Tamarind - A touch of class in Teversham.

The Tamarind has been a favourite of mine for many years now.  I used to eat here at least once a month back when I lived in Cherry Hinton. I love everything about the place, yet I havent been in well over a year since I have moved away, so I decided to hit it again for old times sake.

Don't forget they do buffet on Sunday!

The Tamarind could be easily missed if it wasn't for this sign outside, the restaurant is located in the old school which is a really historic and beautiful building.
The parking is good too, there is a very large open gravel drive to stick your car which is handy as Teversham doesn't have many decent transport links, especially if you live outside of town.

Once you enter the building you are presented with the polar opposite to its historic appearance on the outside with a modern and trendy interior. The staff are quick to greet you and lead you to a table. The place is one of the more modern establishments which seem to dominate the Indian restaurant scene in Cambridge now days, like Cafe Naz, Zara and to a lesser extent Vujon.  

The place has white walls, cream seats and very warm red paintings. There is little decoration around to imply its an Indian restaurant at all really. It is very minimalist, clean and very well put together. Some might like this, some might not. Personally I like it, but I do prefer the charm of the cosy traditional Indian decoration if I can, such as The Kohinoori or The Maharajah, but the new modern Indian restaurants still have their place too.

The staff were incredibly warm and chatty. They struck up a conversation immediately so we received a lot of banter. They were quick to serve us and quick to return with anything we asked, food and drinks alike. I really couldn't fault them.

They had both Cobra and Kingfisher on tap, which is a safe bet on their part. You cant really go wrong with them there, and they had both of the famous and most popular brands. We ended up having a Kingfisher each as we find Cobra a little too bold for our tastes. We were pleased to see that prices were competitive at under £4 (though sadly well more than a pint should be!).

We ordered our papadums which came out immediately. We were given three sauces which were excellently presented in a giant white china plate. Sadly we only had three sauces, mango chutney, onion salad and yoghurt so we had to order an extra lime pickle, which wasn't much of a problem. 

The mango chutney was thick and incredibly smooth, it was particularly sweet and incredibly rich, just the way I like it. The onion salad and very well cut and had a perfect balance of ingredients. The yogurt had a great texture to it also, though it did lack a little flavour, but was by no means flavourless!

The lime pickle was bold in character and quit sharp, just how it should be! It was cut well and tasted lovely. 

Though they were served in white china, the portions were average. Sometimes you find that white china containers with papadums sides cannot hold a lot, but this managed to just about give us what we needed without asking for more. 

It wasn't just the beer which was competitive but the food too. 

Being quite a classy establishment we were expecting to pay higher end prices but we found that most curries were lingering around the £5.50-£6 mark. A tikka'd curry would be only an extra £1 and the rice was just over £2. 

So reasonable all round really. 

We ended up ordering a saag aloo main, a madrass and a chicken tikka vindaloo, along with two portions of rice. The food came out within half an hour and was presented on a hot plate heated by mini candles. It was quite a nice touch I must admit.

The tikka was easily worth the extra £1.

The portion sizes were all very reasonable and they were presented excellently.  The saag aloo was delicious, and the spinach tasted very fresh. The potato was an excellent texture and it was full of so much flavour. 

The vindaloo sauce had a very rich smoky taste and the chicken was served in large lumps which just crumbled when you stuck your fork in it. The curry had a bit of a kick to it but nothing that would blow you away. If you like your vindaloo hot then I would ask for it hotter on order, this doesn't come across as a place which goes out to blow your head off. 

The rice portions were good, they had a thick heavy texture and served us well. 

When we had finished we asked for the bill.
They brought out two white pills on a plate which they poured boiling water over, this made it expand in to a hot towel. I have seen this at several places before and though its a very fun novelty it doesn't really provide you with a very decent hot towel, just a moist wet wipe.

We were given the bill along with two chocolates and some aniseed sweets. It was really appreciated and just what we needed after a meal like that. I think if they had supplied us with a shot of something at the end of the meal, like at Golden Curry, then it would have been perfect end.

The bill came to a very reasonable and competitive rate.  We were both pleasantly surprised with the bill considering how much we ordered, the quality of what we ordered and the service we received. 

I really cannot fault the Tamarind.
Its bright, open and very clean.
It really hasn't lost its style or quality in any sense of the word. The staff are warm, chatty and punctual. The prices are competitive and the food is great. You get nearly everything you could want with your food from a hot towel to chocolates and sweets.

I cannot help but think that this would be a great place to take someone on a date or perhaps your family.

Being one of the modern Indian restaurants in Cambridge, you can see why they dominate the rest...pure class all around.

4.5/5