Last night I went to Spice Lounge, the new (ish) Indian restaurant on Friargate in Derby.  Alright, it has been there a while now, but my relationship with curry has cooled substantially of late, following an unfortunate episode of food poisoning.  Not the curry's fault but that was what was coming up during the bout, and it has scarred me deep.  So anyway I'd wanted to try Spice Lounge for a while and had heard good things about it, but my desire for curry had been fairly lukewarm.  I went with the boy, the brother and a very old German friend who was staying in Derby on his whistle stop tour of the UK, collecting a car full of Walker's crisps, John Smith's bitter and Cadbury's chocolate.  Said German is rather eccentric.  I don't know why we thought curry would be a good idea, kind of a traditional English night out maybe?  Lots of lager and a Ruby Murray?  Anyway, it turned out he doesn't like spice of any description; so not the best start.  However we assured him there would be a non spicy option on the menu (there was) and continued with the plan.
Spice Lounge's menu is not cheap so we took advantage of their early bird offer; 7 days a week before 8pm you get poppadoms and pickles, a main course, rice, naan and a drink for £13.50, not bad.  Spice Lounge sells itself as an upmarket, gourmet option, not your run of the mill flock wallpapered establishment.  We arrived at 7.30pm and the place was heaving, the offer is shrewd as traditionally people tend to go out later for a curry, after  more lager, so this was getting them through the door from the beginning of the evening.  We were seated, in a flock wallpapered corner, and immediately brought our poppadoms, pickles and drinks.  Poppadoms were good, fresh and crispy, and pickles were usual, nothing that stood out as taking things to the next level yet.  Then came a wait of well over half an hour for our main course.  We finished our drinks and ordered another and it did cross my mind that the long wait was a cynical ploy to ensure you did just that.  During the wait we were "entertained" by increasing loud drunken screeching from the harridans at the table opposite...prompting our German guest to comment that this wasn't usual in Germany.  We assured him it wasn't usual here either (thankfully).  Surely they can't have been that hammered already?
Mains came eventually, and were perfectly pleasant, the boys chicken was tender and my paneer was lovely.  The German got his spice free butter chicken although felt it was a bit heavy handed on the sauce.  Mains come in at well over a tenner but I didn't feel they delivered on the "creative twist" claim made on their menu.  I'd rather go to somewhere like Balti International on the Uttoxeter road, food just as good and a lot cheaper, and bring your own booze.  Perhaps the place has bitten off more than it can chew with the demand for the early bird menu, they were trying to cram in too many covers, and staff were literally running around.  I wouldn't make a point of going again but it wasn't bad, just lacking the courage of its convictions and the comfortable and relaxed atmosphere of a lounge.
http://www.spicelounge-friargate.co.uk/index.html

Yes please Yamas!

Last week I started working a day a week as a kind of marketing assistant for Perkins restaurant, escabeche and the Carriage Hall in Nottingham.  This means I have been rather busy setting stuff up for them but I just wanted to take 5 minutes to tell you about a fantastic little restaurant called Yamas which I went to in Nottingham over the bank holiday weekend.
Yamas bills itself as Greek and Spanish mezze and tapas, but I'd say it was more Cypriot than anything else, with a heavy emphasis on Halloumi (of which I can't get enough) and Cypriot beers on the menu.  It is tucked away down a side street (Thurland Street) in Nottingham city centre and was recommended heartily by several trusted food loving individuals.  We went at lunchtime on a Saturday, and although the interior decor is rather unprepossessing I couldn't help being struck by the lively atmosphere; it reminded me of the vibe having lunch at Polpo in Soho in London, lots of people having a really good time and some really good food and drink.
The staff were very welcoming and friendly and we were seated at a cosy corner table where we could people watch everyone enjoying their grub.  There are obviously a lot of regulars who come back again and again.  The lunch menu was disturbingly cheap at £6.95 for 3 dishes each so we decided to go for a sharing starter as well, this proved greedy.  We got a meat and cheese platter with the aforementioned halloumi, cheese stuffed peppers, and various cold meats.  This was accompanied by a basket of beautifully fresh, warmed pitta bread, obviously homemade.  The mezze came thick and fast after that, we ordered a selection which included Kalamari, Stifado, and delicious little deep fried whitebait with alioli.  We couldn't finish all the food which was a crying shame, so if you go for lunch then the lunch menu alone is adequate, you don't need to pimp it!  I look forward to going again, they do some cracking set menus in the evening.  Check it out.
http://www.yamasbar.co.uk/