South Wales Curry

Restaurant Name:          Cardamom
Town: Cardiff
Date Visited: June 2010
Website: http://www.cardamom.org.uk

Location
At the junction of Cowbridge Road East and Victoria Park Road East, near the park entrance.

Ambience
Pleasant, not too large.

Service
Excellent speedy service throughout the meal.

Menu Choice
Very varied menu. Numerous unusual chef’s specialties and all the classic Indian dishes available.  Choice for non meat-eaters also.

Food Quality
Food quality in this restaurant was superb. Rice, apappadums and chutney all passed our test. One of our samplers thought that the prawn balti was the best he had ever tasted with a very rich sauce.

The Murgh Anawaka was delicious and is also highly recommended

Value for Money
Prices generally good and excellent value for money considering the food quality.

Overall Rating
5/5 – This restaurant has won awards in the past and it is easy to see why. It is probably one of the best Indian restaurants in Cardiff for food quality. A visit is recommended.

Restaurant Name:           INDIA SPICE
Town: 147,Cowbridge Road East, Canton, Cardiff
Date Visited: January 2010
Website: http://www.indiaspicecardiff.co.uk/

Telephone: (029) 2022 6687 / (029) 2022 6715

Location
On the main road in Canton, very limited parking available outside.

Ambience
New décor and very pleasant surroundings – warm and well-lit.

Service
Plenty of staff who are keen to please. Service was by the proprietor himself on this occasion,and was excellent.

Menu Choice
A good choice of dishes are available to suit all tastes, with Chef’s specials. We sampled 6 different main courses in all.

Food Quality
Overall the food quality was excellent. The quality of the sauces was also excellent – rich and tasty. Both prawn and chicken dishes were good.

Value for Money
Prices generally good and represent value for money.

Overall Rating

We visited this restaurant on a few occasions some time ago but did not review it. Overall it was a very pleasant eating experience and we would recommend it.
Overall rating 4/5

Restaurant Name: The Cinnamon Tree
Town: Kings Road, Canton, Cardiff
Date Visited: December 2009
Website: http://www.thecinnamontree.co.uk/

Location
On a popular side street in Canton, very limited parking available outside.

Ambience
Busy, but slightly canteen style with all the tables arranged in rows.

Service
Plenty of staff who seemed keen to please and overall good service.

Menu Choice
An abundance of tempting sounding dishes to choose from, with more exotic duck, ostrich and venison.

Food Quality
Below average – all the sauces of the dishes tasted the same apart from the amount of curry powder used to make them spicy. (A variety of dishes were ordered.) Chicken was slightly chewy and gave the impression of being reheated. Considering the choice available on the menu and the fact that the prices are on the high side, this was bitterly disappointing.

Value for Money
Prices generally high, around £8 for a main course without rice.

Overall Rating
2/5 – a good menu let down by the quality of the actual dishes and the fact that they all look and taste the same apart from the strength. There are many better restaurants around.

Restaurant Name: Eurasian Tandoori
Town: Cowbridge Road, Cardiff
Date Visited: November 2009

Location
On the main road in Canton, very limited parking available outside.

Ambience
Normally a busy restaurant, an slight smell of disinfectant.

Service
Plenty of staff who are keen to please.

Menu Choice
One major point – this restaurant does not serve alcohol. You can bring your own though. A good choice of dishes are available to suit all tastes.

Food Quality
The quality of the sauces are excellent – rich and tasty. However the prawns we tasted were dry and shrivelled up. Chicken was good although the tikka has a slightly tangy taste.

Value for Money
Prices generally good.

Overall Rating
3/5 – a good menu let down by the quality of the prawns and the fact that you cannot buy alcohol with your meal.

Restaurant Name: Jamuna

Town: Birchgrove, Cardiff

Date Visited: August 2009

Location
On the main road from Cardiff to Caerphilly, near Birchgrove pub. Parking tricky at times.

Ambience
Décor somewhat like a transport café, with no tablecloths. Lack of cleaniness in some places. Door to toilets open for all to see from nearby tables. Generally poor hygiene in the gents’ toilet.

Service
Very polite waiters and quick service but poor presentation at table.

Menu Choice
A reasonable choice of chef’s specialties together with the standard Indian dishes. A range of prawn and vegetable options.

Food Quality
Puppadoms slightly old and sweaty. Good rice (plain and pulao) ,fluffy, if a little tepid. The sauces of the main dishes were lacking in depth and tangy taste. The chicken, particularly, was very chewy.

Value for Money
Average.

Overall Rating
1/5 – disappointing. The food was adequate, but the surroundings, presentation and questionable cleanliness standards let this rsetaurant down badly.

Restaurant Name: The Bay Leaf
Town: 28-30, High Street, Llandaff, Cardiff
Date Visited: July 2009
Website:

Location
Situated on the road to Llandaff Cathedral  (turn off the A4119)

Ambience
Somewhat small and tables rather close together but pleasant atmosphere.

Service
We have visited this restaurant on a few occasions previously and have not         been disappointed. On our review visit however the staff seemed quite detached and not particularly welcoming. Service speed was average. It was a moderately busy Friday evening

Menu Choice
Excellent choice to suit all tastes with some interesting and unusual chef’s specialties.

Food Quality
Again we were disappointed with this particular meal. The Prawn Balti lacked onions and peppers and was almost indistinguishable from a prawn curry.  Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi  did not live up to its usual chilli pepper strength. Real and delicious  lime pickle though.

Value for Money
Prices average for Cardiff and therefore reasonable.

Overall Rating
No more than 3/5 for this visit, but we plan to return.