Kashmir Tandoori - Canterbury

After a quick trip over to the Canterbury side of Ashford Bob & Phil thought that it would be an idea to revisit a Canterbury Curry House.  Their previous favourite has closed so they decided to go back to the Kashmir Tandoori.

The Kashmir Tandoori is located on Palace Street in Canterbury which is part of the King's Mile.  There is no real parking near the restaurant but St Radigunds car park is a short walk away.  The decor of the restaurant reflects the age of the buildings with (some faux) beams exposed and low ceilings.  Many of the tables are set into little booths which gives it an intimate feel.

Bob and Phil were shown to a table towards the rear of the restaurant which was notably busy and Phil spotted a salt cellar on the table which is never a good omen!  To counter this the back of the menu proclaimed many awards including being in the top 100 UK Curry Houses for 3 years in the early 2000's and the memory of a high score just over a year ago.

The Papadums arrived very promptly indeed - before even the (draught) Cobras - and were sent back as several had strange brown (curry sauce we were told) stains on them.  The replacements were fresh but were let down somewhat by only three pickles two of which tasted identical and an onion pickle which only Phil likes.

There was quite a delay before the curries arrived - reflecting the busy nature of the restaurant.  Bob felt that his Butter Chicken was on the bland side which contrasted greatly with Phil's Dhansak which was very tasty indeed with the right texture and balance of flavours.

Unfortunately the rice was rather cool and the vegetable dishes were rather a disappointment.  The muttar paneer was virtually tasteless and Bob & Phil were surprised to find cabbage in the sauce that it was served in.  The cabbage was also to be found in the Sag Aloo which did have some flavour from the spinach.

The service was not unpleasant but a bit Fawlty Towers ish.  Phil did not like that the table cloth had stains on it (before Bob set to with the pickles!) and the hot plates had clearly seen better days and were in need of replacement.

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	7	7
Papadum	5	4
Curry	9	6
Rice & Vegetables	4	3
Service & Ambiance	5	6

                

In total a very disappointing 56 putting Kashmir Tandoori in the bottom 3.

It is interesting to note that 2 of the bottom 3 restaurants that Bob & Phil have blogged are in Canterbury (and there is a third one also in the bottom 10).  Is it something about being in a tourist area that leads to an inconsistent result?