Spice of India, The Cut, Waterloo (27th July 2010) by Basky

The summer season meant that ROTters were few and far between but eventually, after a late flurry of emails and phone calls, we were able to muster a reasonable attendance. Newts Senior, Junior, Pymster and Basky converged on The Kings Arms in Roupel Street.

When the GRN is away, the ROTers will play!  There was a relaxed, 'hippie-like' mood in the Kings Arms, which quickly degenerated into almost total anarchy.  ROT violations came thick and fast.  First, there was no kitty (can you imagine it!), next, one member (who shall remain nameless - but you can probably guess who) decided that he would be drinking that fizzy, frozen, wee-coloured beverage.  We had only just forgiven him for wearing a pair of Telly Savalas shades, and then he goes and requests a pint of lager! Mayhem!

We didn't stay long in the pub, probably our shortest ever visit, but the couple of pints of Doom Bar and Pride we sampled went down well.

The Spice of India had opened it's large front windows, which gave it a welcoming and 'airy' feel.  After papadoms and chutneys, we ordered a diverse selection of mains from the menu, plus the obligatory tarka dahl.  The Lamb Rezala had a distinctive flavour and was reasonably spicy.  The service was as friendly and attentive as usual.

Simply Indian, Tabard St., SE1 (6th April 2010) by Junior

A core group of RoT –ers attended this remarkable evening, hosted by Junior (looking less like his nickname with every passing day) as an introduction to his new ‘manor’. It was duly noted by the attendees (Vowler, Newts Senior and GRN Bates) that the ‘first Tuesday in the month’ once again threw many of our clan, having only been the case for ten or so years of RoT-ing, it has yet to gel with some members, who persistently schedule meetings and other events on this hallowed day.

Whilst falling somewhat short of the bile and vitriol the GRN wished poured upon you, I must comment that it seems strange that such a simple concept can cause such angst. It’s the first Tuesday of the month, and I guess will remain so (unless changed by consensus and prior arrangement) for some time to come.

So to the ale house. The Royal Oak Tabard Street is a gem, a proper pub that can entertain in harmony both the builders and the media types found on this particular night. Well kept Harveys of all varieties was on tap, although no guest ale was to be found, the best, pale ale and mild were all sampled with only the latter causing a raised eyebrow due to its somewhat watery taste. GRN found his way to the Thatchers West Country cider – a move not copied by the wiser West Country bred brethren in attendance, who have seen the dreaded ‘apples’ put paid to many a stout yeoman, friend and warrior.

A few ales later we crossed the road to the extremely convenient Simply Indian. Being a BYO, we dispatched a few of the crew to the ubiquitous Tesco Metro around the corner to secure quantities of Cobra. Sadly, Tesco’s was sold out so Peroni and Heineken were bought as poor substitute. Now Simply Indian was a recommendation from friends in the area and proved an excellent dining experience. GRN sampled the duck curry, Chicken Jalfrezi, Halibut and meatball curry were ordered with some sides, rice and naan. To say that this tiny little venue was a revelation is an understatement. The food was fresh, innovative, free from ghee and delicious. Add the fact that the mains were between £6 and £7 and we struggled to see how they could make a living. Fabulous little gem of a place and is top of my list for take aways and impromptu rubys.

The night fizzled somewhat as Arsenal took a thrashing from Barcelona, leaving Vowler a little down in the mouth, and Senior (looking every bit his nickname with every passing day) having to drive, thus we departed for our various worlds early. Verdict: a top pub, top curry, short on attendance. Shame on you as it was genuinely your loss.

Swagat, 86 Hill Rise, Richmond (2nd March 2010) by mikebate

The monthly RoT rendez-vous was plagued by illness and on-the-day drop-outs (even though drop-outs usually attend) with no excuses.

The pub selected for our support was the excellent White Cross in Richmond. It was a little cool inside because their unique, under-the-windowsill, fireplace was out of service due to smoke leakage but the beer and atmosphere was as good as ever.

Basky and Zippy met at the arranged time at 6.30pm with other less-polite members turning up over the next hour, including Pymster who rudely had gone on a run and came into The White Cross sweating, like someone who was overdoing it, wearing a pink T-shirt and his Dad’s old 1960’s baggy shorts. He definitely won’t have bikini-clad women chasing him like Benny Hill used to. Fortunately no beads of sweat infested our fine pints of Youngs.

Jezza turned up to drink tap water due to his liver having been diagnosed as suffering from RoT excesses. Newtsey turned up after a long journey only to decide that, due to the lack of human habitation where he lives, the taxis would not relish meeting him at a late hour so he promptly left after 2 pints for another 1.5 hour trip back. This is a shame because, apart from a brief sip of a Cobra, he missed out on Swagat.

Swagat is a new Indian restaurant that replaced an old-fashioned Greek restaurant on Hill Rise Richmond. It seems that Greek cuisine is out of fashion in this country at the moment. The Pymster warned us that is was a bit pricey but RoT’s charter is to review new places.

The popadoms were superb – thick and crispy with pleasant pickles. Strangely, just like the Bombay Bicycle last month, they don’t do lime pickle but we had an interesting spicy mango pickle instead.

The menu had some interesting variations on the usual Indian fare. I had Prawn Molee ‘cooked in coconut sauce and tempered with curry leaves and mustard seeds’. The king prawns were succulent and the dish delicious. Basky’s Chicken Tikka Masala (described on the menu as "Masala Liptey Murgh"), despite a higher quality than usual sauce, was a little bland but it serves him right for choosing the most boring Indian dish known to man. It is usually meant for the unwashed masses who daren’t try anything new. Pymster had Lamb Sagwala – Spring lamb with spinach and a bit of garlic and cream. The lamb was excellent but the dish was a little plain-tasting. Tee-total Jezza had Chicken Tikka Makhani ‘Tandoori morsels of chicken tikka cooked in clarified butter, sun dried fenugreek flavoured tomato cream sauce’. He said it was delicious but ate it before we could try any.   The vegetables were chick peas ‘tempered with ginger, green chilli and raw mango powder’, roasted aubergines sautéed with onion, tomato, garlic and cumin, and ‘Yellow Dal Tadka’. All were very good.

The restaurant has a low-light ambience, was full when we visited, and had some good chill-out music. It is indeed a little pricey, especially the vegetable side dishes at an unreasonable £5 served in a small cup. Main courses are probably about 10% higher than other good quality restaurants but overall the price per head worked out at about £25 which included a large bottle of Cobra.

Tangawizi across the bridge still gets our vote in terms of superb, good-value, dishes in a great contemporary atmosphere but Swagat is definitely worth a visit and is sure to survive with the Richmond gentry on its doorstep.

Bombay Bicycle, Balham (2nd February 2010) by Jim

Then it came time for dinner at The Bombay Bicycle, a long established quality Curry house that for some reason had never had the pleasure of a ROT visit.

The Geeks amongst us were extremely disappointed that they didn’t have the chance to use their ITphones to get to the restaurant as it was just across the passage. The shortest distance between pub and ruby in ROT history someone was heard to say.

The crew took up their places in a well presented restaurant, the grown ups to one end and the louder amongst us at the other. Beer was served up in the correctly sized glasses but for some reason we were not given control of our bottles. Maybe they thought it would lower the tone...too late I fear.

The Curry Leaf, St Johns Hill, Clapham (5th January 2010) by thomo

The 1st RoT of 2010 saw 6 of us gather to exchange best wishes for the year ahead & it was a good laugh. The journey home was somewhat trying for most given the snow.....

Yet again The Falcon provided a broad selection of fine ale all served by friendly & attentive staff. The Ringwood was my favourite, with the Pedigree a close second; there were comments of appreciation for the Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, London Pride & Harvey’s best. Not one pint was poured that was unappreciated or bad.

A short walk up to the top of St Johns Hill was of course met with negative comments by the un-fit & fat RoTters, but the abuse is always worth it…… This is the second time we’ve visited a curry house in Clapham to be the only clients, why? The Curry Leaf produced a great curry, some a bit spicy which was nice (too much for Jnr) with rice & breads of top quality, the Tarka Dahl was worthy of comment & a second portion was ordered. The staff provided good recommendations & great service.

Tangawizi, Richmond (8th December 2009) by gpym

So Christmas revellers, another Yuletide ROT Curry has past and as we crash headfirst into 2010, I thought it would be nice to talk you through the last ROT of 2009 – a Seasonal Spectacular.

Six Santa’s Helpers gathered at Father Christmas Pym’s Palace for mince pies and sherry. The Scouser Baskie being the first to show with his own diet friendly version of mince pies. Newtsey and Zip soon followed. Thomo couldn’t be heard knocking on the door due to the volume on the Christmas Carols being sung in the kitchen. He brought along a French equivalent to sherry which was most delightful.

Vowla, complete with duffle coat, hat and sleigh was the last to arrive. You should have seen the look on his face when 4 grown men, approaching or in excess of 50, jumped out of the bathroom screeming  “Boo”. How camp viewers!

After guzzling numerous glasses of sherry and scoffing several pies, the six santa’s helpers made for the Turks Head to down more pints of nice British ale. Mike Bate, alias, Ginger Ruby Nazi, was particularly vocal about the short walk to the boozer claiming that it was not in the direction of the restaurant. Methinks Mike needs to get more exercise.

We downed a couple of jars and proceeded to Tangawizi in East Twickenham for our curry. GRN again stressing at the price of £1.75 per head for the minicab. You wouldn’t think he’s from Yorkshire now would you viewers?

Needless to say, the food was delicious. Santa’s little helpers diving into a plethora of fine Indian cuisines, including Lamb, Fish and assorted dishes washed down by more cold lager and copious popadams.

The walk home in the sprinkling snow was very season indeed. To end the evening we bumped into the real Santa Claus, also know as Double “R”. A truly delightful end to 2009 everyone……. Here’s to a Curry Tastic 2010……
Pymster

The Chutney, Wandsworth (3rd November 2009) by Basky

A good turnout, with a few notable absentees, however this was their loss as it turned out to be a belter of a ROT.  It was especially nice to see the Pymster, who had driven for over 4 hours in order to be insulted.

The Ship, in Wandsworth, is an old favourite for many roters and happily it still holds all the charm and character that we remember from previous visits.  The Youngs bitter went down very well, as did the Bombardier.

The Chutney turned out to be a bit of a 'find', every dish provided distinctive flavours and tasted freshly prepared.  The only minor complaint being that some of the sauces were a bit on the thin side.  The prices were fair, especially following the 35% discount we got (via Time Out).  I expect we will be visiting Wandsworth again.

Masala Cafe, Kew Green (10th February 2009) by thomo

What a good bunch of old boys the RoTters are, delaying RoT from the 1st Tuesday of February to the 2nd Tuesday, so that The GRN & I could join the frivolities. When we arrived the pub was sparsley populated, even for a Tuesday, there was only one other couple & after they left a few others took their warmed seats.

Then at the curry house there was again only one other table occupied when we arrived and again, their warmed seats were occupied when they left. So is this the "Credit Crunch", New Year fad diets, or merely post Christmas cash starvation? Can I hear you ask: "What is he wittering (spelling?) on about?"; well I do always try to pick busy pubs & curry houses if I don't know the area well. I do so to trust the vote of others, as a good guide to where to enjoy good beer & food. There was tumble weed blowing thru Richmond across the A316 & up towards Kew.....

Were the chefs dancing on the work-top because of the arrival of customers, or changing a light-bulb? Good service providing a rapid supply of crispy poppadoms, & a steady stream of Cobra, got us off to a great start. But I was surprised to see my Chicken Tikka Dhansak included a whole Tandoori cooked boneless chicken breast, (not Tikka cubes), however, shocked melted to joy as it tasted good & was well cooked.

Probably the best question to ask is: "would you visit the Masala Cafe again?". "Yes". So nuff said......

Indigo, 56 Stamford St., London (6th January 2009) by Jezzer

I was rudely awakened this morning by a phone call from a chirpy teenage recruitment consultant reminding me that I am a worthless, scrounging tosser who was contributing very little to the nation's tax receipts and burgeoning debt. Very true, however it could be worse. I mean I could be the owner of the completely unpopulated ruby venue from last night ? Indigo. The whip took a fair battering in the Kings Arms despite the Bombardier and IPA running out. The pretty Polish barmaid and charm school drop-out spent the evening chewing a live wasp while contemplating whether to change the light bulb that broke 2 months ago.

The Rotters subsequently staggered across the road and up the stairs of Indigo at about 8:30pm. It seems that the credit crunch has all but halted the local populace from eating curry on Tuesdays as the ROT team were the ONLY customers in this large, airy and modern restaurant. As we entered, it appeared that the staff were all huddled around a candle in the kitchen trying to keep the overheads low. Still, we were made to feel welcome when they turned the lights on and the hollow cheeked waiter with sunken eyes feverishly asked if we would like to order some high margin beer products. After a few minutes they even went to the heady lengths of putting on some music ? although this did not stretch to Jezzer's request for some AC/DC ? the usual bangra elevator music ensued.

First to the table following the pints of authentic draft Cobrafisher (brewed under licence in Newcastle by SAB Miller) were the poppadoms. Recognising our new found purchasing power in a shrinking economy, Bascy powerfully negotiated some free lime pickle. The spicy pappads were duly sent back to the kitchen by GRN as they were too oaky or something, but not before we had eaten most of them. As it took a while for our main courses to be defrosted over the candle, we were treated to a large plate of spicy potatoes and onion which was very tasty.

Shortly thereafter, a deluge of rices, nan breads, tandoori chicken, meat dishes, tarka dals and cheesy peas hit the table and for the sake of review, was deemed highly delicious by this reviewer and much recommended.

The evening was rounded off by the hard core unemployed and beer monsters further impairing their mental abilities in what may or may not have been the Wellington but was definitely not The Fire Station.

I am sure much has been written about the Kings Arms already on this site. General opinion this time round was that bad beer stocking policy limited the choice in what is usually a good pub to visit.

Fine tasting curry - recommend Tandoori Chicken on the bone with Tarka Dal. Could try harder on the beer front - how hard can it be to stock a few large bottles of Cobra. Indigo might become a casualty of the credit crunch unless they improve their marketing and get a few more bums on seats. Nice chaps tho.

Moti mahal, Kensington (16th December 2008) by Junior

Twas the night before, the night before, the night before (you get the picture)?Christmas, and nothing stirred, not even a mouse?. The now annual 'RoT festive spectacular' was well attended, with a full house enjoying mince pies and sherry at Chez Junior's located in the gentrified district of South Ken. The cry to go easy on the mince pies and long on sherry was heard loud and clear with the attending RoTers contributing 7 bottles for the occasion, thus the evening got of to a boozy start, with a particular favourite being the medium olorosa from Waitrose.

The crew then decamped to the always excellent Anglesey Arms, a regular fave' of local inhabitants, which met with the discerning approval of the RoT crew, contributing to the convivial pre-festive atmosphere, aided by a fine selection of ales. Due to the swelling contingent of unemployed amongst our ranks, and the fact the Jim's tight, we decided to try a new ruby house away from South Ken's 'Brick Lane' corner, where the excellent fare comes at a premium, and ventured to the Moti Mahal on Old Brompton Road, a short hop from the Angelsey.

The food was excellent with a good balance of fresh ingredients and spice leading to a top dining experience. The ale and sherry might have helped, but as a local resident I shall be returning soon to confirm initial impressions. The staff coped well with 9 middle aged ruby officianados, fuelled on sherry and real ale, though the food seemed to take a while, leading to stress amongst the farther flung members of the lodge.

The Anglesey Arms is one of the South Ken's gems. It can have a tendency to be a victim of its own success, especially in the summer months, but the superb selections of ales, combined with the 'lived in' wooden interior is too much of draw, despite often being crowded. Regulars know the rotation of guest ales includes Sharps Doombar, Hogs Back HBB, or TEA and Timothy Taylors Landlord, ample reason to forgive the local 'Yah' atmosphere often set by local trustafarian residents.

Moti Mahal does not seem to be related to the restaurant of the same name in Gt Queen Street. The food was fresh and spicy without being drenched in ghee and oil. With an assortment of 'traditional' curries, the menu was a tad unadventurous, but nonetheless of good quality and not too expensive given the SW7 postcode.