This well established eatery is rather tucked away in a somewhat less than salubrious setting. A sign out the front warns skateboarders to keep away and informed us that “This area is prone to high winds” which doesn’t fill you with confidence about the curry. Not a good start then, but the neon sign said “OPEN” in red on blue and looked welcoming enough. The first thing to strike me was a worrying sight at the bar – Kingfisher Lager…on draft!! If you know great lager, you know it isn’t Kingfisher!! (see the Kingfisher/Cobra challenge in the Bengal Reef review). However, behind the bar was a picture of one of Britain’s best loved pantomime dames and pugilists, the great Frank Bruno. Bonus box ticked for the boxer.

The restaurant is decked out with Indian memorabilia set into ornate recesses in the painted walls. Despite this, the place has a very retro 70’s curry house ambiance – you can strip away the wallpaper but you cant remove the flock feel!

The restaurant is built on the reputation of Zahoor Raja, or just Raj. He was there, reading the paper at first but then mucking in. Didn’t say much though. Still, I quite like the owner to be unobtrusive, and there were plenty of newspaper cuttings around to tell us all we needed to know about him.

On to beer. We were asked what we would like to drink promptly on sitting down (good quality service that). Hurrah and hassar but the Gulshan doesn’t just do Kingfisher on tap (eek!! What a concept) but also bottles of Cobra and Bangla (“Stronger brewed for stronger food”). Another bonus box ticked. Popadums came soon after the beer and were up to scratch. Particularly nice onions in the dip quartet I thought.

We ordered as per usual from the well laid out wipe clean menu .The tandoori chicken turned up minus a sizzler but was definitely one of the tastiest and most well balanced we’ve ever tried. The onion bhaji’s were served flat, were a little soggy and probably the low point of the whole meal. We were pleased to see the traditional lettuce based salad accompaniment jazzed up with a ‘sprig’ of red cabbage. Good tasty lamb rogan too, perhaps erring on the slightly spicy side. The chicken biryani was up to the mark and served with a flavoursome vegetable side. For some reason (probably because it was cheap) we pushed the boat out and ordered a Bombay aloo which didn’t disappoint. Excellent roti and good value for money and so probably didn’t really need to have two. A copious choice of desert, complete with Kulfi in packing cone, rounded things off rather well.

Of all the places we have visited, this is the Indian restaurant you are most likely to see a fight – but it would be outside and you could view it from the comfort of your ring side seat whilst popping a popadum and quaffing on a bottle of Bangla (which is possibly why big Frank came to eat here).

This is certainly not the most ‘contemporary’ of Indian eateries and the final score did benefit from all those bonus points…but Bangla beer is Bangla beer and the other basics all just fell into place. The web site claims this as “Reading’s premiere Indian restaurant for the last sixteen years”, and based on this display we are perhaps surprised but minded to agree.

RD

Randdy Dogoe gave this restaurant 73

Bret Myri scored this establishment 83

Nestled snugly just above and right of Burger King in Kings Walk is the Bengal Reef – or indeed as the web site says, “The Bengal Reef Experience”. Must say it isn’t the best of locations and reception on my mobile was non-existent which is always an annoyance especially when waiting for the slightly tardy. The interior is fairly stark and chic minimalism gives way to something more reminiscent of a roll-on roll-off ferry. The retro stylish bar is quite cool although it did nearly have me ordering a Babycham.

It was a particularly quiet night which didn’t do much for the overall ambience, although this certainly wasn’t helped by the Enya or Chris Rhea tinkling out from the speakers smaller than a standard set of in-ear head phones. There’s also a curious array of similar (yet different) pictures of coloured squares, presumably daubed by Pablo Paneer or somesuch other contemporary Indian modernist artist. And lastly on the petty annoyance side was the bucket chair design which you couldn’t hang your coat on without it falling off the back and potentially tripping up the waiter as he brought out the next sizzler or vital top-up.

The menu is very well organised and contains a lot of fish dishes (particularly mussels) and this piscatorial theme is obviously reflected in the restaurant name. The dips were up to triage standard although we weren’t that happy to see them all sitting out ‘front-of-house’ before we sat down. In a slight break with tradition we went for the mixed starter option, primarily because this included all the starters we might usually select. This turned up on a sizzler. Good lamb and chicken tikka, tasty bahji’s but not so keen on the sheek kebab which was a bit greasy and felt like it had come off a kebab van’s rotating ‘elephant leg’.

The main courses arrived in good time. However, in between courses we put our time to good use and carried out a tasting on the beer options: Cobra vs Kingfisher. It has to be said that Cobra won hands down with two of the testers spitting out the colourful birdy-brew.

Of the main courses the Lamb Rogan was by far the best, and is by far the best I have tasted. Good sauce, good level of heat, and excellent chunks of lamb that you didn’t have to go fishing for. The chicken biryani was not to our experts tasters’ liking, citing the lumps of potato in the vegetable curry sauce as being out of place. Other sous-tasters did not concur with this view. The chicken tikka masala seemed well stocked with chicken and had a near nuclear glow about it – which seems about normal. Good, although not exception, sundries accompanied the food. The desert selection was quite extensive and got a definite thumbs up.

We were fairly well served throughout and came away happy and contented that curry was the victor at the end of the day. In fairness the score was rather buoyed up by the chance of seeing Glenn Hoddle.

RD

Randdy Dogoe gave this restaurant 74

Bret Myri scored this establishment 70

Rich Rebrys (Guest Reviewer) rated this restaurant 69

Our London correspondent invited Bret and Rich to a London eatery for an evening of highbrow intellect. There was none on offer so we went out for a curry instead.

Paradise sums up visions of Bounty adverts, sundrenched beaches, bikinis and good times.  On arriving at this busy retaurant one imagined that their vision of paradise was slightly different. A friendly atmosphere was guaranteed as all patrons sat snugly together, three couples out for aromantic evening at a table for two would find themselves sat easyjet style elbow to elbow exchanging pleasantries. White washed walls with minimal yellow stenciling gave the impression that maybe the place doubled as a Greek or Italian retaurant at lunchtime, with a simple staff change all that was required to provide the ambience.

Beer and popadoms arrived after 10 mins which has to be an all time record. Perhaps the staff were struggling to squeeze between the tables??

Well presented starters followed which were received happily all round. Excellent onion bhajees, tender chicken tikka (No Sizzler) and tasty samosas. main courses also followed in a similar vein of good presentation and well seasoned.  I have to say that im sure that any dish ordered in Paradise would be equally as tasty and a random choice from the menu is almost guaranteed to leave one pleased.

However as mentioned earlier, you have to think that Hampstead’s view of Paradise is slightly different from mine. Aromatic smells set your taste buds and stomach into a state of great expectation, all the food looked wonderful and tasted great, but that wasnt my stomach being excited, it was it begging for mercy. A forty mile walk home is a strong recommendation to try and ease some of the lead weight from your guts. I can assure all patrons “enjoyed” the smell of last nights dining the next day before breakfast, but more likely in the middle of the night.

So next time your looking at holiday brochures of those sandy beaches and beautiful vistas, remember one thing……..put an extra bog roll in the fridge before you go!!!

Bret Myri scored this establishment 58

Rich Rebrys (Guest Reviewer) rated this restaurant 65

Amdan Lal-Patel (London Correspondent) marked this eatery 60

Once a night club now a contemporary Indian eatery, The Spice Oven sits like a permanent red beacon amongst the traffic lights on the exclusive north side of the Caversham bridge. Either of two entrances at the front (possibly to confuse tradesmen) bring you to the front of house bar and what appears to be a first fusion experiment of blending Indian food with Polish waitresses. ‘Velcoom to the Spice Ovenski’, Infact I was a bit disappointed as having seen the website I had assumed it would be forever Christmas 2007, but the lack of a fake fir or any baubles (there might’ve been a fairy on one of the other tables) led me to thinking that perhaps the site just needed a bit of updating.

Anyway, beyond the bar we were swiftly taken over a fish pond via a small bridge to the seating area. Again mild disappointment as I thought we might be on our way to see some Caversham miniature village hopefully complete with tiny kebab van. The seats were comfortable, table smartly decked out and the music definitely bollywood blockbuster rather than a rag and tal style of sitar and those tinny tablar drums that blokes with dreadlocks think they can play but generally can’t. Checking out the other punters I thought it had the definite feel of the sort of place a slightly disappointed looking Glenn Hoddle might frequent.

The second of the polish fusion girls came to our table and gave us the good looking easy clean menu advertising “unbelievable flavours”. We managed to hold on to her just long enough to get three beers and the popadoms and chutneys rolling. Pints of Cobra and then the urad flour crisps arrived with what can be best described as a “Sharwoods selection” of chutneys. At least the onions were well chopped.

Starters came in good time, but not before an Indian waiter who was clearly not part of the fusion experiment, tried to take our food order too. Chicken tikka was served on a bed of chopped ice-berg lettuce but with no sizzler. Probably my fault for not reading the menu properly as it seems a sizzler came as an optional extra (although that’s a bit like calling a steering wheel or a rear axel on a car an option extra). Very highly regarded bhaji’s, among the best ever reviewed. The “seehk” kebab worried me slightly and not just because it made me think the overly keen turban headed waiter of earlier might have been cruelly mutilated by the management for compounded misdemeanours, but also because it was sphincter twitching hot. Truly an ‘unbelievable flavour’.

As this was, strictly speaking, not our first visit we thought it worthy to bring along a trusty guest reviewer (RR) who could go wild and try something a bit off-piste to test the depth and breadth of the chef’s abilities. So he ordered chicken tikka masala. It wasn’t very nice. The lamb rogan wasn’t bad, perhaps again a tad on the side of overly spiced in the oven. The chicken tikka biriani on the other hand was judged to be top notch, although the chicken looked a bit burned rather than gently oven charred – a flavour the intrepid taster rather favoured anyway. Breads weren’t great and more fusion techniques were on hand as the roti’s were more like naan, or perhaps it was another menu malfunction on my part and I’d really ordered “Noti’s”.

The deserts seemed fair to middling although at this stage in the meal the fusion experiment broke down with the ordering of a glass of port. Even helpful bi-lingual prompting of “portski” didn’t seem to allay the confusion although five minutes later a small red glass of Cockburns arrived. We didn’t bother to correct her mispronunciation.

Moderate bill paid, and with that the three of us went back over the rickety bridge, avoided the troll, had a final look for Glenn and then found ourselves back in cosmopolitan Caversham.

All in all we felt it a bit of a mixed bag with some very good and some very bad depending on expectation and what was actually ordered. The pot-pouri of scores reflect that fact. Certainly not a bad restaurant and it does have a very nice feel about the place and is worthy of a visit – but chose carefully. And if you leave hungry then you can always get a kebab from the van parked just down the road.

Randdy Dogoe gave this restaurant 63

Bret Myri scored this establishment 73

Rich Rebrys (Guest Reviewer) rated this restaurant 55

Have you ever seen the television advert where the couple are arguing over breakfast in the kitchen and it turns out they are in an MFI showroom??  Well the Baranda is just like that without the bad acting.  You feel like you are eating in a bathroom showroom, minimal decoration, white washed walls and a fridge and freezer in the corner of the restaurant add to the sterile experience.  To add to the lack of atmosphere the restaurant plays their background music so quietly we had to wait for most diners to leave before realising that there was any music at all.

A very enjoyable pint of Bangla Beer softened the blow of the cutlery being laid on the table from an old ice cream tub, badly hidden beneath the serving trolley. Then the food arrived…….

…and what a revalation!!!  Lovely onion bhajee starters were followed by the two best tasting main courses this year. Perfectly spiced and well cooked, the chef must be commended for turning what could have been a culinary disaster into a memorable eating experience. Its not often you think that you ought to order another main course but the general standard of all the food served was excellent.

Fairly average service and a distinct lack of interest in providing more beer or dessert’s of any description, left us asking the question “just how good, would this place be if they just tried a little bit harder???”

Finally the toilets brought you back to earth with the whole bathroom showroom feel.  Very clean and only lacking someone polishing your shoes while you use the facilities prevent them from being given an award in the loo of the year!!

Rich Rebrys (Guest Reviewer) gave this restaurant 72

Bret Myri scored this establishment 68

 The welcoming blue neon of the Bina frontage puts you in a relaxed mood as you enter this (self appointed) up-market contemporary eatery. Funny name though, Bina Tandoori – makes you wonder what it’s been in the past (Bina Off-License? Bina Dry-Cleaners?) Who knows…well I expect someone out there does and I cant be bothered to check it up. Moving on from the electric blue (Bina Sex Shop?), the low ceiling and low level lighting gives for a pleasant enough atmosphere. On closer inspection however, the interior looks like an early experiment by Lawrence Lleweyln-Bowen, with curious shaped pieces of MDF and blue transparent perspex separating sections of the room. The art work follows a modern theme too, perhaps suggesting more of a homage to possibly Salvador Thali rather than Vishnu, painted elephants or the Taj. Anyway, my seat slightly annoyed me as it was half on the floor and half on a carpeted area which does nothing for my OCD.

Drinks arrived swiftly as did some very fine popadums and the standard quorate of ‘chutneys’ (of which only one is a chutney). The starters were excellent. The tandoori duck (which has a hint of Chinese five spice about it) was exceptional and its accompanying salad even had hints of lettuce from more than one bag. The onion bahjis were well cooked, still retaining some soft sweetness inside. Both the starters were served with a strange tamarind dip – to be honest I cant say it really went with anything terribly well but was fairly inoffensive in itself.

Main courses turned up on prompted request (ie they asked us), which did make me think they might have been standing around for a little while. The lamb rogan was good, if perhaps lacking a little in lamb. Similarly the chicken tikka biryani was also good although came with rice decorated with a piece of carrot that looked as if it been carved by a first round failure in Master Chef (which we incidentally had to record as we were eating this curry!), you know, the ‘experimental’ one who usually gets kicked out before they get their sous-chef experience in ‘the kitchen of a top London restaurant’. Everything was a little on the red side I have to say, which didn’t half clash with the blue interior.

Beer turned up also fairly regularly on demand although we did find the selection a bit disappointing with the only Indian variety on offer Kingfisher (“India’s premium lager”, brewed in Faversham, Kent), and Tiger beer (“Singapore’s first locally brewed beer”) as the next most palatable (but less geographically appropriate) of options.

A standard selection of deserts (on a separate menu) was offered up complete with tempting pictures. It was interesting to see the Kulfi displayed still in its plastic cone like packaging, so perhaps not made freshly on the premises. Soon after desert, all the staff seemed to disappear as if on some collective fag break.

Anyway, we paid the bill and despite these slightly nit picky comments, this really is a very fine example of Contemporary Indian Cuisine and well worth a visit with friends who wont go home disappointed (unless they wanted something Greek and thought you were going to that nice little place across the road).

Randdy Dogoe gave this restaurant 70

Bret Myri scored this establishment 70