix to be seen!

...had over 60 dishes while Curry House has about half that. For those of you not into Indian food there are no English dishes available. Neither were there any fish dishes listed, these are, however listed on the Takeaway menu, in fat there were many more dishes to take away.

And for once I was only torn between two dishes, Honey Chicken and Butter Chicken. Everything else seems to be variations on themes of Tandooris, Baltis, Massallas, ... more

Its 8.30pm, I've just arrived back from my first ever Ciao Meet at Thorpe Park and I'm starving! (Meeting you lot, I was just too excited to eat, honest!, apart from the KFC). Actually I put my lack of eating on the day due to being persuaded to go on Samurai and Quantum and feeling rather nauseous afterwards (You know who you are!)

Back to Temple Meads where the other half was waiting for me, I suggested an Indian restaurant and of we sped to the Curry House, a mere 2 minutes from the train station. I'd not been there before but it did get a good review in the local paper and my sister in law had recently been there for her birthday and approved, which is always a good sign.

Stepping inside is quite a surprise, gone is the Asian music, the red drapes, the little booths, no Asian landscapes and most shockingly, no bowls of Bombay mix to be seen!

In its place is a very modern stylish restaurant, its relatively small, no more than 10 or 12 tables, pastel colours, lots of terracotta and greens, two abstract paintings on the wall and very IKEA tables and chairs.

The waiter didn't exactly come across as very friendly at first, asking us if we had reservations, but then seems to change his mind and allow us to stay. Even the waiters looked very classy in stylish black trousers and shirts and those rather wide ties that seem to be making a come back. There are trends that they have managed to avoid and that banning smoking!

So the other half is settled with his orange juice and I'm sipping happily at a nicely chilled glass of house white whilst we peruse the menu.

We, of course, start off with the obligatory pickle pot and poppadoms. It was the usual 4 pots, chopped onion cucumber and tomato, red sauce thing, what looked like green beans and grains and another veg and grains thing. Unfortunately I only got to eat the first 2 because the other two were so hideously hot they almost took the skin off my tongue. Not sure what the red sauce was, I certainly couldn't fault its taste, though I'm still not sure it wasn't budget ketchup from the Sainsburys across the road.

Rather swiftly, in fact too swiftly our Starters arrived. I was'nt immediately not excited by my Shami Kebab, my exotic pattie of minced lamb, garlic and ginger roots with fresh herbs and fried in a little ghee actually looked like something my dad served off the barbacue! I was'nt really impressed, it was just a spicy lamb burger complete with hard bits around the edges where it was over cooked, the accompanying yoghurt and mint dip was a foamy pot of tasteless nothing. Alan's Reshmi Kebab was much the same, made with beef mince and an omelette on top. Maybe the Samosa, Tikka or Tandoori Chicken would have been a better bet

I have to be honest and say that I find myself comparing it to another Indian restaurant I recently went to, but I cant help it. One of the main difference I noticed straight away was the dishes available. The 'other', if I remember correctly had over 60 dishes while Curry House has about half that. For those of you not into Indian food there are no English dishes available. Neither were there any fish dishes listed, these are, however listed on the Takeaway menu, in fat there were many more dishes to take away.

And for once I was only torn between two dishes, Honey Chicken and Butter Chicken. Everything else seems to be variations on themes of Tandooris, Baltis, Massallas, etc. In a last minute decision I went for Honey Chicken, Alan had Chilli Chicken Garam Massalla, all costing around £9.95. However this did include Basmati rice, and in my case a Honey Naan Bread. We also ordered a side dish of Saag Aloo (spinach and potatoes) at £2.50.

At every other Indian restaurant I have been to the dishes are bought to the table in separate dishes then you help yourself. Not here! Each diner has a large plate with a very artistic mound of yellow and red rice and a separate bowl of curry.

The Saag Aloo is probably the best thing to start with. It was quite a small dish and didn't contain more than a potato each with a good dollop of spinach. Very nice but overpriced.

My dish was a mild to medium quite thick sauce. It was tikka chicken so the flavour of that cam through, but apart from that no real discernible taste. I certainly couldn't taste any honey, the sauce had barely any sweetness to it. The naan bread was drizzled with honey and was very delicious indeed. My main course was just uninspirational and after a while I just got bored with it.

Alan's didn't fare too well on the excitement level either. It just didn't look like anything special. Certainly its name and description conjured up great things with its fresh green chillies and hot and sour sauce. It actually bore quite a resemblance to mine plus a few chillies. Again, sadly, it was nothing special, certainly it was nice and definitely hot, but no discernible sourness (Hey, I didn't get my sweet and he didn't get his sour). I'm not sure it even lived up to a jar of Asdas own and that's about £8 cheaper.

To say I was slightly disappointed is also a slight understatement. After all the rave reviews I had read I was expecting some more special and individual, to my chagrin I got neither.

They didn't score too highly on the service rating either. The chaps attitude from the start rankled me. I also find it very uncomfortable to have my serviette placed on my lap as if I was a child.
Nor were we once asked how our meals were, something I consider almost obligatory. Especially when it was obvious there was probably a problem with mine as I left all the charcoaly bits of my starter on the plate. I mean, is it too much to say 'Is everything ok with your meal, madam'? No thought not. The only place I don't expect to get asked this is in a top restaurant where they are confident its all fine, not a local Indian.

Then when we'd finished and had our plates removed we were just left there. No one asked if we would like anything else or if we would like to see the dessert menu. Even when we'd finished our drinks we were ignored by the staff, to the point where even my usually placid partner was getting a little annoyed.

Eventually we managed to catch a waiter and ask for the bill which came more swiftly than the service had. Nothing like making you feel like valued, welcome customers!

I believe my only comments were 'Yes, well' when we left, I couldn't really think of anything to say, especially not positive. Actually I was more annoyed at paying £10 for something I could have got at my local for £4.50.

I think I've hit on their secret though. I've come to the conclusion they just make a big batch of sauce and then just add things to them before they come out of the kitchen this would explain why mine and Alan's looked so similar.
I've also discovered why other restaurants use metal dishes, it keeps the food hot for longer. Unwarmed ceramic bowls just chill them quicker. And where were the little grills with the candles in them so you food stays warm so you could spend time gossiping. 'Feed and then get em to leave' seemed to be the agenda here.

As you can tell I'm not going to recommend this place, I cant. As a place for a quick meal or to impress a prospective girlfriend this place is probably good. But a long meal with friends or somewhere you'd liked to linger its definitely out.

Next time we're in the area and fancy a bite to eat we'll pop into the Burger King next door. For £30 less we can get a good sized meal with drinks each AND service with a smile!

P.S
Thanks to the one chap in particular who pointed out the glaring inconsistiences that no one else did! It appears my spellchecker went a bid mad, but this has now been recitified!
Thanks! 

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