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READER
REVIEW:
The
Royal Leicester, Lockerbie Walk Rushey Mead Leicester LE4 7ZX
By
Paul Motley |
It was Rob
the accountant's stag night and rather than embark on the usual rowdy
drunken night out with boys, which usually ended with the groom being
tied to the railings with his trousers flying from the nearest object
which resembled a flagpole, he had elected to go for an authentic
Indian meal with his work colleagues - which, from his point of view,
was probably a safer option.
There were
five of us in the party and we had been directed by Rob's
departmental colleague of Gujurati origin to an Indian pub called The
Royal Leicester, the venue had some strong recommendations for
serving good earthy authentic Indian food, so we embarked on the
journey from various parts of Northamptonshire to the next county.
After battling
with the satellite navigation system, which wanted to send us the
longer motorway route, we eventually found the venue, which was
situated about a mile away from Leicester's famous curry-run of
Belgrave Road. The pub from the outside was a seventies constructed
building of which the natural theme continued to the interior, not by
way of a contemplated theme but the fact that it had escaped any
facelift with no attempt having ever been made to drag into the new
millennium. Please regard this as an observation rather than a
criticism because the place had a certain charm and exuded character
and warmth which would surely have left the venue with any attempt by
developers to turn it into a modern and trendy wine bar, which seems
to be the fashion at present.
After choosing
one of the Formica tables we ordered drinks from the bar and grabbed
a menu at the same time, there was no separate dining room or area,
you ate where you sat. The format was unpretentious but then again so
were the prices of both food and drink. At the point of ordering the
meal the waiter politely enquired to our Gurarati colleague whether
the chilli heat should be toned down a little for his English
friends, a considerate thought which was declined.
We chose to
have two large sizzling platters as appetisers and when I say large I
mean large, these consisted of various meat and chicken kebabs
without an E number in sight. We also ordered chilli fried mogo
chips, these were accompanied by a chilli relish, a simple raita and
a basic salad. All the chicken kebabs were moist, well spiced and the
seekh kebabs of a good texture and full of subtle flavour. The chilli
fried mogo made a good contrast to the meat selection and was
something a little different from the norm. The main course came
about half an hour later by our request so as to give time to digest
the starters and regain our appetites. Between us we order King prawn
masala, of medium strength, King prawn, (which I cannot remember the
exact title of but were described as having extra chilli heat), both
the prawn dishes were delicately spiced, leaving the prawn flavour to
the full and not overspiced, the prawns had also been cooked for just
the right length of time, enabling the full flavour to dominate.
Methi meat which was full bodied with tender lamb chunks engulfed in
pungent green methi leaves, a standard chicken masala, which was
delightfully spiced with the chicken being of a good quality and
flavour. The side dishes were also superb; Palak Paneer had generous
chunks of soft paneer which had soaked up the flavour of the gravy
and the spinach was not over pureed, which is so often the case.
The new kid on
the block for me was a dish called "Ondo", it was potatoes
with, I think, split mung dal in a well-balanced spicy gravy; the
dish I was assured is of Gujurati origin. We also had the customary
rice but unfortunately chapattis were not served, the only choice was
Nan bread which personally I do find little too filling but on
request they were made a little thinner than the norm and were ate
with gusto by everybody.
I defiantly
would return there again and will. The genuinely friendly and
obliging staff plus the relaxed warm atmosphere of the place also
enhanced the evening in general. Rob the groom enjoyed his chosen
stag night and his food and is now a happily married man. |
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