This restaurant opened about the end of June 1998 as the only Indian restaurant in Malmesbury. There is no connection between this and the take-away in town.

It is centrally situated in one of the older building right on the main square. It seats about 40 in comfortable surroundings at street level, and a further 20 in the basement, which looked very claustrophobic. The walls are old stone/flint and a feature of the building’s history is an ancient well (now glass covered) by the bar in the basement area, although this was not advertised and one would be unaware if its existence unless going down to the basement.

I thought the layout was a little impractical in that the ground floor had no reception area/counter, this being situated in the basement without any obvious signs to this effect. This is not helpful to those unfamiliar with the place who might, for example, want to order a take-away or book a table, particularly as nobody seemed designated to receive customers.

The service was poor - almost amateurish - as the following scenario illustrates. When given the menu we ordered two lagers and a jug of water for the three of us. No signs of the drinks when the waiter came to take the order some time later, so we reminded him. A long wait and eventually the starters arrived. We again reminded the waiter for the drinks, also pointing out that there was no cutlery on the table with which to eat the starters (a point that seemed to have escaped him!) After another wait the cutlery arrived but no drinks. We reminded him and made a start on the food. When we had finished the starters two lagers arrived, but no water. We reminded him about the water. Another five minutes and a jug of water arrived, but there were no glasses. We asked for glasses. "How many glasses would you like" came the reply! Furthermore, we had a very lengthy wait for the main dishes which, when they arrived, were placed on warming trays heated by candles. The only problem was that the tray was stone cold and the candles unlit. We called the waiter and politely pointed this out (particularly as the plates were also stone cold!). A few more minutes and he came back with matches, removed all the depleted trays of food, lit the candles and replaced the food bowls. I could go on but I think that paints the picture.

And what of the food? Well, mixed views. The starters were good - my Chicken Chat was nicely spiced, quite hot and the chicken pieces properly small. Kebab starters were also tasty. For a main course my wife had Tandoori Chicken, but it was poor. The chicken was thickly coated in a highly coloured marinade which was very sweet, having a strong honey base. It was not accompanied by any raita (as the menu said) and the portion was two spindly legs rather than the more common portion of a leg and breast. My Mixed Tikka Jalfrezi was tasty with a good meat selection in a thick sauce. However, the chillies in the dish were uncooked and had clearly been thrown in at the end. Chicken Dhansak not too bad, but a little on the sweet side (they obviously like using honey!). Vegetable dishes OK - average curry house fare but both very oily. Rice poor, being very lumpy and overcooked.

Portions adequate and service friendly even if not as professional as in most places. A reasonably enjoyable meal, but not one that any of us would rave about, and it was very much let down by the service. I wouldn’t go out of my way to return. I don’t think it will rival the take-away in town for take-away business.

Malcolm Wilkins - August 1999