Desh — Restaurant in Tonbridge and Malling

I had reserved a table for 8pm on a Saturday night for 3 people. We were greeted at the door with a warm smile and were asked if we wanted to have a drink at the bar first or head to the table, we were a bit early and decided to have a drink in the bar area.

The bi-fold doors at the front were wide open, which was nice to have some air running through the restaurant and helped our people watching and chatting. The decor is modern but warm and inviting, the chairs are so comfortable! The restaurant was full but you could still hear other and it had a really nice ambience.

The drinks menu is extensive enough to cover all tastes without being overwhelming (I highly recommend the G+T selections, I managed to sample, at least 3!).

The menu is not extensive but covers all tastes and executes the dishes well, the vibe is small pates / Indian street food. The host walked us through the menu and helped with recommendations, which were brilliant. We ordered poppadoms, which zoomed out the kitchen after ordering and were warm crisp and airy. For starters we ordered the chaat, dahi puri and okra, all were delicious and set us up for the main event. For mains, we ordered the lamb chops, chicken lababdaar curry, fish curry, chapatti and black lentils. All the food was served hot, it was flavourful, nothing overpowering, good portion size and just delicious. I will be dreaming of the lamb chops, rice and black lentils and coming back to savour them ASAP. The desserts looked great but we were to full to eat anymore.

I cannot wait to come back and explore the rest of the menu. Desh is a perfect place for a lighter Indian meal with all the flavours you would expect from a more traditional Indian meal. It is a welcome additional to the West Malling restaurants. It deserves to do well, the food is great, service is excellent and reasonably priced. If you want a more traditional experience of an Indian meal head over the road to Bombay Cuisine, which I also...

Alright, I’ll admit it – I’m a basic Brit when it comes to Indian food. I know proper curry fans would roll their eyes at me (or slap me with a naan) for always ordering a Chicken Tikka Masala – the most “English” curry on the menu. But listen, I love it. I’ll probably be ordering it for the rest of my life. So when I rocked up to Desh and saw it wasn’t on the menu… it threw me a bit!

They suggested the butter chicken as a substitute – and yeah, it was tasty (you can see my pics), but it just wasn’t the one. Different flavour, different vibe. Nice, but not what I was craving.

Now, on the flip side – and this is no exaggeration – they served the best poppadoms I’ve ever had in my life. Super crispy, fresh, and actually seasoned – they weren’t just there to kill time before the main, they were a proper highlight.

The place itself is small and intimate – great for date night or a chilled dinner. Maybe less ideal for five lads having a laugh, like we were. We weren’t told off or anything, but I did feel like we filled the whole downstairs with just our banter.

Price-wise, it’s definitely more “posh Indian” than your regular high street curry house. About £50 a head, and I only had two drinks. No one went wild, so yeah, bit spenny.

In summary:

😢 Didn’t have my beloved Tikka Masala (heartbreak) 🥘 Butter chicken was decent 👌 Poppadoms were legendary 😌 Cosy place, maybe not one for the rowdy boys 💸 Bit on the pricey side

Would I go back? Yeah – but I’d probably check the menu...

My overall experience was nice until I was given a alcoholic mocktail!!?? When placing my order I made sure to order a mocktail as I don't drink alcohol! At first I just thought the mocktail did taste different, Every place makes it differently and I don't like making a fuss so I continued to drink it. Not long after I started feeling a burning sensation in my chest and just thought that wasn't normal and I started feeling super hot. So I asked the waiter who worked behind the bar as he walked past the table if he had put alcohol in this drink he replied with yes, I then said I asked for a non alcoholic drink I mean I had a hijab on if that wasn't enough of a clue. I was then approached by another waitress who apologised and said the lady behind the bar just presumed it was a cocktail, the drink was replaced but to be honest I didn't drink it and it was taken of the bill. Honestly just felt like they did not understand the seriousness of serving someone alcohol, could be for many reasons religion medical pregnant etc, perhaps something should be put in place in order for this not to happen again. This is a big deal!! Food - starters was great but the mains (curries) seemed very watered down, didn't have much depth...