SPICE ONE, 65  WROTHAM ROAD,GRAVESEND

This restaurant opened in the autumn of 2005 under new ownership. The previous restaurant was called Badshah (and Ajays before that). It is now owned by the same people who run Lazzat and Zara in the nearby villages of Meopham and Longfield respectively.

A standard seating plan for some thirty or so people, although it never looks busy, as it wasn't when we went on a Sunday evening (in fact, we were the only ones there). The fact that it is little away from the main centre of town and in an area that wouldn't attract people for other diversions, and so  unlikely to get casual passing trade from the town centre, doesn't help. The only way to ensure a high volume of custom situated where it is, is to offer food well above the average, and this it doesn't do even though it was satisfactory. I do wonder how much longer they can last with the high amount of competition in town.

The menu, like most Indian restaurants, covers all the familiar dishes plus a handful of odd names amongst the house specials (for example, Chicken Kabier described as a mild dish of chicken with prawns; Murgh Rohani - a stir fried Kashmiri Chicken; Sak-Shu-Ka being minced lamb in a mild sauce of cream, eggs and tomato; and Gost Kata Masala - diced lamb in a mild sauce of yoghurt and herbs.

The initial poppadoms came with a generous six relishes (five on a dish plus a little pot of what could have been strawberry jam!), which was encouraging, but the Onion Bhaji starters (four round type) were a disappointment. They were heavy, stodgy and soft on the outside rather than crispy. However, the Chicken Chat starter was much better, with the small pieces of chicken having a tangy bite to it.

The main dishes were all right, but nothing spectacular. Finding unexpected favour was my wife's main dish of Vegetable Massala, which was a very tastily prepared dish of mixed vegetables. My friend and I had Garlic Chicken Chilly Massala (cooked with onion, green pepper, green chilli and garlic) and Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi (similarly cooked with onion, green pepper and green chilli) from the 'Chef's Specials' list to see whether we could taste the difference. As we might have expected, it was difficult to tell them apart, and although they were pleasant enough dishes neither had the spicy hotness as described or suggested by being cooked with green chillis (there were bits of chilli, but probably de-seeded and not so many as to make it tingle the tongue). The Chicken Tikka Massala looked like lumps of chicken in a bowl of Heinz Tomato Soup, but the recipient seemed satisfied (although she rarely eats in Indian restaurants, so her opinion shouldn't be relied on!). Accompanying Cauliflower Bhaji and Tarka Dall nicely flavoured, although the Dall was a little oily. Peshwari Nan was simply a Nan drizzled with honey and without filling of any sort. To be fair, it didn't feature on the menu, although the waiter said they could do one when asked.

Prices reasonable, portions very good, and service attentive (as one might expect as there were no other customers) and very friendly. A pleasant enough meal, but I am afraid that there is too much competition in town offering better food for me likely to return. Nevertheless, I wish them well and hope they continue to survive.

Malcolm Wilkins - June 2009