I’ve been training Liam for years in restaurant selection so he now has a list of requirements when picking a place to book rather than just booking the first thing that he sees. He surprise booked (the surprise was for me, not the restaurant as they knew we were coming) this Indian restaurant in Cardiff and, as a spoiler, he did very well indeed.
I wondered why the venue was proudly displaying their 3/5 food hygiene rating on the door, as in England this would be something that the restaurant just didn’t put up. However, I’ve remembered that in Wales it’s compulsory for it to be displayed, which seems a rather decent idea to me.
The poppadoms were slightly odd, the top ones were light and fresh whilst the lower down ones were a little more stale. The evident merging of two bowls felt sub-optimal.
The chutneys and mint sauce were though entirely lovely.
I went for a pint of Cobra which I felt was appropriate for the occasion, although I rather felt that Richard went for the technically correct mango lassi option.
The food quality was high, with the dishes being well presented and everything was at the appropriate hot temperature. The main was the Lukla Chicken, a dry curry with crispy fried chicken in a chilli sauce with onions and green chillies. I ordered this alongside a lemon rice and a peshwari naan. The chicken was tender, it actually had some depth of spice to it, the portion size was generous and the sauce was rich. The lemon rice also actually tasted of lemon, sometimes it’s all just a bit too subtle.
And the rest of the group also agreed that the quality of the food met our expectations. The service was always attentive and it was well staffed, so we didn’t have to ever wait very long. I think that we made the correct decision to skip having a starter, as I struggled to finish what I had.
The online reviews are very high and a manager came over at the end to see if we were local. Although he would have likely engaged for much longer if we were local and therefore likely to come back, we still left feeling welcome. The prices were reasonable, the dining environment was clean and the service was organised. This was a very good choice from Liam, so I’ve decided that he can definitely be trusted in the future.