|
|
|
|
SIMLA, 12 WEST STREET You can’t miss this
restaurant with its dark blue coloured frontage at the brewery end of West
Street. Fortunately the interior is not quite so dark, having pale coloured
walls and was of contemporary design (pale wooden floors, no table cloths,
modern chairs, inset ceiling lights etc.) I did wonder about the
reliability of table reservation system, as when I went in at 6pm to reserve a
table for a specific time, the young man simply said OK. When I suggested he
might want to take a name, or make a note of it he looked slightly bemused, as
if this was a new concept of table-booking to him. Also, although I did not know
it at the time, the restaurant has a smoking and non-smoking section, and I was
not asked which I would prefer. This leads me to believe that, in common with
most high street Indian restaurants, a reliable table reservation is a hoped for
luxury. However, there was a table for four vacant when we arrived at the
appointed time (there were three actually, so probably more by luck than design)
and as it was in the non-smoking section (definitely more by luck than design),
so all was well. The restaurant seats about
70 – divided approximately evenly between smoking and non-smoking – in
comfortable surroundings. The menu contains all the usual dishes, and a good
selection of made-up dishes that would particularly suit those who like mild,
sweet curries - for example, Chicken Delight (cooked with Grand Marnier, yoghurt
and cream), Honey Chicken (cooked with honey and cashew nuts), Simla Exotica
(cooked with coconut, mango and bananas), Simla Kasmir (cooked with banana,
coconut and cream) and Chicken Nepalese (cooked with cream, mango, almonds and
Cointreau, which doesn't sound very Nepalese to me!)), and Assami (cooked with pineapple and coconut). Starters were generally
good. My Bata Chop (two patties of spiced potato and mince) was extremely good
– very nicely spiced, although not hot – while the recipient of the prawn
puree said it was so excellent that she refused to share any! The Onion Bhajias
were the most ordinary, as the two, large flat bhajias looked appetisingly
crispy on the outside, but were disappointingly stodgy inside. Two of us had
those, giving four bhajias to sample, and all were the same, so it was not just
an odd one. The main dishes were fine,
is nothing remarkable. Chicken Tikka Pathia spicily hot, and was enjoyable. Meat
Bhuna much milder than the menu description of ‘medium’ suggested, but OK.
The Spicy Chicken Masala was, to all intents and purposes CTM, even though CTM
was listed as a separate dish. It would have been interesting to compare the
two. However, my wife declared that it was OK as a CTM, but could discern no
‘spicy’ difference to a normal CTM. Chicken Nepalese was, as the description
suggests, mild and sweet. Although too mild for my tastes, I must say that I
found it pleasant, and a good balance to eat sparingly with a hot dish (although
I couldn’t eat much as it was a bit sweet for my tastes). However, the
recipient found it very good (although unlike the prawn puree, she did allow us
to sample it!). Service pleasant and
efficient, portions about average, while prices might be slightly above average,
(although I can’t compare with prices locally, so perhaps they are about
average for the area). All in all a good standard
formula curry. Malcolm
Wilkins
– June 2005 |