Archana
- March 4, 2007
- Rated 1 of 5 by
fizzytom from Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
From outside it looked appealing; a menu was posted outside. The blinds were pulled almost completely down but you could see a little bit of the interior. It had nice wooden floors, small but attractively dressed tables - much more in the current style of modern Indian restaurants rather than the traditional flocked wallpaper decor.
We decided to skip starters and pick a side dish to share alongside our main course choices. The first choice was the okra dish but there was no okra. We then tried for the aubergine dish and were met with the same response.
We decided to have starters instead. CM plumped for the green chilli pakora and I opted for the chicken pakora. His dish consisted of deep fried green chillies with a thin crispy batter like coating and was served with a small salad. My chicken pakora was basically very, very red tandoori spiced chicken with the same kind of batter and a salad alongside. Neither came with any sauce or dip but luckily we had a little coriander/yogurt sauce left from the complimentary popadoms.
My chingri punjabi massala handi main course came in a wee brass bucket, hung over a tea light in a glass dish. Not especially novel...The sauce itself was a horrible grey/grown colour and looked lumpy and nasty. However, looks can be deceptive so I decided to hang fire with the criticism until I had tasted it. Frankly, it tasted as awful as it looked. It tasted like awful cheap gravy granules and the overwhelming taste of salt was disgusting.
Across the table things weren't any better. CM had opted for a chilli paneer dish (paneer is a homemade Indian cheese) which also turned out to be revoltingly salty. His was more brown in colour but that didn't do anything to recommend it more than my dish. We had ordered a naan bread (the underside of which was burned) and a portion of pilau rice to share.
When the waiter came over to check on us, CM said that his dish was just too salty and was inedible. I added that mine was also salty and the waiter took CM's dish and said he bring a new one. I was waiting for him to come back to take mine away too but the next time he appeared it was with CM's new main course. This time it was so bland it hardly tasted of anything!
I tried to plough on with mine but it was probably apparent from the way I was pushing the stodgy, salty lumps across the plate that I wasn't enjoying it. After a minute or so the waiter returned and asked if I would like a fresh dish as well - I had lost interest by then.
Their business card also says that Archana is "A unique name in Indian cuisine' - I should say so. This is the most singularly awful Indian meal I have ever eaten. £32 worse off - be warned!
From journal Belfast - Moving On