LAZZAT, GRAVESEND ROAD, FAIRSEAT, MEOPHAM

This restaurant was formerly the A La Carte Spice until that closed in February 2004. It opened under its current name in June 2004 under new ownership and a new chef, and they tell me they are totally unconnected with any other Indian restaurants. It is situated in the country on the main A227 road between Wrotham and Meopham,  and therefore relies heavily on customers who drive there. Fortunately it has a large car park in front to accommodate them.

The restaurant itself is large, seating about 100 and is light and airy, although not particularly Indian in decor. Spacious and reasonably comfortable, with wooden floor,  modern furnishings and fittings, although in terms of decor and ambience it is very plain, with plain white painted walls without pictures or other ornamentation other than wall lights. Each table has a large square of cardboard indicating a table number, held aloft by a long silver-coloured holder, which I felt was more in keeping with a larger fast-turnover cafe rather than the style of restaurant it purports to be. However, the personalised crockery on which the food is served adds a bit of class.

On arrival my first impression was that the table reservation system is unreliable. I had telephoned a few days beforehand to book a table for three in the non-smoking section (fortunately no longer a necessity). On entering I said I had booked a table, but without checking any booking list the waiter took us to the no-smoking area and looked about hopefully. All there was free were tables for two or one large round table for six or eight (and set up for as many). It had no reservation sign (nor did any of the others) but he marched us there and asked if it would be OK. As there was no other choice we sat there and he removed all the other cutlery and place settings. There were other tables for four, of course, but all were taken, so we spent the evening shouting to each other across the large table. Not ideal, and I suspect we only got that because we arrived before any other party of more than two, as it clearly hadn't been reserved for us. As regular readers will know, this charade of taking bookings is one of my pet criticisms of Indian restaurants, and yet another one fails in this respect. 

The menu is extensive, containing all the usual suspects and many more. However, closer inspection shows that the less familiar dishes were limited in dishes described as hot, pushing those who like a bit of bite back to the familiar Vindaloo, Madras, Pathia, Dhansak or Jalfrezi.

After properly crisp and warm popadoms with the usual four chutneys, the starters were generally good. Onion bhajias comprised four reasonable sized round bhajias, served with a small accompaniment of lettuce, although no riata. At first touch with the knife they gave the appearance of being stodgy in the middle, but in fact were suprisingly light and tasty, having a good onion flavour. The Machli Bora (spicy Bengal fish cakes) were two good sized patties decoratively served on a pleasant and piquant sweet chilli sauce. They were delicious. The crab papad was again served on a base of the sweet chili sauce, but was slightly disappointing as the crab meat inside the deep fried papad  was all very dark brown, not too much of it and with an underlying flavour of burnt string, which made me wonder how old it was! (However, I had no ill-effects the following morning, so it must have been OK).

For our main dishes we chose three from the house specials. The Gost Kara Masala ( diced lamb pieces cooked in a sauce made from yoghurt and herbs) was a fairly mild dish, but very pleasantly flavoursome. The pieces of lamb were very tender, and the sauce had a sweetish herby flavour and was extremely tasty. My Chicken Rezala was one of the few described as 'fairly hot', and did have a good bite to it. The barbecued chicken was cooked in a robust dark sauce, cooked with onion, garlic and peppers, and with a nice, discernible coriander flavour. The Garlic Chicken, compared to the well-flavoured base of the other two, was surprisingly uninspired. I found it rather a boring dish, with little taste of garlic and instantly forgettable.

The Mixed Vegetable had a good selection of vegetable, but tasted overcooked. On the other hand, the Tarka Dall was excellent, with a good, strong garlic flavour (which made up for the garlic chicken). Accompanying rice was very good - plentiful and fragrant -  and Peshwari Nan fairly ordinary, with just a bit of coconut paste filling and nothing else..

Portions were ample, and attractively served in deep silver pots, which held a surprisingly generous amount. The rice (two portions served on a single plate) was probably enough for four. Prices for the house specials and recommended dishes maybe slightly above the average (as might be expected in the type and location of restaurant), but given the portions it was very reasonable. I noted also that the more common standard dishes (bhuna, madras, dupiaza etc.) at the back of the menu were all very reasonably priced, being on par with the most basic high street curryhouse..

It must be said, however, that the service was poor overall. Apart from not having a suitable table for three reserved despite taking a booking over the telephone, there was a long wait between courses. Although the waiters were at first attentive, particularly with regards to pushing the drinks, they were less conspicuous as the evening wore on. The wait for the starters was a fair while, but the wait between starters and main course was a long time. They did have a party of eight in the other dining room, but even so I felt we were left without service, attention or even seeing a waiter in our room for too long a period. After the main courses had been cleared there was another long wait without seeing a waiter, and I had to visit the other room (where the small bar and waiters were congregated) twice to ask for a coffee and the bill. However, on the plus side the waiters were all bright and friendly, and packed our leftovers in containers to take away without demur. And the leftovers will probably do me for two more suppers at least, so that's a result!

All in all a bit of a mixed report, but overall it was pleasant enough to warrant a return.

Malcolm Wilkins - July 2005