Although there may be Indian restaurants in Grimsby’s suburbs (there are plenty in neighbouring Cleethorpes) there has, until fairly recently, only been one - Abdul’s Tandoori - in the city centre. However, a little over a year ago Abdul closed down and moved and opened a new restaurant - The Spice of Life - at the other end of town. This is much bigger (deceptively so from the outside) and seats about 200 people. I also encourages a take away trade by offering free coffee for those awaiting their ‘take aways’. I went in to enquire whether table reservations were necessary but didn’t find the waiter particularly welcoming or friendly (he grunted that a reservation was necessary, but do you really get 200 people eating at one restaurant in Grimsby on a November evening, even if it was a Saturday. I doubt it!)

The original Abdul’s Tandoori reopened about seven months ago under completely new ownership and is called the Royal Bengal. It is Bangla Deshi owned and the chef is the new owner’s brother. They moved to Grimsby from Luton, where they used to run the Bombay Spice take-away. This is their first restaurant. The local paper (that renowned publication, the Grimsby Telegraph) provided weekly reports on the local Indian restaurant scene and the edition of 2nd November 2000 scored the Royal Bengal top marks - the only restaurant to have been given such a high score (the owner said the survey covered the whole of Lincolnshire, but I have my doubts whether the coverage is that wide).

There is also a take-away only - The Moghul Emperor - which is near the Spice of Life and only open in the evenings.

Malcolm Wilkins - November 2000