Durbar Lounge — Restaurant in Rushmoor

Chit Chat! We are the Curry Clan and we attend a different curry establishment every month and provide good ol’ honest feedback on our experience!

This months choice was the Bengal Lancer in Aldershot! Many of the lads had frequented this curry house many many years ago so we were keen to take a trip down memory Lane. So strap yourself in, it’s going to be a bumpy and random ride!

Upon arrival, the ambience was one of stunted silence, excitement of what our evening had in store and a crooked table (levelled with expert levelling skills using a folded place mat!) Beers and our poppadum order took some time to make their way to us, however the beer was cold (not Cobra as the glass suggested) and the poppadoms eventually arrived (luckily not the spicy ones but a strong flavour that overpowered all the dips!)! We requested another dip ‘wheel’ (not circular but we won’t get into the detail just yet!). Nevertheless this arrived promptly with a tangy, creamy-coloured mint sauce, chilli lime pickle, whole onions and a sweet n’ sour/mango chutney mash up.

The starters were good, however the chicken chat was very different and not what was expected, with the chef attempting to dress the underside of the plate which left an awful mess on the table. The addition of a cranberry /hoisin sauce remix to the mixed kebab starter was also an interesting fusion that my taste buds had not encountered before.

The beer continued to flow and the service was to a good standard.

The mains arrived and smelt amazing! However, we were not prepared for the mouth workout required to eat the assortment of meat that had been cooked to a consistency of what can only be described as part-worn tyres.

In our group was an ex-marine who commented that this was the most difficult task he had ever faced, having been to combat zones this was not what was expected on a mid-week curry night with the boys. I attempted to cut a small piece of meat and gave up after several minutes of sawing back and forth. However, in general the flavours were good the rices and naans were good. The chef even accommodated our ‘egg-fried’ rice request without hesitation.

I would rate the food a solid C+, good but could do better (much like my school reports).

However, the highlight of the evening was the very spacious toilets, which if times get tough could be rented out as a spacious studio apartment.

The bill came and the application of numerous corrections using tipex had us concerned, however the 5-6 pints soon overcame this concern and we all paid and departed the establishment, full, tired and ready for bed.

Thank you Bengal Lancer, it was an experience none of us will ever...

Worst Chicken peices in soup I have ever eaten in my life. And I eat a lot of curries. I normally make my own but because my friend was visiting I treated (more like punished) him to a take away. Where do I start: breads were average at best, then the the curry was just an ill flavoured soup with 4 chunks of chicken per portion, oh, and a peice of tomato, WFT. No texture at all, the chicken was supposed to be tikka, it wasn't. I will not use this place again. Lesson learned. There is no way that a chef made this curry. By the way, it all went in the bin, that's how bad it was. If you want me to come down and teach your so called chef how to make a Madras, I will happily guide him through the process. But if not, here is a tip, your supposed to cook out the base gravy so it reduces, not serve it like soup🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 Do not go here, I repeat, do...

Booked here as it was recommended from years ago. It’s a new owner who is a very polite young man and more than happy to engage with you. They cook everything fresh so the wait times are a little longer but I have to say, wow. The food was absolutely gorgeous, the tandoori was out of this world. After speaking with the owner about his plans he invited us back as a family to try a few new things he is considering for the menu and we did just that. What a lovely evening with absolutely gorgeous food. A 7 & 9 year old loved every bit of it too and even surprised them with ice cream. Amazing service, amazing food and overall a lovely experience. I wish the owner every success and we’ll see...