Apr 10 - Curry Garden, Rushden

This month the Curry Club decided to visit a local curry house that we haven't eaten in for some time. In fact the last time we ate here was pre-scoring and pre-blog! We recall that the speed of service was not great and so looked forward to see how things might have changed.

A 20 strong Mission Curry Club visited the restaurant with more names than I can remember or indeed even knew. The core of the club were present lead by Bill the organiser, Tony the treasurer and blogger, Pastor Ian, Alan, Colin M, Julian, Tom, Keith and a host of friends. When we arrived we were about the only people in, with perhaps one other table with a couple wondering what was going on. We sat on 4 different tables which was a first for the club and had many advantages. To start the staff did a bill per table, which made collecting money very easy, though we are not sure if Bill got his table correct.

We arrived at 7:30pm sharp and after taking our seats ordered the first drinks. It took a while to receive the drinks, but we all got served. At just around 8:00pm our food order was taken, which didn't bode well for speed of service. The first starters arrived around 8:30pm and as we were on separate tables it was clear that each table would receive their food at different times. Some had opted for a house special which was outside of the great deal Bill had secured for us (£10 a head for starter, main, side and rice/naan) and decided not to have a starter for fear of being too full or wasting their main course (this was to prove to be a mistake).

So some discussion; early topic was the on / off train strike and as we had one amongst us who used to work in the industry, we had some sensible conversation and it did not end up with who could run the best service using a Hornby layout. Pastor Ian told us about his beloved Morris Marina Coupe he had some time back. This got us started on driving and Tony offered that the age should be raised to 21 like in the USA. This brought some debate from those that had been driving since 17 and never caused any problems etc. We then got onto the subject of marriage and how it appears to be too easy now to swap around once it gets a bit tough.

At this point, Alan B, who had opted not to go for a starter was threatening to go to the Bangla Cafe as it was now just gone 9:00pm and he hadn't eaten anything since arriving at 7:30pm. Actually, that's not quite true as he was offered and readily accepted a piece of Chicken Tikka starter. Anyway at around 9:15pm the first of the main courses arrived to one of the tables. The early signs of quality and quantity seemed good and the first table tucked in.

Conversation continued and at this point I must mention Nathan. This was a sad Curry Club for Nathan and for the rest of us as Nathan is moving on. He is off up north to start a new job and is moving his young family some way away. We will miss Nathan not for his great conversation or his wit or his friendliness or his kindness, all of which are true. We will miss Nathan because though he is about 7 feet 2 inches tall and weighs around 7 stone 4 lbs, he can in fact eat for Britain. So he is our benchmark when testing the quantity of food. If Nathan says he is full, then you can bet that everyone will be scoring a 5 for quantity. Nathan, we wish you all the very best and hope that the job works out. You will of course be welcome at any time to the curry club should be around this way. Can I just ask that before you leave, you return your curry club key fob ... no, just kidding, you are now a lifetime member.

So, where were we with the food, oh yes, some of the tables had eaten their main course but the one containing the organiser still hadn't been served. One diner sent his rice back because it was cold and others did comment that their food was only luke warm. I should note that Kumar, the manager should have been on his day off, but came in we believe because the curry club was in. Not sure whether he was overseeing the service or not or dealing with take-aways. Conversation continued with someone saying they had a friend who went out with Hilary. Now we reckon this must have been when Hilary was about 10, because we know that she met Bill when she was 14 and they got married and have been ever since. Bill's ears pricked up when he heard his wife's name being mentioned. Not sure he got the story or probed deeper into who it was etc. Now chances are he never will as I'm not even sure he has ever read this blog!!!!

Anyway, let's move straight to the scoring. It was very interesting because we had 4 different tables and of course each had a slightly different time frame for receiving their different courses. So, ambiance scored 3.85, which personally I think was a bit low as we were reasonably seated, it is a clean establishment, there seemed to be plenty of talking and laughter. Next up quantity which scored a good 4.2. Quality was slightly lower with 3.95 and price 4.15. Again, personally I thought price was a bit on the low side considering we got a full meal for a tenner. But I'm sure one or two of the guys have found somewhere where you can eat all you like for £1.50. Finally the score for staff, this got 3.45, the lowest mainly because staff includes speed of service. Now we know that if you want good food cooked fresh etc, takes time. But the Curry Garden does seem to still hold on to its title of a very slow serving establishment. So tips from guys who have eaten almost everywhere, take the drinks orders quick, use two waiters so the other one can take the starter orders. Offer free poppadoms, they are very cheap and keep people going while the starters are being prepared. 50p for 1 poppadom and 55p for the chutney, is really too much. They are also salty so people will drink quicker and buy more beer, though £4 is expensive for a pint of larger. When people have finished, if you are going to offer a clean up towel and chocolate, do it straight away, not 10mins after the plates were cleared as it was on one table.

Oh, nearly forgot, the final score was 19.6, which is mid table in our league. Of course the opinions expressed here are entirely our own and represent our view on the night. You may have a completely different experience. The Mission Curry Club have been treated to some excellent eating experiences over time and so local restaurants have to really go some to get great scores. We will no doubt return at some point to the Curry Garden, but alas the speed of service has to be much better.

Until next time, don't lets your kebabs get cold.