"I went to this establishment recently. I know my Indian food very well and I can assure you that this is definitely not indian food, or even Bangladeshi food. Firstly, I found it suspect that neither the outside of the restaurant nor the interior has any smell of Indian food. This may sound odd for someone to read, but this to me proves that the food is pre cooked and then heated up and served. A bit worrying. I also like to refer to the Food Standards Agency website before I visit a restaurant to check out the hygiene rating. Note that Shikara is not registered for a hygiene rating. At the time of doing this review, no entry for Shikara comes up in the Food Standards Agency website, which means the restaurant has not registered a real worry. The staff are however very accommodating and friendly, so I'd disagree with the other reviews on service /staff. The interior is clean and modern. The food? Awful. The curries are extremely bland with no spices. It is as though they've been covered with a tomato sauce and nothing else. The tandoori grilled meats are marginally better, but I suppose you couldn't really go wrong with grilled meats. The fact that we got offered a drink on the house is a lovely touch. However, I'd suggest that the owners of this restaurant truly consider changing the chef to one that makes authentic Indian food. If the food improved here, I am confident that the restaurant ratings would shoot up, but I'd also advise the owners to obtain a Food Safety Agency hygiene license. Without this, it seriously risks losing credibility as a food establishment."
