Namaste at the Swingate Inn, Dover

Back in August Bob & Phil were anticipating a curry in Dover which morphed into somewhere else.  Well, 4 months further on the chance came again and, with the recommendation of the customer's son off they set to Namaste.

Those with knowledge of the Dover area will recognise the Swingate Inn as, well, and Inn on the Dover to Deal road.  Well it is an Inn but the ground floor has now been taken over by an Indian Restaurant - Namaste.

Restaurant wise it is very modern and has in interesting twist - the kitchen is open plan so you can see your curry being cooked.  It was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday evening and Phil counted at least 7 other sets of diners as they were shown to their table.

The (draught) Cobras arrived in short order.  Cool but not cold enough for either Bob or Phil's liking.

The Pappadums took a few minutes to arrive and were different to what Bob and Phil normally expect.  Phil's best description was very thin oatcakes, Bob just thought that they were Bland.  Phil was also disappointed by the lack of onion.

The menu seemed to be limited to a smaller than usual selection and Phil was initially dismayed to be unable to find a Dhansak.  Having read through the menu he went for a Chicken Dhabba - described as Indian Street Food - whilst Bob went for a Butter Chicken.  The consensus of both was that the sauce was far too thin and runny - more akin to a gravy than a sauce.  Bob did enjoy his Butter Chicken though whilst Phil thought that is Dhabba was rather one dimensional with no depth of flavour.

The vegetables were a bit of a mixed bag.  Both Bob & Phil thought that the Chana Masalla was excellent but neither could work out the Sag Aloo which was a strange colour and flavour with what seemed to be overcooked potato slices.

The service was good considering how busy the restaurant was.  It has to be noted, however, that no post prandial towels were offered and neither were there chocolates to sweeten the bill.  Picky Phil also noted that the napkins were paper rather than cloth.

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

                

In total a below average 73.

Phil & Bob liked the concept of the open kitchen and noted that there were several easy marks that could have been earned.