My Dad, my cousin and I went out for an all-too-rare curry last night - all-too-rare because work commitments usually nix mid-week fraternising (or paternising and consanguinising I should say) But despite my cousin Stuart needing to emerge for work at 5.30am he braved a trip to darkest West Sussex on a mid-week evening, all in the name of curry.
Last time my Dad and I went currying we ended up at the excellent Spice Cottage in Westbourne, but tonight, on recommendation, we took the shorter route to Spice Village in Emsworth. It's an ex-pub on the corner of the Market Square and when we arrived there was a fellow being treated on the pavement by paramedics, who we hoped hadn't just been dining. Very big place inside all decked out in 70s orange, with strange lights which intensified and dimmed throughout the evening giving the impression of being in a jack-o-lantern. We were greeted and seated...then depleted...as no-one came near us for ten minutes - no menu, no offer of a refreshing lager or poppadoms, no recognition that we were there whatsoever, which was disconcerting. I eventually had to call over a waiter who seemed surprised to see us. He gave us menus and disappeared, then the bloke who sat us down eventually wafted over to take orders. Everyone was walking around as if they were balancing a baby on their heads - and a sickly one at that. Very odd.
Eventually we got our order in and out popped starters of chicken tikka, bhaji, and sheek kebab. Nothing out of the ordinary, but no drama, except for the over-application of sweet fried onions liberally spread over everything.
The mains were next - we had Goan King Prawn (Dad), Chicken Tikka (no sauce - Cuz) and Assam King prawn (me) The Assam KP was astoundingly good, cooked as it was in a hottish sauce with spiced butternut squash pieces and aromatic cardamon pods. Stuart's Tikka was pronounced very tasty - came with a nice fresh salad which he loved because he's a bit of a salad guy - and Dad's chicken was just the right degree of hot for him (he rarely gets to have curries - my Mum doesn't do curries - so he likes to push his boundaries and get some spice when he's at it)
The SV is owned by the same people who own the Indian Cottage(s) in Portsmouth - the one on Highland Road is my nearest curry house and is still hard to beat - so it has an excellent pedigree. Despite the weird doings of the staff and the eerie lighting it comes fully sanctioned by CdP, and although there be dragons near by (West Sussex) the good town of Emsworth is still within God's Own County so you can sup light-heartedly.
Find Spice Village on Google Maps
View Larger Map
Last time my Dad and I went currying we ended up at the excellent Spice Cottage in Westbourne, but tonight, on recommendation, we took the shorter route to Spice Village in Emsworth. It's an ex-pub on the corner of the Market Square and when we arrived there was a fellow being treated on the pavement by paramedics, who we hoped hadn't just been dining. Very big place inside all decked out in 70s orange, with strange lights which intensified and dimmed throughout the evening giving the impression of being in a jack-o-lantern. We were greeted and seated...then depleted...as no-one came near us for ten minutes - no menu, no offer of a refreshing lager or poppadoms, no recognition that we were there whatsoever, which was disconcerting. I eventually had to call over a waiter who seemed surprised to see us. He gave us menus and disappeared, then the bloke who sat us down eventually wafted over to take orders. Everyone was walking around as if they were balancing a baby on their heads - and a sickly one at that. Very odd.
Eventually we got our order in and out popped starters of chicken tikka, bhaji, and sheek kebab. Nothing out of the ordinary, but no drama, except for the over-application of sweet fried onions liberally spread over everything.
The mains were next - we had Goan King Prawn (Dad), Chicken Tikka (no sauce - Cuz) and Assam King prawn (me) The Assam KP was astoundingly good, cooked as it was in a hottish sauce with spiced butternut squash pieces and aromatic cardamon pods. Stuart's Tikka was pronounced very tasty - came with a nice fresh salad which he loved because he's a bit of a salad guy - and Dad's chicken was just the right degree of hot for him (he rarely gets to have curries - my Mum doesn't do curries - so he likes to push his boundaries and get some spice when he's at it)
The SV is owned by the same people who own the Indian Cottage(s) in Portsmouth - the one on Highland Road is my nearest curry house and is still hard to beat - so it has an excellent pedigree. Despite the weird doings of the staff and the eerie lighting it comes fully sanctioned by CdP, and although there be dragons near by (West Sussex) the good town of Emsworth is still within God's Own County so you can sup light-heartedly.
Find Spice Village on Google Maps
View Larger Map
0 comments:
Post a Comment