Review: East India Cafe, Cheltenham

Anyone who reads this blog knows that my favourite Indian restaurant is The Chilli Pickle in Brighton. And this is because it is not just a curry house. It’s not a good local curry house, it’s not a curry house with fine dining pretensions, it’s not an actual fine dining curry house. It’s a modern Indian restaurant, trying to bring some of the authentic flavours of India – muddled up with a few modern British ingredients – to a happy south coast audience. And there’s far too few of them. So I’m really delighted that something a bit similar has popped up in Cheltenham.

The East India Cafe is easily missed, tucked away in a basement on the Promenade. Through the doors there’s a bijou 24 cover restaurant with furniture and decor to conjure up the idea of the Raj, and an eclectic looking little bar with a few seats for cocktails. It’s a brand new venture from completely first-time restauranteurs, and it looks good. I felt perfectly chilled (especially after a decent negroni) and the service couldn’t have been more friendly.

We started with a plate of phuchka – another regional variation on the pani puri – very good mix of flavours with a strong buzz of chilli, and the puri shells were interestingly bubbly in texture, like pork crackling. Wikipedia tells me there are at least eleven names for these: Gol Gappa, Pani ke bataashe / Patash, Pani puri, Phuchka, Gup chup, Pakodi, Phulki, Tikki, Padaka, Phulki, Pani Ke Patashe. I know I’m going to like a restaurant if they serve them, whatever name they happen to pick.

Next up I had a couple of lovely little grilled lamb chops, while Maureen picked out keema chicken; two small fritters with a nice texture, a strong curry leaf flavour and a surprise garlic mayonnaise accompaniment. Hey, it worked. My lamb chops came with a “lasooni chutney” which was a smooth, spicy, garlicky paste I hadn’t tried before. Also delicious.

For main course I ordered a cardamom roasted guinea fowl. This was a beautifully cooked piece of bird, still juicy, and the cardamom was there too (it better be, ’tis my favourite spice!). The sauce was creamy and almost there – just a tiny bit unbalanced, perhaps the cream not cooked out. Maureen’s allepey sauce with her sea bass was spot on, though; sweet, sour, fishy, and with a heat that built up. The crispy sea bass was nicely presented, but just a tad over. Both dishes came with good pilau rice.

Apart from decent cocktails to begin, we drank down a glass of ghol and a masala chai. The ghol is like a light, refreshing version of a salt/spice lassi. Refreshing? It was so refreshing it refreshes the meaning of the word refreshing! Their masala chai was good too, not over-sweet, and with a very savoury spice mix in it.

Apparently chef has never cooked in a commercial kitchen before. For me, that instantly explains and forgives the couple of dropped notes during an otherwise delicious meal. Give it another six months and I’ll bet those dishes will be perfect. In the meantime, I reckon the sense of hospitality and authenticity at the East India Cafe make it well worth a visit any time. Expect to pay £25 for three courses.