Koconut Grove — Restaurant in England

This large South-Indian Restaurant sits incongruously in a modern building adjacent to a hotel – inside it’s bright and modern. Found this place via a recommendation from a colleague who linked to Jay Rayner’s review of 2018 – as we were staying nearby this was a perfect time to give this place a try.

Booking online was easy, although unnecessary on a Monday evening it turned out, and we were seated immediately upon arrival. The beer was both Cobra and Kingfisher – the duo reunited – this was good to see, for we all like a choice.

The menu features some classics but also a number of specialty dishes unique to the region – to start, I had to try one fo the famous Dosas. These are like a giant crispy pancake, rolled up and filled with your choice from the menu. Mine was full of lamb. The dosa was huge, what a treat of a starter – about 18 inches long and with a hefty whack of lamb in the middle. Beautiful flavours; absolutely terrific. A small tray of chutneys on the side – coconut, chilli and spicy vegetable, I think. I greatly enjoyed my Dosa and , despite the size, I found this to be a perfect starter. They are clearly popular here – it seemed everyone was eating them.

For the main, a chicken Manchurian – deep fried chicken bites in a spicy sauce (can be served dry, wet or in-between) – this was a dish full of flavour and with a good level of spice. This was accompanied by a thin and fresh garlic naan. Thin and Fresh. Oh yes.

No room for pudding, but I noticed there was Gulub Jamun. Yum.

The reviews about this place a definitely right – really good food which offers something bit different to the usual. Full of flavour and lots of choice. I would eat here again if I’m back in Chester at any point.

Very convenient if you’re staying at the Hotel Indigo.

The ‘K’ on the sign looks like a ‘C’ with a palm tree next to it – this is confusing. It is definitely...

31/ 05/2024

Yet another experience with being fooled by the reviews. My friend and I went to the restaurant seeing all the reviews hoping to have some good Indian food. We ordered biryani which was quite expensive( over 13 pounds) , for the amount they served. It was not even sufficient for one person. It was not at all spicy despite having ordered for a spicy one, and had absolutely null flavour. Chicken 65 was ok, to be fair. Kerala porotta was ok too, and was a portion of 1 for around 4 pounds. Just nothing special or even mentionable at the place and the staff were quite unwelcoming. The order took almost 1 hour for serving, only to get cold and dry food. The staff are also biased to looks and colour, if you know you know. This is seemingly yet an other restaurant hyped as Indian restaurant which accomodate British people who love Indian food, by adjusting to flavours to suit them. The place was full of British people, and some random Indians. Just expensive; less quantity, quality and flavour for the food . I would not recommend the place to Indians who know how Indian food actually tastes like.

04/06/2024

Now I have something else to add on to this comment , aftet having seen the reply comment from the hotel. The reply comment is either a mistake, or a planned shrewd cooked up one. It is pathetic that either they do such fraudulent tricks to deceive people more, or are irresponsible and reckless as to reply in such silly manner. Their mentions are all wrong. I went in with one friend; I never booked a table; I did not have any leftovers to get it packed, and the scenario in the reply comment is not mine at all. The experience mentioned is genuine, and each word is truth. The hotel excels in deception, if not in food...

I just got back from lunch at Coconut (Kokonut) Grove and had a decent meal there. The restaurant is in a great location, just outside the city center, and the inside is clean and well presented. My server, Bill, was AMAZING. He was the only server on duty and was seating people, answering the phone, delivering food, etc. It was quite busy and I couldn't believe he was there by himself. He did a fantastic job and juggled the multiple responsibilities with aplomb. He was extremely pleasant and buzzed around the dining room like a pro. The service was 5*+

The food, on the other hand, was just OK and the reason for the 3* rating. It was good but not great. It was nicely presented and came out piping hot, but in my opinion, it was very bland. I'm not English, so maybe the food is geared more toward an English palate (which would make sense given the location- haha). I like spicy and ordered the Chicken 65 which I had several times in India. It wasn't spicy at all and, in my opinion, the Chicken Pakoras from M&S have a lot more flavor. I also had the Vegetable Biryani and, again, it was bland. I know that there is a ton of variety in the way biryani is made, but I thought that northern biryani had the raisins and cashews in it and southern biryani was spicier. I expected the spicier, red biryani (because so many items on the menu are from southern India) but was served the yellow rice with cashews and raisins. It was well cooked, but lacking in flavor.

I had a nice experience but probably won't eat here again because I like spicier, more flavorful food. It is lovely inside, though, and the service was great, so if you like milder food, you may like this...