mrsmills Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Certainly very similar to my 3 experiences of the place. The size of the menu, which I think is a scourge of Indian restaurants surprised me and equally disappointed me. It's the usual story of stock sauces, quite probably pre-cooked meat or vegetables, etc. which I expect from a post-pub curry but not from what certainly sells itself as being an outlet for serious Indian/sub-continental cuisine. It would take someone else paying to get me back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theripsaw Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 The owners quote about how they were nervous about coming to Sheffield is funny! Are we not ready for this unfamiliar curry stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samstar999 Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 Review from the paper: Aagrah Thank god for an honest review! That Martin Dawes always says everything is fab. I used to go to the Aagrah in Pudsey and always loved it. I'm trying this one next Friday ... so I hope it's bettert than this review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimolsen Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I have been twice now and it is fantastic. The venue is smart and upmarket, the food tasty and it charges out of town prices. The best curry house in Sheffield at the moment by a country mile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shlg Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I've been twice too, and loved it. (I am smsm's sister, but I'm not just saying this because she knows the management!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastair Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Review from the paper: Aagrah The review says the dishes are disappointingly bland, a common fault in modern Indian restaurants. Is this the case, anyone care to comment? . . . Do any Indian restaurants in Sheffield still serve Bombay Duck and have those superheated warming plates on the table? If they do, I'm there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shlg Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 The review says the dishes are disappointingly bland, a common fault in modern Indian restaurants. Is this the case, anyone care to comment? Absolutely not! Maybe what the reviewer objects to is that you can taste the food: they use interesting and flavoursome combinations of spices, instead of just lobbing a load of chilli in and burning your tastebuds off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmills Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I think the reviewers point is that you really can't discern much in the food. The problem is that most Indian restaurants insist on huge menus: it's just stock sauces with the various spices, yoghurt,etc. put in during the last couple of minutes so the flavours don't develop in the finished dishes - they don't have any real finesse. People who say it all looks and taste the same do have a point sometimes! The fish and 'non-curry' type dishes are better but the 'curries' are pretty average. Not bad at all just not a great deal better than the average albeit in a nicer setting and well priced, particularly given the location. I'm always suspicious of huge menus they tend to suggest a lot of food being brought in pre-prepared, etc. 'Curries' to use a generic term are really quite labour intensive if you were doing all the cooking from scratch I would have even a restaurant of that size would struggle to offer a fifth of what they do and only maybe. I've not seen Bombay Duck in a long time but I can recommend some impressively retro Indian restaurants not so far away from Sheffield: thread-bare Wilton carpets, flock wall-paper juxtaposed with paintings of tigers, booths separated by crushed velvet sheets, a patrician owner, watered down drinks, Arabesque ornaments, plastic flowers - the works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ousetunes Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Cafe Guru's menu is tiny by comparison and the food is on a different level to Aagrah's. The latter, IMO is better for ending the night after a skin full of ale when you're tastebuds are shot and the former is better for a meal before a night out where the flavours of the food are sharp and served in a lovely environment. Indeed, I rate Cafe Guru very highly; Aagrah is run-of-the-mill late night ruby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastair Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I've not seen Bombay Duck in a long time but I can recommend some impressively retro Indian restaurants not so far away from Sheffield: thread-bare Wilton carpets, flock wall-paper juxtaposed with paintings of tigers, booths separated by crushed velvet sheets, a patrician owner, watered down drinks, Arabesque ornaments, plastic flowers - the works! Yes, yes, yes - that's what I'm looking for exactly. My favourite of that type at the moment is the Prince of India in Stow-on-the-Wold, which is a bit far for a night out, so I really need to find one a bit closer I googled Bombay Duck and found out it was a casualty of wimpish EC safety fears and was banned from 1997. After protests from the Indian government and enthusiasts it was allowed into the EC again from 2003, but I suppose the damage was done by then and the acquired taste was never re-acquired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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