The Mint Leaf, Teynham

Bob & Phil frequently drive past the Mint Leaf on the way to or from the Shop so, after an evening when deliveries ended with the van being parked back at the shop, the decision was made to give it a try.

The Mint Leaf is located on the outskirts of Teynham on the A2 - the Sittingbourne end of the village rather than the Faversham end.  Quite easy to spot as it is brightly lit, there appears to be only limited parking.


The Restaurant itself is fairly modern with its decor and makes use of many and varied coloured lights - too many and out of syn with each other!!  Whilst the Christmas tree was a nice touch towards recognising the time of year, the soundtrack of carols and other Christmas classics was a step too far and seemed out of place in an Indian Restaurant.

The Cobras arrived promptly and were served nice and cold, the Papadums took a little longer to arrive and Bob was put off slightly by the very bright colours of the bright red onion salad and the equally vibrant green of the raita.  Both tasted fine though if you could get past the colours!

Bob felt that his Butter Chicken was freshly made to order and enjoyed it.  Phil was rather disappointed with his Dhansak though as it was unsubtley hot.  The Sag Aloo was good and Phil didn't enjoy the Muttar Paneer as it was very coconutty in its flavour

The a midweek curry the service was a bit on the slow side and it was incredibly disappointing that they couldn't manage to serve both curries at the same time with Bob's arriving a good 4-5 minutes after the rest of the meal was served.  Also something we didn't notice until we left was that there were no napkins on our table - most strange!

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	9	8
Papadum	8	6
Curry	6	8
Rice & Vegetables	6	7
Service & Ambiance	6	6

In total 70.  But a rather strange way to get there, hope and promise fading away on one hand versus a steady score deflected by strange colours and poor service.

Fusion Spice Lounge - Whitstable

After an evening of deliveries that ended in Seasalter we decided to pay the Fusion Spice Lounge a visit.

Located in Canterbury Road, with parking behind the restaurant (and a handy entrance direct from the car park too), Fusion Spice is at the opposite end of town to most of the other Indian Restaurants in Whitstable.  Most local residents will remember the location more for the Italian Restaurant - Giovanni's - that it was before Fusion Spice took over.

The Papadums were warm and fresh and served with the usual accompaniments.  A good start to the meal but the Mango Chutney tasted a little strange.  The Cobras were, sadly, rather warm and a warm Cobra does not taste too good.

Phil was very pleased with his Dhansak - a very good one - but Bob was disappointed with his Butter Chicken which, again, he felt tasted a little strange and not to his taste.  Bob also felt that his chicken was a bit tough and overcooked.

The Muttar Paneer was nicely sweet and flavoursome but the Sag Aloo, although nicely flavoured too, suffered from slightly undercooked potatoes.  A shame.

The service was everything that one comes to expect from an Indian Restaurant although we felt slightly that the waiter was going through the motions and would possibly liked to have been elsewhere but the evening was let down somewhat by the ambiance.  We can understand a restaurant being nearly empty midweek and this was no exception but the shelf near us was dusty and the music being played - and repeated as if on a short loop - was most offputting.  It felt like we were on hold on to a call centre somewhere!!

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	5	5
Papadum	7	6
Curry	9	7
Rice & Vegetables	7	7
Service & Ambiance	5	5

In total a rather disappointing 63.  The one highlight was the Dhansak in an pool of mediocrity.