The Cambridge Curry Community

Though I have never been part of the fast food bashing brigade, I have never been overly be fond of fast food either. I think there is a time and a place for eating a Mc Donalds once in a while yet I really don't like eating it too often either. Life is about balance. While I was waiting in Subway down Mill Road  the other day with my sister I couldn't help but notice that the prices were quite different from the last time I was there. A Subway meal deal coming to around £6.50 for a sandwich, cookie and a drink.  Its the same with Burger King too. The other week while I was in there with my son it came to around the same price, being well over £6 for their biggest meal, a burger (which was smaller than I remember), chips and a coke. I often find myself hungry a few hours after too! Either way, it got me thinking. During my frolics around the local Indian houses in Cambridge you become familiar of the average prices of the dishes, especially when you order very ...

We decided to hit Cherry Hinton (or Chinton, as its known to the locals) and try out the Sitar Tandoori. Its been a while! I have eaten here several times in the past during a brief period when I lived here and I remember it being a decent place to eat. That was quite a while ago now, so I thought I would visit and remind myself of its quality.  As you can see from the picture above the place looks bright and bold, it stands out with its bright vivid colours and has a very clean and a well put together appearance. When we walked in we were warmly greeted by two very well presented young men who showed us to our table. They pulled our chair out and put napkins on our lap.  They immediately put out an Indian mix on our tables to snack on before taking our orders.  Quite a nice touch. While we nibbled we had a look around the restaurant and took in the decoration. The place, like the outside, looks clean and well put together. They have traditi...

We have recently finished our tour of the Indian restaurants scene down Mill Road after being on a mini quest to find out which one on the famous street of culture and diversity is king. Naturally its quite a hard thing to determine considering how many different factors there are in making a fine Indian restaurant, but as I have been to many of these places in the past I like to think I have a rough idea of their standards already, that being said, for the sake of this review, I have visited them all one last time to refresh my memory.  There was a time when Mill Road was loaded with many traditional and British Indian establishments. Sadly as time has passed, and like the pubs in Cambridge, they have all dried up. Now we are left with only four  restaurants. The Golden Curry , the newly refurbished Golden Curry.  The Curry Queen , a traditional gem which hasn't changed in years. The Kohinoor , a cosy and traditional Indian restaurant well known for its man...

The weather has been great lately, hasnt it?  The sun is shining, people are wearing shorts, heck, people have even been getting sun burned. Its been a real scorcher of a day in the fine city of Cambridge.  So naturally, it was time for a steaming hot vindaloo! Next on our list as part of our Mill Road tour is the Kohinoor.  Well known for its good value promotions and beautiful decoration, the Kohinoor has long been established as one of the most consistent places on Mill Road. Especially during a time when Indian restaurants on Mill Road are slowly declining from 6 restaurants a few years back, down to just 4 - The Kohinoor must be doing something right! The first ever Cambridge Curry Crew event was at the Kohinoor, which was actually the last time I ate there.  It has a real historic and emotional connection for me and shows how desperately it needed reviewing. If you scroll down the blog you will see guest reviewer Edmu...

I was invited by the good folks at Nasreen Dar the other day to try the "best samosas in town".So naturally we were over there like a shot as I love a good Samosa. The place is located on Histon Road, just around the corner from Castle Street, where a lot of the best Indian restaurants in Cambridge are located.  The place has seating inside and out, and is surrounded by free parking in the residential areas close by. The place is set up as a market/cafe which has a selection of sweets and Indian style pastries to enjoy while lounging around on their sofa's an outside seating. One thing I have learned about my curry journey is how there is so much more to Indian cuisine than the usual British tandooris all around the UK. Nasreen Dar is a cafe/supermarket which offers a large variety of Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistania and Middle Eastern food.  Most of their stuff it is buy to take home, being a supermarket, but there is a small selection of food to chose fr...

A restaurant which pops up often when asking people about their favourite Indian in Cambridge is Pipasha's.  Located down Newmarket Road opposite the Cambridge UTD Abbey stadium, Pipasha's it isnt much of a sight to behold from the outside. Yet it seems to be a place many people choose over many other fine establishments in Cambridge.  So I thought I would assemble the Cambridge Curry Crew and check it out for ourselves! The response I received when setting up the event on Facebook was incredibly positive . Like I stated above, this place seems to go down well with the people.  We managed to get a respectable crowd of 12 people to the event. Some coming as far as Norwich. A few of us decided to go a bit early and have a warm up beer at the table. We were greeted on entry and shown to our table and served immediately. I have been to Pipasha's quite a few times in the past so I am very familiar with their friendly, chatty and approachable staf...

Bollywood Spice, aka The Slap Up, has had its ups and downs over the years. I have dined there for nearly ten years as a Waterbeach local and it has gone through phases of being quite good to quite bad. It was never the prettiest place on the outside, or inside for that matter. It did however, usually manage to do a damned good curry.  Several years ago it was taken over and turned in to a Bollywood Spice. Here is my take... The first thing you notice from the outside is the decoration. If anyone remembers The Slap Up, they would soon tell you it looks horrible from the outside. A plain white building which looks run down and located right next to a busy main road. Bollywood Spice has made a lot of effort to make it look more presentable and offer a bit of that Bollywood bling from the moment you lay eyes on it.  The Slap Up  Bollywood Spice Bollywood Spice goes quite flamboyant with bright pink paint and a flashy red sign on the top. They have made a l...