Restaurants / Reviews
Old India, St Nicholas Street: ‘A visual spectacle but not worth the wait’ – restaurant review
Call me picky, but being an Indian I cannot settle for anything less than “authentic” when it comes to Indian food. I need the curry to be succulent, the flavours to be sharp and, most of all, I need real spice.
On a recent Saturday evening, I whisked away a fellow Indian friend to taste some kebabs and curries at one of Bristol’s oldest Indian havens – Old India.
Located in the city’s former stock exchange building, the restaurant is a visual spectacle with carved domes, tall black pillars and a quaint architectural style that makes you feel like you’re about to tuck in for a royal feast.
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As we sat at a corner table, debating our choice of food for the evening, my heart skipped a beat as I heard a familiar tune in the background.
Hum Mar Jayenge, a Bollywood tune from the classic 2013 Hindi romance film, Aashiqui 2. I spent the next ten minutes mouthing along while my friend tried to get me to read the menu.
An elephant welcomes you when you enter Old India’s palace like doors
When I finally got my brain to focus, I was met with a paradox of choice but ultimately my friend and I decided to settle for some old favourites – kebabs, curries, naans and chapatis.
What began now was the waiting game – something that hungry stomachs don’t take well. After what seemed like an eternity (around 25 minutes) our Sheek Kebabs (£7.50) finally arrived.
We dug in, hoping for juicy mince lamb with a melt-in-mouth texture but were left with dry, warm meat. The kebabs weren’t as piping hot as they should be. After we finished our kebabs, our plate of chutneys and sauces arrived – much too late.
Keen to taste the chutneys, we ordered another starter, Murg Malai Grill (£7.50), a beautiful plate of sliced and grilled chicken laid over a thin layer of gooey cheese and topped with a delicious yoghurt and cream cheese sauce. It took another 25 minutes to arrive.
All I remember from this plate of Murg Malai Grill are the chicken pieces smothered in bubbling cheese
Still, this starter won our hearts and taste buds. The chicken was soft, fresh and so lush – especially when paired with chutney.
After we’d licked our plates clean, we were excited for our mains. But the next 40 minutes were gruesome: we were left with empty plates, water-filled glasses and Bollywood music but no food. We waited, waited and waited.
When the kitchen door finally flung open with our food, we were ready to butcher the naans and chapatis and dip them into the tangy Chicken tikka masala (£12) and wholesome dal makhani (£9.25).
The naans (£3.55 each) and chapatis (£2.65 each) were fresh off the tandoor and to our surprise, absolutely gigantic. We had unknowingly ordered way more than we could chew.
After all that waiting when the food finally arrived, our table looked scrumptious
Our first thoughts, after tasting the Chicken tikka masala, were not positive. We were left with a jarring sweetness, minimal spice and none of the fragrant flavours we would typically associate with an Indian curry. The sauce wasn’t balanced and was much too sweet. The portion size was also too small for £12.
But the dal makhani, a rich, creamy lentil sauce oozing with butter and well-balanced spices, didn’t disappoint.
Old India might be an old favourite, but will it go down as my personal favourite? I highly doubt it.
I understand the need to dilute spices and adjust flavours to suit local tastes but I also believe that diluting food prevents an Indian restaurant from truly being Indian. Indian sauces are known for their complex flavour profiles and Old India missed the mark in bringing these profiles to life.
A dash of aromatics and some fragrant spices might one day bring Old India to the level of other Indian restaurants in Bristol.
Old India’s architectural grandeurs are one of its stand out factors
All photos: Karen Johnson
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