The Raj - Faversham

A couple of deliveries "on the way home" found us in Faversham, close to the Brewery.  Time was on our side so we decided to give the Raj in West Street a try.

The buildings in West Street date back a long long time and the restaurant is adorned with beams and decor as befits a building of that age.


The Papadums were fresh and served with a nice looking selection of pickles but sadly the beers were not as cold as they could have been.  The pickles, however, gave an inkling of what was to come....blandness!

The curries could have hotter - they were lukewarm - and whilst Phil's Dhansak was spicy hot, it lacked a depth of flavour.

The Vegetables were again bland - the potatoes in particular lacked seasoning and were very disappointing.

The service was OK - nothing to fault but again nothing to write home about.

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

In total a fairly mediocre 62.

Some things were quite nice but others seemed to let the side down.  We left with an overwhelming feeling of what could have been if the meal lived up to the premises....

Kerala Spices, Charing

We all judge a book by its cover - but should we??  If you drive past two restaurants that are close together and one has a full car park and the other empty, which would you choose?  We chose the empty one......

Kerala Spices looks and feels like a converted nightclub. The building very unpretentious and tired, bordering on having a run down feeling.  Look past the covers, though, and wonders await you.

The Papadums were undoubtedly fresh although cold when served.  A little greasy but presented with 4 very nice dips that were individually introduced to us - a very nice touch.

We by and large choose the same curries each time so we have a standard by which to judge - the curries this evening have completely broken the mold.  It is hard to describe but I guess we have become accustomed to "homogenised" or "fast-foodised" Kormas and Dhansaks.  Tonights curries were very different!  The flavours were there in abundance but you could tell that the curries had been freshly cooked from scratch rather than from a pre-prepared pot.  Ethnic as opposed to Anglicised?  Homely as opposed to factory made?  They reminded Phil of curries experienced in the early days of the Lahore Kebab House in the East End of London.

The vegetables again had their own blend of spices and the whole meal worked well as a combination.  The portions were very generous but somehow not overly filling - enough so that there was room left for a gorgeous rice based desert!

The service was impeccable and we were left wondering why the restaurant is not a lot busier as the food certainly deserves to have more people eating it.

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

* 5/5 for the Service but let down by the venue itself

In total 84%  The best yet.  If they put a little more effort into the surroundings then Kerala Spices would be unbeatable

The Lateef Revisited

Our last visit to the Lateef was before we introduced our objective scoring system so, with deliveries in Sittingbourne complete, off we went.

The Lateef is quite a modern looking restaurant, very clean and bright and, tonight, was playing fairly modern indian music.

The Papadums were warm and fresh but disappointingly served with only three pickles - no lime pickle in sight.  The onion was unusually in a bright red sauce which, colour aside, was very pleasant.

The beers arrived after the Papadums (strangely) and were disappointingly warm.  To our minds lager should be served quite cold.

The curries were good and served piping hot.  Phil felt though that his Dhansak was more like a Pathia as it was hot, sweet & sour and didn't have the earthy taste often associated with lentils.

The vegetables and rice were again served piping hot.  The rice was nicely presented and the vegetables were fine.

The service, sadly, was not that good.  Speed was by and large fine if slightly slow but to be asked "is everything OK lads?" and "You fellas up for another beer?  No? - well how about a dessert?" just isn't the sort of service that you would associate with a restaurant.

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

In total a rather disappointing 69%

In summary a reasonable curry let down by very poor service.

The Spice Lounge, Hadlow

On the way to a delivery to Tonbridge we spotted this restaurant which is on the A26 on the outskirts of Hadlow.  A decision was made and, delivery completed, in we went.  What a great spot!

The restaurant itself is a converted pub - The Rose Revived for those who mourn the passing of pubs - and the conversion has been nicely made.

The Papadums were served quickly and were warm and fresh with a selection of five pickles - including an interesting Onion and Coconut combination.  The beers were nicely cold.

The curries were very good indeed, the rice was served beautifully hot but the meal was let down slightly by rather bland vegetable dishes.  The Sag Aloo could have done with more seasoning and the Muttar Paneer whilst full of sweetness from the peas lacked a little spice.

Such was the quality of the meal, however, that an unusual decision was made to have a dessert - which although not counting towards the overall score must be mentioned.  Phil's  Gulab Jamun was absolutely fantastic and Bob was very jealous that he only chose a boring Ice Cream.....

The service was friendly and attentive without being overpowering and Phil was delighted to see Terry Towel  napkins at the end of the meal.

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

In total a very good 83% and it was no surprise to see so many people choosing the short drive out of Tonbridge to an excellent restaurant.

Our only complaint is that it is too far from home to be our regular curry haunt!

Jalsha, Wincheap, Canterbury - Fantastic Food but Sorry Service

Not ones to let the Summer Holidays stop a good curry, on the way back from a delivery in Dover we decided to give Jalsha a try.  Jalsha is in the Wincheap area of Canterbury on the A28 itself on the right heading out of Canterbury towards Ashford.  Despite the A28 being a busy road, parking is easy with plenty of bays on the road and the restaurant has its own car park.

The restaurant looks to be a converted pub but is nicely set out without being too garish. The beers were nice and cold as were the papadums - fresh but not warm.  The range of pickles was good with the Lime being particularly spicy.

The curries were excellent as were the vegetables.  A delightful range of flavours and textures that blended together well.

The only downside to the evening was the rather overworked waitress.  We were greeted by an Indian host who told us that Alex would be looking after us.  Alex was an eastern european girl who, although very good, clearly had too much work to do.  Beers were served nice and quickly, as were the papadums but it took several minutes for us to be able to attract here attention to order our curries.  We felt forgotten.

The plates were nice and hot when they arrived but sadly they arrived much earlier than the curries and so were cold by the time the food was actually served.  And no towels (terry or otherwise) at the end of the meal!!

All in all a good curry let down by poor service.

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	8	7
Papadum	8	7
Curry	9	9
Rice & Vegetables	9	10
Service & Ambiance	6	5

In total  78% - with a bit more staffing it could have been so much more!