Purple Poppadom — Restaurant in Wales

During a recent visit to Cardiff, I had the pleasure of dining at the Purple Poppadom. It was a memorable dining experience for my family to have together and I’m glad we did it together. You can see the entrees we got in the pictures, but I will focus in on the main course as that was the standout by far.

We got the chef’s signature dish, the Tiffin Seabass. I’m a sucker for a signature dish - and I can see why this one is one. The subtleties in the flavours and the way it combines together was very well thought out. The skin was crispy on the seabass, the curry leaf infused mash was something I wish I could make and the dish just worked. I love getting a Biriyani and my daughter felt like some chicken so we got that and the waiter suggested we pair it with the Dal Tadka. The Dal Tadka was almost the highlight of the whole meal so definitely get it, just well balanced and yummy and great to mop up with the top of the Biriyani and Naan. I said almost the highlight because there was more - the Lamb Roganjosh might be the best one I’ve ever had, I shared the meat evenly with everyone, but kept putting the sauce on more rice and eating it with Naan. Like most the dishes, the balance of the spices is a skill on show.

Probably didn’t need dessert but the rose crème brûlée was calling out to me, so we shared some. I’ve never had a pink one before but the sugar cracked like it should and the flavours were well thought out, like all the other dishes. We left full and happy and stepped out into the gentle rain of the evening - all with different favourite things we’d eaten and grateful for the experience. The chef’s know what they are doing here and the wait staff were polite, friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. Definitely...

Daylight Robbery Disguised as Fine Dining – Avoid at All Costs

I rarely have a bad meal, mainly because I research every restaurant religiously before visiting (in Tripadvisor we trust). But my god – The Purple Poppadom slipped the net, and what a mistake that was.

The menu was the first warning sign. None of the classic Indian dishes you’d expect – no Jalfrezi, no Bhuna. We ordered poppadoms to start, which arrived as a basket of broken shards with three token chutneys. No yoghurt, no onions – laughable for a restaurant trading on “fine dining” credentials.

The mains were even worse. My lamb rogan josh was just lumps of meat dumped into thin gravy, and my partner’s chicken dish was so poor it had to be taken off the bill. When I raised the fact that my £18.95 lamb dish had just four pieces of meat, the waiter smugly corrected me: “There are five.” Oh, well in that case – what a bargain! Portions across the board were poor: the rice came in the tiniest bowl imaginable, and while the naan was decent, it hardly rescued the meal.

Then came the insult: a bill of £67 (with a £25 meal removed) for two underwhelming mains, four broken poppadoms, two beer and two soft drinks. Outrageous. The last award this place won was five years ago, and it shows – the quality has collapsed since.

And the service? When we raised our (very reasonable) concerns, the waiter found it all too stressful and sloped off into the kitchen for a vape. Absolutely disgusting.

The Purple Poppadom is living on a faded reputation it no longer deserves. Overpriced, under-portioned and underwhelming. Quite possibly the worst Indian I’ve ever had – and I will...

We had a wonderful experience. This is an Indian fine dining experience. You get excellent service, wonderful food, and a great vibe here. The food was exceptional. We ordered the signature dish. The crispy fish skin was a crunchy delight above the melt in your mouth sea bass. The flavors were incredible. The way the beetroot pachadi zinged when the curry infused mash zagged was just incredible. It was such a delightful meal. We also go the prawn biryani. The pastry locked in the flavor and made for extra moist rice. The yogurt sauce with it was so perfectly balanced. It's slightly sauce and compliments the smoothness of the rest of the dish. We finished off with the rose creme brulee. I'm a bit of a creme brulee enthusiast. The flavor is very strong of floral. It comes a bright Barbie pink (which is delightful!) The top was the perfect crunch and yet didn't get stuck to your teeth. The custard was nice and cool which complimented the warm crunchy top.

All in all we were very impressed. I think if you're looking for traditional Indian cuisine this may not be for you. It's a fun dining experience where the chef it playing with traditional Indian recipes to...