Kumar’s
Well.
That was a quirky night out I must say.
On the recommendation of the always excellent @gourmetgorro we went to Kumar’s on City Road for my daughter’s birthday meal. A mix of committed carnivores and vegetarians we needed a venue that offered a good selection of both and Kumar’s fitted the bill. Plus it’s BYOB so even better.
The food – as foretold – was excellent. The Mandarin Cauliflower was memorable, just the right bite to the cauli, light crispy batter and a sweet and sour chilli-spiced sauce that was out of this world. A great start.
The mains were a little more mixed quality but on the whole were excellent. From least favorite to best then, the Dahl Palak (spinach and lentils) looked delish – turmeric golden, flecked with vivid green spinach but lacking a bit in seasoning. It was just crying out for a little salt to lift it
Next up was the Butter Paneer, rich, silky and delicious sauce but suffering from a dearth of paneer.
The Channa Masala on the other hand was above criticism, extremely tasty and packed with spicy chickpeas cooked to perfection.
The meat dishes were also top-notch. Going by reputation I had to try the Lamb Kotu Parotta which was not something I’d encountered before. Much like a biriani but with torn flat-bread rather than rice, mixed with dry-spiced lamb. Served with a small pots of a yogurt based sauce and what appeared to be chicken curry. Delicious, unusual and definitely a cut above your ordinary high-street curry fare.
Last but definitely not least was the Chicken Chettinad – cooked in a sauce containing 18 (count ’em) spices. I was definitely getting a blast of black-pepper and cinnamon but that doesn’t do justice to the complexity and depth of flavor. Just so good.
I have to mention the service to explain my previous comments about the quirkiness of the evening. The staff were utterly charming and lovely and we were out for a long night of chatty company so this is in no way meant as a complaint but just to say that this was an experience at the frenchest end of the slow-eating movement. It took a while even for the menus to arrive and never rose above a leisurely pace all evening. Kumar’s doesn’t serve alcohol but does allow you to bring your own and we’d come prepared with wine and prosecco but on asking for glasses we were given two wine glasses, two champagne flutes, a coke glass and a beer tumbler. A requested jug of water arrived relatively promptly but glasses to drink it from never appeared. And the main course initially arrived without plates which I guess we can put down to a misunderstanding that the food was to be shared but that’s hardly unusual in an Indian restaurant. BUT having said all that, all requests were handled with utterly disarming affability to the point where we couldn’t but just laugh it all off and enjoy it as part of the evening.
So that’s a big recommendation for the food at Kumar’s with slight reservations about the service. Probably don’t go if you’re in a rush.
Milgi Lounge
Not quite ready for home we decided to go on to the Milgi Lounge for cocktails. If you’ve not been before it’s a wonderfully hip vegan/veggie City Road restaurant complete with a back-garden yurt that has a lovely line in eccentric decor (a jig saw wall-mounted moose head anyone?), and a warm, candle-lit nag champur scented atmosphere. It also does a spanking selection of cocktails and mocktails
I can recommend the raspberry, lime and basil Cooler and the ginger lemonade – both non-alcoholic and an infinitely more interesting alternative to the des-driver’s usual diet-coke.
Of the alcoholic cocktails my favorite was the Watermelon Margarita but the Classic was a close second. The Cucumber Gin Collins and various flavors of Mojito were also excellent. What can I say – not a bad drink amongst them.
We sat and chatted amongst the candles with cool jazzy music drifting from the behind the bar and it was pretty much the perfect end to the evening.
Eat see hear Cardiff 