Upon arrival at EastzEast we were greeted by a man in a traditional Punjabi outfit and an attractive hostess who sat us down in the upstairs bar area whilst we waited for everyone else to arrive.
We all pulled up on the double yellow lines outside the restaurant and handed our keys over to take advantage of the valet parking – great start.
We all had a drink upstairs but were then informed that this could not be put on the bill and had to be paid for before we went downstairs. Not wanting to dish out £24.00 for everyone’s drinks and not wanting to ask everyone for £3 we asked why it could not go on the bill and they eventually agreed after much persuasion.
We were then taken to our seats by the attractive hostess and sat down on a long stylish table with very comfy seats. The restaurant was very busy for a Wednesday evening with around 50+ people dining at the same time as us.
The menu was varied with standard curries, madras, korma and dupiaza at a very reasonable price of £5.95-£6.95 along with a large selection of dishes that you would not find in most restaurants.
The drivers were drinking small bottles of ice cold cobra and the non drivers went for the draft Tufan which was fantastic.
The poppadoms were ordered and they came quickly with 7 different dips, onion, mint raita, lime & pickle, mango chutney, chilli sauce, coleslaw, which were all delicious. The pops were fresh and crispy.
A selection of starters were ordered and these were rated average to good apart from one member who ordered keema paratha which he was very disappointed with giving it a mere 1/10 with comments such as “it tastes like cardboard” and “I can’t eat this it is foul”.
Most members opted for a new curry that they hadn’t tried before but again were left a little disappointed as the dishes were high in price (around £9 - £10) and were not very flavoursome. The portion sizes were small and the meat portions were disappointing. One member of the curry council had to return their meal as it was stone cold.
The rice was of a good standard and the naans whilst huge in size were very thin and luke warm when they arrived – but they did arrive hung on a naan spike.
We got the bill and it was a very reasonable £24.00 each for 2 pops/dips each, starter, main course, rice and naan and 2 drinks each – this did not include a tip.
The drivers then handed their raffle ticket back in for the return of their cars. It appeared that one members car had still not been moved from the double yellow lines into the Valet Parking area as it was outside on the road before we even handed the tickets over.
We were heading home and it must have been at least 20 minutes since we left the restaurant when we got a telephone call from one of the other members to say they had only just got their car back and that one other member was still waiting for his – this member has not been seen or heard of since.
The decor of the restaurant is very modern, almost like a city centre bar than an Indian restaurant, the service was good with regular visits to the table to ask for more drinks and when asked for more onion and mango chutney for the poppadoms, 4 large new portions arrived and we were not charged extra.
At £10 for a main course it was feared that the cost would break the £30 barrier for the first time but at £24 each we were pleasantly surprised. For a Wednesday night the atmosphere was excellent with a good mix of people. The toilet facilities were very clean and modern and the valet parking is a great idea but only works if you don’t have to wait for 30 minutes for the return of your car which put a dampener on the evening.
The food was okay with the pops and dips (photo above) being the best part of the meal. This restaurant has won numerous awards over the years – yes the place is very stylish with good service but the food is a bit of a let down. They must do much better if it wants to win the award that matters most – The Curry Council Curry House of the Year 2008.
Ratings
Food 7/10
Service 10/10
Atmosphere 8/10
Value for money 7/10
Originality 8/10
Overall 8/10
