Kirthon, The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells

Anyone that has read any of our previous posts may remember that Phil lived over in this part of the world for a while and, with a delivery to Rotherfield on the cards, tonight's destination was a certainty from the moment it was confirmed.

The Kirthon is on the upper walk of the Pantiles in the historic part of Tunbridge Wells.  Phil knew it from the early 80's as "The Anglo Indian Tandoori" when he lived further along the Pantiles in a flat above the Bank and it was one of his favourite haunts.

For the visitor, there is plenty of street parking in that part of town and, although the entrance is on the ground level, the restaurant is on the upper floors up an ornate, winding staircase.

The restaurant has a strange feel to it.  The lighting and tables were not a sympathetic addition to the low ceilings and beams form the fabric of the building.  The LCD TV on the wall; the use of iPads to take orders; the busy rush of waiters with a cheery indifference were all at odds with the location.

The Papadums were reasonably fresh but not warm.  The pickles were nicely varied and Bob particularly liked the mango chutney which had an interesting lime tang within it.  The (bottled) beers were nicely cold but served in pub pint glasses rather than the more sophisticated branded glasses that is the norm.

The curries duly arrived with the vegetables but without the rice which turned up a couple of minutes later.  That having been said the dishes were still piping hot.  Phil's Dhansak was a nice combination of sweet and hot but Bob's Korma was rather bland.  In both cases, however, the feeling was one of being short changed as the portions were largely sauce with little meat.

The vegetables, sadly, were bland to the point of being virtually tasteless.

For a Wednesday evening the restaurant was surprisingly busy and there were plenty of waiters but the service felt impersonal and disjointed.  Our table wasn't made up when we were shown to it and tablecloths were conspicuous by their absence.  Even the tables themselves were plastic and are nothing like the pictures on their website!

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	8	8
Papadum	6	6
Curry	7	4
Rice & Vegetables	5	4
Service & Ambiance	4	4

In total a very disappointing 56.

What Phil fondly remembered as an elegant restaurant (and one that helped shape his love of curry some 30 years ago) has become something that looks to cater for the tourist that visits Tunbridge Wells.  It certainly falls far short of its aim "to create the ultimate dining experience".