Shamrat - Maidstone

It was a fairly easy delivery to Tonbridge this evening and, planning ahead, a revisit to the Spice Lounge in Hadlow was keenly anticipated.  The best laid plans fell, however, as the restaurant is no more - as and Indian Restaurant that is.  Mildly disappointed, Bob and Phil spotted the Shamrat as they came through Maidstone and an instant decision was made.

The Shamrat is located on Lower Stone Street in Maidstone.  It is a rather busy road with no parking but there is a multi-storey car park just around the corner.  The restaurant has a pleasant mix of beams and brickwork and the lighting and decor reflects the age of the building.  We were pleasantly greeted on entry and shown to a choice of tables.  For a Wednesday evening we were surprised at how busy it seemed.

The Papadums were warm and fresh and lightly salted.  The dips were the usual mix of onions, raita and mano chutney but with the addition of a lovely spicy chilli jam.  Very good indeed.  The (draught) beers were nicely cold and very well received.

The curries were excellent.  Phil's Dhansak had the lovely earthy flavour of lentils and Bob thoroughly enjoyed his Korma.

The rice was light and tasty but the vegetables were the only slight disappointment to the evening.  Bob felt that the Sag Aloo was rather bland, although Phil enjoyed the taste of the spinach coming through the dish and both felt the Muttar Paneer to be a bit of a let down.  Usually the peas are served in a creamy sauce but these were served dry and the peas were a little overcooked and hard.  It was tasty nevertheless.

The service was excellent.  There were plenty of staff on hand and Phil had a pleasant conversation with the Maitre'D on the merits of our different curries and dishes.  On the whole the everything went very smoothly but, being very picky, one vegetable dish arrived a couple of minutes after the others.  Hot napkins were served after the meal.

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	9	8
Papadum	9	9
Curry	9	8
Rice & Vegetables	7	7
Service & Ambiance	9	10

In total an excellent 85 with the lower marks for the vegetables being down to taste rather than anything wrong!  This score puts Shamrat into 4th place just two marks from joint top spot.

A great meal and, if it were located a little closer to home, a candidate for our favourite restaurant.  We can understand and would support its claim to be Maidstone's Premier Indian Restaurant.