ED Curry Club

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Well I can categorically state that Tandoori Nights is the best Indian restaurant I've been to in 20 years. Had great fun last night and felt pleasantly squiffy by the time I got home - I blame the rush of fresh air. Lovely to meet you all. Thanks for the tips and tasters, I'll add Indian cuisine to my repertoire now.

[mockney piers]

Who will be writing the first review then?

[SeanMacGabhann]

I'm surprised no-one has yet. PeckhamGateCrasher did her curry proud - very impressive

7 of us arrived bang on 8 and tucked into a range of breads, poppadums and assorted lamb and chicken dishes

Not a lot of note-taking going on to be honest. It was a really good evening and flew by but I confess to being disappointed, just a little bit, with my dish. Some people will say it's always been like this but I remember when the sauces had a bit more zing about them at TN. It wasn't poor by any means and I'll be back but in the meantime I'm looking forward to trying some of the other venues

7.5 out of 10

Several of us went on to Liqourice afterwards for several Mocha cocktails.. lush

[Michael Palaeologus]

OK. I am working from home today, so having put the drying away, listened to Desert Island Discs and written my Peckham shopping list out - I will write a review.

Thanks to PeckhamGateCrasher, Sean, UltraConsultancy, Brendan, Mark and LozzyLoz for their magnificent company.

TANDOORI NIGHTS

Ambience

Very pleasent. Its a smallish restaurant with pleasing decor which is not curry-house typical. As the restauant got fuller it did begin to feel a little cosy.

Service

Attentive and friendly. The serving of the main courses was a little disjointed with some of us waiting for 5 minutes for the arrival of rice and nan after the arrival of the main course. Not a huge problem though. The Head Waiter recognised those members of our party that had been there before and greeted them like old friends, remembering a few personal facts to give that extra touch - "How is your lovely girlfrend?", "Did you get your wife to the hospital in time for the delivery?" That sort of thing.

Food

Fair to Good. The popadoms and pickles were standard stuff, I had Prawn on Puri to start which was OK, the Puri was not as light as I have had elsewhere and the Prawn sauce was a little dry. My main course was Palak Gosht Handi - a lamb with spinach dish. It was moist without being too wet and oily, seasonin was just right, the lamb was tasty and tender and the dish managed to avoid the over-richnes that I have found in lamb dishes in other curry restaurants. My side dish was aubergine. It claimed to be buttery, but I found that it consisted over overly large chunks of aubergine that didnt taste of that much. Pilau rice and nan were quite standard.

Price

We had 8 Popadoms and pickles, 4 starters, 7 main courses, 4 rice, 4 (?) breads, about 10 bottled Indian beers, 2 bottles of red wine and 2 diet coke. This came to ?26 each including the tip (?182 in total).

We then retired to Liquourish. Which was lovely as were the patrons.

All in all we had a great evening. My own feeling is that Tandoori Nights is a good quality Indian Restaurant without being exceptional. The menu is a little different from the norm and as such would be a good alternative to your "regular" post drinks favourite.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Perhaps the other gormends would like to share their thoughts?

Then we can decide where and when we go next >:D<

I suspect that for many folks it will be in the New Year BUT I will be up for a curry in December if anybody is up for it.

XX

[Brendan]

Intelligence gathered on the ED Curry Club?s Fact-Finding Mission 1.

? Sean likes to arrive first so that he has time to pour a pint over himself before everyone else gets there.

? The front room at the EDT has nice tiles but bad acoustics.

? In most of our experiences Tandoori Nights is probably the best Indian in ED so the benchmark has now been set for the others.

? Peckhamgatecrasher learnt: Curry = Good

? Everyone else agreed. Curry = Good

? It?s a bit cosy in there.

? Mocha cocktails at Liquorice = Good. (even if grown men standing around drinking cocktails is a bit girly)

? They were just like the White Russians The Dude drinks in the Big Lebowski get over it.

? Brendan has some issues about girly drinks.

? Lots of pretty girls go to Liquorice.

? Liquorice closes at about 11:30 on a Thursday. Or was that 12:30? Or 12? ........

When did they close again?

[Michael Palaeologus]

12.

Lovely girls and the occasional big lumpy blokes - one of whom was desparately trying to explain why he called one of the girls a "dog" to said girl, who was less than impressed. Tsk, thats London street theatre for you.

[lozzyloz]

Can't add much more to the above except to say it was an excellent night with a great meal neatly wedged in between copious amounts of alcohol. I always enjoy the food at TN and last night was no exception. I had a Dal Shorba to start which had a smooth creamy consistency and a subtle kick which PGC was able to savour too. I also ate half of Sean's Onion Bhaji, first I'd eaten there and though tasty and crispy, a little on the small side (Shallot Bhaji?). My Palak Gosht Handi was just as described by MP and being a big fan of home cooked Roti, found TN's quite bland. I sat opposite UltraConsultancy and Mark, two very interesting guys (I might have to take up reading books) and next to Sean who smelt akin to a Mexican Brewery. Friendly service as always, ambient atmosphere and no flock wallpaper. Rating: 8/10

Liqourice was fun although it was quite surreal chatting to a bunch of guys holding cute little mocha cocktails. Hmm, probably explains why the local totty gave us all a wide berth.

Great night, thanks again Mike.

(Missed DM)

[Michael Palaeologus]

That and that we were 10 to 20 years older than the ladies and we looked like a bunch of gargoyles on a cathedral night out.

[Ultraconsultancy]

i'd pretty much go along with mike's review above.

i'm always impressed by good owner/manager front of house, and that's clearly one of the plus points at TN. indian people, coming from a culture where sharing food is a necessary part of social structures, i've always found to be very genuine at this.

food was good, reliable, and flavoursome; but that reliability in the kitchen does lead to repetitious cooking, and it was a bit like that. it's mate food, not date food. i walked past the kitchen door, and they were all working hard in there.

inobtrusive and suitable music, useful for someone who likes conversation and has sensitive hearing.

the loo's are clean and small, but a bit of a geographical nightmare, and if new would not fulfill disability access; but thats not TN's fault, they've made a good shot with their resources.

that was my first curry in ED; i had thought that since curry is a regular topic on EDF, and TN is one of the better establishments, i might be a bit more thrilled [like i was in mela in shaftesbury av] but i had a good time in good company and [important, this] got out the door for a little over twenty five quid.

intrigued to see what our next venue will be; interesting to try one of the contentious ones?

Ultraconsultancy

[Michael Palaeologus]

Its an outside shot I know, but does anyone fancy a curry before Xmas? Say w/c 17/12. I can do 17, 18 and 19 at the moment.

As UltraC suggests we could try one of the more contentious ones this time.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

If I can get extra 26 hour shift at t'mill I might - otherwise after christmas. Bon appetit.

[lozzyloz]

It's going to be difficult for me before Xmas too and would prefer Jan.

Is it Curry Cabin next or perhaps Pistachio Club?

[Michael Palaeologus]

We will do Jan, without a doubt. I was just looking to slip a crafty one in ..

[Ultraconsultancy]

Slip a crafty...oh a curry! Jan is my pref, too, TBH.

Would it be interesting to try a Sunday Family Buffet some time? I can provide at least one "kiddie tolerance evaluator" if needed.

Ultraconsultancy

[Michael Palaeologus]

Sounds like an interesting twist - am liking it.

I have just come back from the Pistachio Club. Rather nice, think I preferred it to Tandoori Nights.

[Brendan]

Pistachio Club has a sunday family buffet

[lozzyloz]

Does chips with curry sauce count? More time for drinking then!

[Jeremy]

If you do the buffet, it should be in a separate category. You can't judge the buffet at one place vs "a la carte" at another place.