louby1964 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Ive been to cutlers spice a few times, the food was good as was the service. I say give it a try Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJC1 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 A big group of us went last night for a birthday. We shared a vast array of dishes so I'm in a good position to comment. These included a south indian chicken tikka thing, a kind of korma dish with sultanas, vindaloo, a few more chicken disshes with similar sauces, biryani,side dishes with peas, potatoes and indian cheese, tandoori chicken, mixed grill, onion bhajis, 3 types of nan, mushroom rice, pilau, popadoms and chutney. It was getting busy at 8pm, but it was a saturday night. I was expecting a lot judging by the reviews on here. Unfortunately our visit didnt live up to expectations. It was average, heres why: The good bits: They have done a lot with the place, the decor is nice and the restaurant is spacious, the only thing was it is a little bright and they could do with dimming the halogen lighting a bit. The service was OK, quite fast. Not overly friendly, as some people seem to be suggesting. Some bald geezer kept brushing up against me when serving the food which was annoying, But otherwise no cause for complaint here. Prices are OK. Not expensive (but in line with the food). Drinks are at decent prices. Don't go for wine, go for beer. The bad bits: Veg dishes were almost non existant apart from a couple of dark brown looking side dishes, it seemed to be mainly chicken dishes in brown or greyish sauces (except the korma thing which was pinkish). A lot on the menu - but very samey in taste when they came. Don't expect refined spices if you visit. Infact everything came in heavy sauces, except the mixed grill, which wasnt great. One comment on the tandoori chicken was it was 'stringy' and poor quality, the sheek kebab was horrid. The onion bhajis had mustard seeds in which gave it an odd taste but there was good amount of onion in there, some people didnt like them (I thought they were OK and eat mine), the nan breads were decent, chilli, garlic and plain - probably the best bit of the meal. Not greasy at all. Some other people (on the forum) commented on how good the 7 chutneys were - if you ask me they came from jars not homemade, tasted like that pataks stuff you get from the corner shop. Bit dissapointing. We didnt stay for coffee, which speaks for itself. In conclusion: All in all Cutlers spice comes in the middle ground of Indian restaurants, It definately caters to the British 'gravy' indian loving public. Food wise it offers nothing different to whats already out there or has been out there for the last 30 years and everything is swimming in similar gravies - I have tasted better curries at home, I expected better so that was dissapointing. On the plus side It's not expensive so you don't feel too bad about the average food and the service is OK. It's pretty comfrotable in there, credit for transforming the place from a crap pub to a nice looking restaurant. I think this place will be OK because it appeals to the masses, its also big enough for big groups. Sadly the food lets it down for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomoo11 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 was hoping to take hubby there with his mum. might give it try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fling Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 A big group of us went last night for a birthday. We shared a vast array of dishes so I'm in a good position to comment. These included a south indian chicken tikka thing, a kind of korma dish with sultanas, vindaloo, a few more chicken disshes with similar sauces, biryani,side dishes with peas, potatoes and indian cheese, tandoori chicken, mixed grill, onion bhajis, 3 types of nan, mushroom rice, pilau, popadoms and chutney. It was getting busy at 8pm, but it was a saturday night. I was expecting a lot judging by the reviews on here. Unfortunately our visit didnt live up to expectations. It was average, heres why: The good bits: They have done a lot with the place, the decor is nice and the restaurant is spacious, the only thing was it is a little bright and they could do with dimming the halogen lighting a bit. The service was OK, quite fast. Not overly friendly, as some people seem to be suggesting. Some bald geezer kept brushing up against me when serving the food which was annoying, But otherwise no cause for complaint here. Prices are OK. Not expensive (but in line with the food). Drinks are at decent prices. Don't go for wine, go for beer. The bad bits: Veg dishes were almost non existant apart from a couple of dark brown looking side dishes, it seemed to be mainly chicken dishes in brown or greyish sauces (except the korma thing which was pinkish). A lot on the menu - but very samey in taste when they came. Don't expect refined spices if you visit. Infact everything came in heavy sauces, except the mixed grill, which wasnt great. One comment on the tandoori chicken was it was 'stringy' and poor quality, the sheek kebab was horrid. The onion bhajis had mustard seeds in which gave it an odd taste but there was good amount of onion in there, some people didnt like them (I thought they were OK and eat mine), the nan breads were decent, chilli, garlic and plain - probably the best bit of the meal. Not greasy at all. Some other people (on the forum) commented on how good the 7 chutneys were - if you ask me they came from jars not homemade, tasted like that pataks stuff you get from the corner shop. Bit dissapointing. We didnt stay for coffee, which speaks for itself. In conclusion: All in all Cutlers spice comes in the middle ground of Indian restaurants, It definately caters to the British 'gravy' indian loving public. Food wise it offers nothing different to whats already out there or has been out there for the last 30 years and everything is swimming in similar gravies - I have tasted better curries at home, I expected better so that was dissapointing. On the plus side It's not expensive so you don't feel too bad about the average food and the service is OK. It's pretty comfrotable in there, credit for transforming the place from a crap pub to a nice looking restaurant. I think this place will be OK because it appeals to the masses, its also big enough for big groups. Sadly the food lets it down for me. Did you point all this out to the staff at the end of your meal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sedith Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Is the Cutlers Spice a Bangladeshi or an Indian restaurant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosyRat Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Quote from the Telegraph review : The only black mark is beyond the restaurant’s control: a badly-behaved child. Bring back good old-fashioned table manners! And that's why I won't be going to this restaurant. One more place to have an evening ruined. Until restaurants can get this sorted, they'll be losing more than my custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highflyerjak Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Quote from the Telegraph review : The only black mark is beyond the restaurant’s control: a badly-behaved child. Bring back good old-fashioned table manners! And that's why I won't be going to this restaurant. One more place to have an evening ruined. Until restaurants can get this sorted, they'll be losing more than my custom. I'm sure they won't loose sleep over the fact your not going because of a screaming child that was there when a reporter went.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Had a good takeaway from there a few weeks ago. Food was good, had a nice pint of Stones, staff were great & they've done a good job with the refurbishment too. I don't think the pickles were pataks at all, the lime pickle was very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJC1 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Had a good takeaway from there a few weeks ago. Food was good, staff were great & they've done a good job with the refurbishment too. Maybe we just had a bad night then, or the chef was off sick, cos the food was nothing like as good as people are describing here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anywebsite Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 It wasn't the greatest curry I've ever had, but it was very good, above average. I suppose it depends what your expectations are. It's far better than a couple of the other Indian restaurants that have been at Townend a while. I think your criticism was a bit harsh & unfair. I could pick faults in it, the plain nan bread seemed a bit sweet, the mango chutney a bit runny, but that's about all. The lamb jalfrezi was good, no hint of 'greyish' in the sauce, fresh chillies, it all seemed fresh & good. Everything else was very good. The staff were very friendly. The beer was good. Popadoms were good. Lime pickle was good. There was some green chilli pickle too, not a standard 'patak pickle'. I didn't go expecting it to be some revolutionary new style of Indian cuisine made by the best chefs in the world. It was better than I expected it would be. I'd definitely go again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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