Curry Club — Restaurant in City Centre

Brief Synopsis: The food is exquisite (lekker); simple but perfectly balanced; well-spiced; and not greasy. The hospitality is outstanding. It's like eating at an old friend's (chana). And as for value for money: Exceptional (kiff); less than 400Rand for two with soft drinks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The Experience: Before arriving in any new city, I always look for one place to eat. The Curry Club was going to be that destination in Cape Town; great reviews and conveniently located just across the street from my hotel. I had hoped to go earlier, but on my last night's stay in Cape Town, I finally made it. And I was glad, I did. But it almost didn't happen at all. Not having booked, we were told there was not any room inside the authentic 'salon'. Looking at the menu, my friend and I decided the food was just too good to miss out on, so we ordered a take-away. Waiting for our order, and without any prompting snacks started to appear from the kitchen. We were treated to spinach bhajis...heavenly creations; no sogginess to these utterly crisp chickpea flour covered treats. Meanwhile, we had noticed the lovely but completely deserted 'stoop' outside. And thinking it wasn't too cold for us Brits, decided we might like to eat there. But just then our our order arrived, neatly packaged in massive paper bags. We asked speculatively if we might stay. And instead of being annoyed or irtitated at being messed about, our hosts faces beamed with smiles of kindness. They took all the food back to the kitchen to be plated up, properly. We ordered, Vegetable Samosas (delighted to say these were proper Punjabi-style); Paneer Maneer Kastoori; and Dal Makhani. We were going to order rice, only to be told that all dishes were served with it; a mountain of it, which we couldn't finish. And as if that wasn't enough, they threw in some Tadka Dal - which appropriately they call 'Sunshine Dal'. And to top all of these there was the bright and happy Isha, who served us. A student, she spent ten minutes educating us about what the realities of life are in today's Cape Town - she's never been anywhere else yet - and smiling throughout. The people in this city are exceptionally friendly; open; unguarded. They treat life itself as a blessing to be embraced. That is not to say they are naive or ignorant. But they would rather live life than be crushed by...

Unfortunately had a horrible experience here. Go for the curries here, skip EVERYTHING else. All else is a mild copy of North Indian food.

On this day in particular, they did try to make it up but I was so put off by the raw (showed them this 3 times) and tasteless food that I couldn’t possibly take back the same food. I repeated to them multiple times, to just get me a curry instead of their bbq but they just didn’t get it or maybe didn’t have authority to do it. I emphatize with that, which is why I mention it. Suggestions for them:

They should give their staff enough authority to make it up to guests (it costs only 30% of list price to give a customer a great experience if they didn’t have one).

Please be as clear as possible on the menu on what the menu item is. Or show pictures if you can’t be clear in writing.

The customer is always right. And especially a customer who has been there multiple times and never complained (i.e. me!) :)

I’ve tried multiple items on their menu and ONLY enjoyed the curries, but point to note - never complained about anything in public or otherwise. I gave them the benefit of doubt as those items being their version, and maybe not for me.

This experience opened me up to the reality of the establishment. A non-authentic version of North Indian cuisine with poor service. Unfortunately, that is why this review.

(P.S. I bagged all the uneaten food and had to throw it away as it...

Went to the pop up at the german club. We ordered 1. Bhajjis (Onion, spinach) 2. Potato and coriander samosas 3. Lamb Rogan Josh 4. Paneer Butter Masala 5. Paneer Kastoori 6. Lucknow lamb Kastoori 7. Plain and Garlic Butter Naan

Bhajjis - Ok. Samosa – Chewy, and one could see the dough after taking a bite. Not good at all

Lamb Rogan Josh – ‘josh” in hindi approximately translates into ‘enthusiasm’. Least enthusiastic rogan josh I have ever had. Fairly bland and sweet after-taste. The chef tries to mask an inability to blend spices with extra oil (see picture)

Paneer butter masala – This was so sweet that we had to send it back. Replaced with Paneer kastoori. In an attempt to mask the sweetness of the base gravy, the chef added extra kastoori methi (fenugreek). Anyone with experience in indian cooking would know that excessive kastoori methi adds bitterness. This is exactly what happened and every morsel left a bitter aftertaste on the palate

Paneer Kastoori and Lucknow Lamb kastoori – Friends had them so can’t say much but they weren’t satisfied with the flavors either.

Naan – Ok

Overall, the chef has a penchant for using sugar and kastoori methi in everything. These ingredients are used selectively in indian cuisine.

Terrible, overpriced food.

The only thing positive was...