Jaffna House Sherbert Specials.
Present were:
Berry7
Lurch
Dubya
Boulder
Moun
Paul
Big Dunc
Matt
Tom (guest star!)
and many others. Long time ago now!
I can't really describe the place adequately. It's very amusing and totally unique. We walked in and, sat at a table near the bar, was what looked like some sort of Indian cowboy. He was brilliant. I tried to take a good picture of him but was a bit scared he might rough me up in a western style.
The Assassin.
They worked hard to seat us as there were loads of us and they even shifted the Indian Assassin from what was probably his preferred seat. He moved without incident.
Popadoms were brought swiftly, however the dips never appeared for about 5 more minutes which was frsutrating. When they did arrive however, we were treated to the greatest lime pickle I've had in a while. Only two dips mind with the other being mango chutney but it was good stuff.
Possibly my favourite thing about this place is it has a different menu for starters and main courses. I felt like I was in the Ritz or something. The selection is amazing and some of starters were 60 or 70p. Bargain. As we soon found out though, the cheap starters were pretty nasty and mass produced while the more expensive ones were a bit more what you'd expect in a curry house. The devilled squid, chicken tikka, cutlet and aloo chai were all enjoyed while the simple things like the bhajis and so on were pretty uninspiring. Great choice though.
The mains arrived, some time later it must be said, and they were similar to the starters. Great choice, varied dishes available and good value. We ordered ones we had not before like a seafood kothu and mutton kothu while Paul went in for a crab curry which came with a full crab! We laughed at him as he tried to eat it. Other regulars like fish curry and chicken tikka bhuna made up the rest. The mains were intersting in that there was so much variety and choice. We were all amazed at the different types available, and it was nice to see so much selection. The mains themselves were average in that most were pretty tasty but nothing exceptional. They had a good level of spice and were reasonably big but they were just a little bit middle of the road overall.
The place - 6.5 out of 10. It scored well on novelty factor but it's not exactly luxurious. It really is like walking into someone's lounge (apart from the bar) and sitting down to eat. But personally, this made it for me. I thought it made a nice change from the normal restaurant or canteen variety. I am a fan of "lounge eating". It was clean and acceptable all round.
The Service - 7 out of 10. The waiter was about as friendly as he could be. He worked hard to keep us happy and always did so with a smile. At the same time though, the service was kind of strange. Popadoms arriving without dips, mains not appearing for about an hour and strange goings on at times.
Paul : "How exactly do I eat this crab curry?"
Waiter; "I have no idea."
It was the kind of service were even though you know it's terrible, you don't mind because it's in keeping with the general feel. The guy did really try hard as well.
Starters and Sundries - 6 out of 10. Some were really quite exciting, like the devilled fish and the cutlet starter but others were pretty obnoxious and mass produced. I would stick with the ones that look like a reasonable price. The ones that looked very cheap, tasted it. The sundries were all ok and overall it was adequate.
Curry - 6 out of 10. Again, it was ok but nothing more. A great selection and plenty of choice but nothing really exciting to stand it out. Think the best I tried was the chicken tikka bhuna which was a shame as I was much more excited about all the ones I hadn't had before. Alas they tasted pretty bland at times.
Value for Money - 7 out of 10. I stupidly haven't written down how much the bill came to but I seem to remember that we were all reasonably content. I think it was about £20 a head but we had ordered a lot of beers and some Jaffna House Sherbert Specials. The cost was about right, if not cheap, but it didn't score higher because the meal wasn't that exciting.
Total - 32.5 out of 50. I would go here just for the venue myself. It has a great feel and the novelty factor would be worth it alone. A brave man could take a lady here as they have a little lover's both to the side of the door as well. I wouldn't if you're taking my sister out. Pick the woman carefully. The food was ok but it had little glimpses of magic in its beer selections and so on. They did a great Indian stout that was 8.5%. Lots of stuff to make it worth a visit but just missing that special touch.
Lion Stout!
The happy meal was:
Masoor dall (no tarka) - £2.00.
Plain naan - £1.50.
Plain rice - £1.25.
Mango lassi - £1.50.
Total - £6.25
Pretty good value.
So that's it. We're going out again tonight so expect another review early next week. Special mention to Tom, who got in contact through the blog and then turned up to meet us. fair play. He is now an established TCC member. The empire grows.
Berry7.
