Any Curry house that has its own pub / bar has to be different and the Sardar Palace is. You can start your evening with a quiet dink in the Sardar's own "pub" listening to a few tunes on their jukebox. A Curry house with a jukebox!!!! You never knew Ravi Shankar had so many hits!!!
After a swift half on to the restaurant, the whole decor of the place is very Las Vegas, large polystyrene pillars hang from the ceiling not quite going anywhere and the clever alignment of mirrors gives the impression of being seated in a large buffet type Vegas lounge. Only real downside was that we were sat directly facing the forty foot bar which lessened the atmosphere and made you feel more like you were queueing for more beer late on a saturday night.
Most importantly the food. This is where the Sardar scores very highly. Not because of the worst popadoms in history (full of seeds and spices, no plain available!), but because the excellent starters serverd on a sizzler were well cooked and seasoned beautifully. It was sightly unusual to have tandoori chicken where the tandoori was only a coating on the outside of the meat but as it was so well cooked one musn't grumble.
The main courses also were well presented and cooked, only the Las Vegas theme was starting to ring alarm bells in the back of our heads.....was this curry all it appeared or would we be reminded of it in the days to come???
Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb rogan and Chicken Biryiani were enjoyed by all, and the sides of Naan and Roti have to be the best sampled anywhere so far on our travels.
So what was becoming a very good meal suddenly took a turn for the worse. No sign of any dessert and the "waiter" asking how much tip we would like to leave took the gloss off an interesting evening. The Vegas theme also continued in the toilets. You went through the brightly lit neon door wondering where you wouldbe taken on this magical mystery tour, only to be slightly dissapointed by average urinals, not some back room Vegas cabaret!!!
Oh well, the Sardar started on a good note but eventually just failed to deliver...until the next day of course when it delivered in spades......anytime you wake up and can smell last nights dinner is never a good sign.
BM
Randdy Dogoe gave this restaurant 60
Bret Myri scored this establishment 65
Rich Rebrys (Guest Reviewer) rated this restaurant 64