Shingara
Old India

Old India

34 St. Nicholas Street Bristol, BS1 1TG, BS1 1JX, United Kingdom

Beer • Sushi • Indian • Pakistani


"I am usually lazy about writing reviews, however my experience was so average that I believe it’s worth taking time out to let others know of my experience. Me and my wife arrived at 7:20 on a Friday, from the outside it’s a grand building but made to look tacky and cheap by the multi coloured lights. As we entered the building we were greeted with beer kegs, hot plates, chutney trays and just storage area in general. We looked around and there was no one to greet us, we had to get back out to the street to look for a new entrance as we thought it might have been the staff entrance. Unfortunately it wasn’t, and it was very dark and dingy. Once seated we were waiting for our friends to join us, so we had a quick scan of the place. Inside was also very grand, however you had electrical cupboard doors left open, hotplates all over the place and carpets that haven’t been changed over 30 years. This is definitely not the place if you want the romantic setting for an anniversary or a special occasion. There were 3 servers, and initially they were prompt with the drinks order. I must say the mango lassi was very good. However trying to get their attention after this initial interaction was pretty impossible. Once the menu was handed to us, it was falling apart and had curry stains on it. The tamarind sauce for the poppadoms were nice and different, however they didn’t even wait for us to finish the poppadoms before bringing the starters out. Once the starters were done, we left the plates and cutlery on the for the servers to clean but after 30 min it was still there, I called all 3 servers individually over to ask them to take it away but non of them did. The toilet had a foul smell of urine, really unclean and didn’t look like it was cleaned for weeks. So much so told my wife not to go and use it as she would be disgusted by it. The mains were very plain, my karai was very bland and my wife’s sag prawn was the worst we ever tried in an Indian restaurant. It feels like the chefs/ owners don’t have quality control or passion for food. I’m very critical as I have worked in an Indian restaurant for many years and it’s not hard to keep on top of all the things I have mentioned. But this place doesn’t care and is just interested in serving mediocre food to its customers."

City Spice

City Spice

63 Lattimore Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, St Albans, AL13XL, E1 6RU, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom

Meat • Indian • Catering • Bangladeshi


"On the 170m walk up Brick Lane from the Premier Hub, this critically acclaimed restaurant was the only curry house not to harass me to eat, convincing me that passing the other 22 curry houses was worth it. Was it? The window is adorned with reviews like a heavyweight boxer’s trophy room (See images) with the diners inside tucking in , but is it really The King of Brick Lane”? They have a dedicated vegan menu (1st in Brick Lane) with a mix of traditional vegan specialties and plenty of plant based meat substitute dishes too (see menu) with a Bangladeshi Indian influence. [hidden link] A good measure of a older style trad restaurant is the Thali and it was up there with the best of the best. I’ve read why folk want it to be 5 stars and I couldn’t agree more on flavour alone. Shahi Sahakari Thali £18.95 Shahi Sahakari loosely translates as The vegan king . A thali style platter containing a mixture of uribeeshi biran, bombay aloo, begun daal gatta, chowle achar, chappati and rice… The Bombay Aloo had a warming comforting flavour and the potatoes intact but fluffy and soft. The Begun Daal Gatta was a stunning dish of lentils and aubergine (begun) garnished with a fine selection of herbs. This medium spiced curry really did wow me and I’d like it as a main. The Uribeeshi Biran is the beans of a a runnerbean (uribeeshi) which have been fried (biran) with onions and a blend of spices. The beans have bite and work well with the rice although drier than I’d imagined. The Chowle Achar was a surprise as it’s not listed on the Thali menu! The kabali chickpeas are pan cooked with mixed garlic, ginger, punch poron and blended with spread pickle, accompanied by a delicious thin sauce. They were cooked to perfection and with the chapati were second only to the daal as my favourite. The rice and chapati were nice but I had to order an extra chapati so I could ensure every bowl was wiped clean and finished. Not a morsel left. If I’m to be critical, it was expensive and I’d have preferred the Thali on a Thali plate with a little more rice and 2 chapatis, but I couldn’t fault the cooking."