A large, spacious restaurant seating around 80 or more in comfortable surroundings. Saturday nights are busy but we were told it wasn’t necessary to book. So it proved as, although crowded, the restaurant was large enough to get a table. Decor and facilities satisfactory although a single toilet for each sex in such a large restaurant puts some pressure on the facility, particularly on a crowded Saturday night when large groups seem to descend from the pub.

A comprehensive menu of all the usuals. All the starters were well cooked. Onion Bhajias (6 small bhajias) were crisp right through and contained plenty of onion. Chicken Chat tasty, tangy and plenty of it, while the Sheek Kebab was spicy and hot. All the starters were substantial. Main dishes generally good - the Chicken Dhansak was nicely spiced and the Madras had a good flavour although less hot than an average Madras (not as hot as the Dhansak). The disappointing dish was the Lamb Tikka which had a fairly average tandoori flavour and comprised only 7 small pieces of lamb each about the size of a 10 pence piece and tough to boot (almost as tough as old boots!). It worked out expensive at £1 a piece, particularly as the salad which accompanied it was small and indifferent. However, the Vegetable side dishes and rice/nan/chapatti accompaniments were all well up to standard.

Mixed views on service. We ordered a jug of water as well as a beer for me. The beer arrived but not the water and two further reminders had to be given before it did. No profit on water I suppose! Also, the starters took 45 minutes to arrive after ordering, with another lengthy wait between starters and main course. However, the food is advertised as cooked to order, the restaurant was busy and the waiter said they were short staffed so perhaps I shouldn’t complain.

Portions quite sufficient, particularly the starters. However, I thought it expensive for a fairly standard high street curry house serving formula curries, even if it was nice. I’m not aware that Nailsworth is a particularly up market or expensive area, and although it was a good meal overall, whether it offers good value for money in comparison with other high street Indian restaurants is questionable. The thing is, I don’t believe there is another high street Indian restaurant in Nailsworth.

Malcolm Wilkins - December 1997