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The Curry House - review by helenleckie

Rating: 4.0

Location: 393 Bath Road, BS4 3EU, Bristol, United Kingdom

Tags: indian, Bath Road, Showcase, Avonmeads, arnos vale, helpful staff, Bristol, rare finds, curry

I have often walked by Curry House on my way to the bus after leaving Avonmeads Showcase Cinema or the bowling alley. Usually I am full of fast food of the variety that exists in out of town shopping areas: pizza hut, McDonalds. While there's nothing wrong with that, sometimes I wish for something I couldn't get in every town in the westernised world.

I was first enticed by the aroma of the Curry House. The warm smell of Indian spices and marinading chicken and lamb envelopes you on the dark, freezing walk to the bus stop, and its attractively lit windows look like a much better place to wait for the unreliable Number 1 bus.

So anyway, this time I finally remembered about it in advance, and booked a table for Valentine's Day (hard to beat that dinner-and-a-movie date!). We had onion bhajees, poppadums, butter chicken and lamb rogan. Not very adventurous of us, but a good way to compare it to other curry restaurants. The butter chicken was creamy and coconutty, and my husband was pleased that he could taste the butter! I preferred the lamb rogon, which was cooked the right amount, so the lamb was soft, and tasted of lamb, not just a hard, fibrous lump. The onion bhajees were also done well, crispy, and their flat shape helped avoid that floury dough you sometimes get in the middle.

The prices were a little daunting (around £9-£10 for a main), but this includes rice, which brings the cost down a little. The menu had all the things you might expect, as well as some chef's specialities.

The service was helpful and genuinely friendly, the waiters asking about our Valentine's day, and sharing some of themselves in an appropriate way (I'm sure they would have left us alone if we did not want to talk). The decor is clean and modern, but not in a cold way.

All in all, this place does a decent curry. Nothing experimental and outrageous, just well-cooked food. It's a little on the expensive side, but it's worth it. And there's nothing like it in the area. I would definitely recommend a visit.

PS, I've just seen their website and found out they're award-winning, and they also do kangaroo and quail dishes. I didn't notice them on the menu, but look out for them - perhaps I'm wrong about the non-experimental side!
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