Star of Bengal - A new location in Whitstable

Until very recently the Star of Bengal was a small restaurant located opposite the Library on Oxford Street.  It is there no more.  Following weeks of rumours it has moved to the other end of town and is now located on Harbour Street - opposite the Duke of Cumberland.  Those that know Whitstable will recognise the site as the former home of the Shamrat Indian Restaurant which, it has to be said, was probably the least popular of Whitstable's Curry Houses.

The curry house move intrigued Phil and he persuaded Bob to come out on a non delivery based trip to see how the move went.  Was it a takeover? Was it a merger?  For those who may wish to compare, the previous review of the Star of Bengal can be found here.. http://bobandphilscurryblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/star-of-bengal.html

As previously mentioned the Star of Bengal is now located at the High Street end of Harbour Street opposite the Duke of Cumberland pub.  There is some on street parking nearby and also 2 public car parks withing 3 minutes walk.  It has been freshly decorated and was quite brightly lit and can now cater for about double the number of diners than before.

Bob and Phil were greeted politely and shown to a table and the (bottled)  Cobra's arrived shortly after.  Phil felt that his wasn't quite cold enough but Bob didn't seem to mind too much.

The pappadums followed in fairly short order accompanied by the usual complement of pickles.  Sadly one of them was rather burnt and wasn't too pleasant.  Phil also felt that the Lime Pickle was a little too salty but Bob wouldn't know as he doesn't go anywhere near it!

The curries arrived in due course, Phil enjoyed his Dhansak which had the right texture and, unusually, pieces of chopped chilli added to the sauce.  Bob also found his Butter Chicken to be good too although he felt that the chicken may have been a little overcooked.  Both Bob & Phil were somewhat confused to find their meals served with plates regaled with the name of the previous restaurant at that site.

Phil chose to try the Bengal special rice for something different.  He enjoyed it and noted that it contained pieces of chicken and prawns as well as the usual vegetables found in the "normal" special fried rice that Bob went for. The Sag Aloo was OK but the Muttar Paneer was rather disappointing- it felt like lumps of cheese and frozen peas had simply been added to a packet cheese sauce mix.

The service was friendly and Bob & Phil were offered complementary drinks at the end along with the (microwaved) packet towels.

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

                

In total a rather below average 70.

So....the new venue has done little to improve on what Bob & Phil found before in the old location but from a site perspective, the restaurant is a significant improvement on what was there before.