Spice Lounge, Banbury Road, Oxford (4.5)

Curry, what does that word conjure up?  Smell? Taste? Experiences related to Curry?  I always always think of a place when I think of the word Curry and normally it involves a rancid watery takeaway with overcooked vegetables and some aggressively spiced paste that looks like it has been regurgitated by a cat.

So as you can imagine, my thought of ‘going out for a curry’ was quiet dread and a small hint of fear as we walked in to one of the nicest restaurants I have ever had the pleasure of walking in to.  The first thing you notice about the decor is the warmth that it gives.  The hues and the tones make you feel vaguely romantic, even if you were coming in with a client or your boss, I could imagine pouring some wine and eyeing them seductively just thanks to the mood lighting.

Maybe not, but the first thing that they had nailed was the surroundings and the initial service, the first impressions had sold me already.  Second was the menu which is available from here which I hunted through to find a relatively generous vegetarian section lavished with a lot of other vegetarian dishes peppered through the menu, not just confined to the veggie section.  Thirdly was the free poppadoms with sections of dip as an appetiser, the taste really helped get your buds ready for the meal which ultimately helped everything go down well.

My Motta Paneer was amazing, and although the portion was a bit on the small side, I felt the taste made up for this.  I could have eaten more, much more but diets as they are we both sat there feeling suitably stuffed and as quickly as he appeared the waiter presented us with a nice little bill.

I would have slapped a nice 5 on the Spice Lounge but I did come away feeling that the portion was just a bit too stingly.  It didn’t make me question the thought about whether I could eat all of it, nor was I really bowled over by the food itself.  It was tasty and really well cooked but it didn’t stand out.