Cafe Naz, Castle Street

Sam Davyson	Andrew Smith	Laura Bryant
Katie Dickson	Nick Flynn	Rob Baldock
Polly Dickson

Location notes: Up beyond Magdalene College. Just a little further up "the hill" from The Maharajah.

Experiences: It's a curry house that has somehow evaded our grasp despite having been doing this whole curry thing for over two years now. Sam and Nick decided that today would be the day we'd finally strike it from our to do list, also somewhat helped by a flyer from the restaurant landing in Nick's pigeonhole earlier on in term.

For the initial meeting it was just Sam, Nick and the two VIPs: Katie and Polly Dickson, who we had the pleasure of having join us this week. We promptly head out in the freezing cold towards Cafe Naz. Not too far (just over a mile) but it in the biting cold it was a huge relief to finally get there.

Upon arrival we found a dedicated takeaways area and a special discount (15%) for collections - finally some justification for our insistence on collecting the curry rather than having it delivered. Having placed our orders Andy Andrew and Laura arrived. The food came quickly and we scurried back to Emmanuel. Now six of us, with two bikes in tow.

We paused at the Off Licence to pick up some strawberry tinted 'Brothers' cider and a four pack of pint sized lager cans. Getting back to Nick's room where the event was hosted we arranged ourselves sitting quite "organically" on the floor. Rob joined at this point to be scorched by a hot madras.

Eating followed with no complaints other than those relating to the rather spicy nature of the food and "what's this onion shit on the top of my pilau rice?". It turned out to be pure pilau. Superb. Laura helpfully picked up the leftovers. Oddly the mess from the peshwari naans was white rather than yellow. Good naans though.

Later Sam tripped over a hazardously placed vacuum cleaner and Andrew made a wisecrack about the possibility of Nick leaving.

Music Playlist: Curry Club - feat The Dicksons

Prices: Little on the high side, but 15% discount brought things down. A little over £10 for the big three.

Bottom line: Nice + Spicy. A little pricey perhaps but not outrageously so, and real good quality food.

Moghul Tandoori, Sturton St

India House, Newnham Rd

The Gandhi, Regent Street

Nirala, Milton Rd

Sam Davyson	Andrew Smith	Lizzie Davis
Rich Duncan	Katie Dickson	Alex White
Tess Buchanan	James Morris	Fran Face
Aisling O'Dwyer	Berni Wood	Mark Austin

Location notes: Right at the start of Milton Rd. Only about a mile from Emmanuel heading North out of the gate by hostel and over the river.

Experiences: Everyone met fairly promptly in East Court and we headed out of the gate towards the curry house. Including two brand new guests who we were excited to welcome along, Mark and Ash. Katie was there, but decided not too come on the walk - she had leftovers to eat up, and Andy wasn't there but was due to join us when we got back to college. Big Rich joined us in a very fluid way just outside Emmanuel.

The direction was unfamiliar for us, most of the curry houses we frequent are down Mill or Hills Rd. This was in the complete other direction. By this point we were quite a large group and significant splintering (*) occurred, which is of course a good healthy sign. I think some people thought it was a bit far when we were looking at the map in EC2, but by all accounts the walk passed quickly. For reference there are four ATMs in a row very near the curry house - so don't worry if you haven't withdrawn any cash.

We were shown to seats within the restaurant. We covered three tables and while I can't speak for the discussion at other tables I know that at ours we covered a whole host of hot topics with the highlight being slang terms for money. From this we learnt that a pony (or a macaroni) is £25 and not £1000 as we had originally thought.

On the way home Ash kindly offered her room to house the curry. And wow - what a room it is, one of the finest rooms in college and certainly the largest room we've ever had a curry in. The result? Everyone could sit in much greater comfort than previously and when Lizzie clambered onto Ash's chest of drawers to get a view of the group this is what she saw. Andy and Katie had rejoined us when we returned to college so everyone's in the picture apart from Tess who had just nipped out of the room. So she was separately pictured.

And what was the food like? Simply brilliant. No one had any complaints - not even the korma lovers. My madras was hot but not too hot. The peshwari naan was good although it had been advertised with currants - and none were found. And the portions of everything were nice and big.

After we'd all cleaned ourselves up and Rich had very kindly done all the washing up, some people left. But everyone who remained joined in with a lively game of charades (shhhraids). Here's how it went...

Charades
Mark set Lizzie: (I've forgotten - let me know)
Lizzie set Tess: Slumdog Millionaire.
Tess set Ash: How To Get Ahead in Advertising.
Ash set Mark: Pride & Prejudice.
Mark set Sam: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Sam set Andy: Jumanji.
Andy set Alex: Die Hard.

At this stage there was some banter about who was going to write the review. No one seemed that keen. For future weeks I introduced the Curry Reviewer Chooser.

(*) This is a term I coined in late 2008 to refer to the transition of a group from having one conversation to a group having many smaller conversations. A group having gone through this phase change is said to have splintered.

Prices: Exceptionally cheap. We all enjoyed a 20% student discount, and coupled with the already low prices this gave us an incredible deal. The big 3 which can be up to £10 was only £6.50.

Bottom line: Absolutely fantastic. Great food, a terrific price, not too far away. What a night.

Curry Queen, Mill Rd

Sam Davyson	Andrew Smith	Joe Travis
Lizzie Davis	Berni Wood	James Morris
Fran Face	Alex White

Location notes: Not far if you run! It's around a ten minute brisk walk from college down Mill Rd. It's opposite "Golden Curry" and near the railway bridge.

Experiences: The One In Sam's Room

After numerous responses from people busy at work on this Sunday evening the curry looked uncertain. Then a phonecall from Fran confirmed several guests and it was full steam ahead. At 8.30 we assembled in my room and after a quick tour of the secret bit of East Court, headed out of college. Just to be clear at this point the "we" here means Me, Lizzie, Joe, James and Berni. We were overcome with autumnal joy as we walked through the leaves and spontaneously began to run.

Some people took this further than others. Joe and Berni went as far as Kelsey Kerridge. Me and James more like the traffic lights, and Lizzie a little less than that. We then made a last minute change of location - deciding to opt for Curry Queen over Golden Curry because it is that bit closer.

We were directed to a table at the back left handside of the restaurant where we made our choices. Once we'd ordered and got the bill we were surprised by how low it was - around £35. There was plenty of change to go around. The wait passed quickly with some brief attempts at the Sunday Mirror crossword. But we didn't actually get as far as writing any answers in.

Before we knew it we were back in EC2. At this point Fran joined us with plates which proved very useful. The food was good. Some people found it spicy, others not so much. There was quite some debate over which is spicer out of a madras and a ceylon. When Andy joined us and commented that he "just blacked out" from a mouthful of the madras I think that sealed the contest.

There was discussion of a college bar crawl, and Lizzie assigned herself the job of turning the idea into reality via a Hermes email thread. No small task. There was talk of a road trip somewhere in Yorkshire. Or maybe in Cornwall. Anyway we're certainly doing something in the week after term ends this summer. There was also quite some chatter about the forthcoming "Sophie Curry" which is coming up this Friday. Where to go was the question we attempted, and failed, to answer. Andy said it might be time for Pipasha and then recounted a tragic story about a Porter at Christ's.

After the washing up had been done and the rubbish taken out. The activity descended to the level of Youtubing. And here's what we watched.

Youtube Hitlist

Fatal Bazooka feat Yelle - Parle à ma main
Britney Spears - Piece Of Me
Britney Spears - Lucky
Funny Gym Moment
Beat Control - Tilly And The Wall
Victoria Wood - Lets Do It
High School Musical 3 Scream With Lyrics
Spice Test!
Japan Binocular Football
Daft Hands
Matrix Romance
Titanic Recut
Toy Story Requiem
The Shining Recut

Prices: Very very good. My standard meal which is normally a flat ten was just £7.55.

Bottom line: Thanks for coming. A great night had by all.

Moghul Tandoori, Sturton Street

Andrew Smith	Sam Davyson	Sophie Goodall
Fran Face	Lizzie Davis	Rich Duncan
Nick Flynn	Berni Wood

Written by Andrew Smith

Location notes: Round the back of Mill Road, accessible from Norfolk Street off East Road (next to APU).

Experiences: (Abridged version)

Good curry fare. After the new meeting place was found and the doorbell rang, all the participants reclined in Fran's luxurious room, recounting curry tales of yore and generally bantering about previous experiences before leaving for the mythological 'Moghul Tandoori'. It was only a name... but what a name. Nobody was quite sure whether, both the new eating residence and the curry house would stand up to their own formidable reputations, but we departed in high spirits nonetheless, Big Rich running along behind like an excitable young Yorkshire Terrier.

We went along 'Believe' Street and then past Big Rich towers (otherwise known as Anastasia House (on loan from the Poly)). Crossing over the main SW-NE trunk road known as East Road we headed off into a new part of town in the back and beyond. It was a new experience for all concerned finding out that there was life behind the vibrant cosmopolitan hub that is Mill Road. It was as if we'd stepped into a new world far away from home straying from the sublime (the new row of corner shops we discovered) to the frankly hideous, as exemplified by a disgraceful set of 'graffitised' covered garages, which Berni gladly explored. Smudger was less enthused, muttering something to himself along the lines of 'kids' and 'wasters'. On we pushed, deeper and deeper into the wilderness (not nature) passing new landmark after new landmark. There were shops, pubs, ANOTHER curry house (next week's venue) and an age concern hut for old people. Then, as we rounded, what turned out to be, the final corner, MOGHUL TANDOORI appeared in the distance. It was our curry house, there she blew, dominating the surrounding landscape. It was our raison d'etre, the ultimate object of our desires, it was an indian.

Upon arriving in the understated interior, BRD was promptly encouraged to stop standing on the mat since it set off a bell each time anyone walked on it. After that small oversight had been corrected, the attendees whipped out some menus and got choosing. Good, though not the most extensive, curry choice. Once some banter had been conducted, Smudger Smith approached the 'curry counter' (it was a takeaway-only restaurant) and made it known to the proprietor that we'd like to make our order. Smudger led the way with his malaya, pilau rice and KEEMA naan and then people followed in the usual fashion. It now appears that peshwari naan has become de rigeur and the orders whole-heartedly reinforced that notion. Once all the orders had been collated by the helpful man, he asked the spokesman (Smith) whether we'd like our order in a box in separate bags. In that moment, visions of the huge polystyrene box we'd procured from Curry Queen many moons ago came flooding back and the box option was taken without a second thought.

After a medium-length wait, the immortal words "Mr. Smith, your order is ready" resonated throughout the curry 'ouse. Smudger picked up the box and we walked off on our merry way, curry in tow. The food woz good (hence the 4 stars).

Prices: Reasonable on all the main indices.

Bottom line: Solid. Solid. Dependable, respectable, above middle of the road, good chat, kinda of solid really, unremarkable, but very solid.

Station Tandoori 2, Hills Rd

Sam Davyson	Rich Duncan	Berni Wood
Sophie Goodall	Lizzie Davis

Location notes: Close to Blantyre. Also near the station. On Hills Rd. (As previously...).

Experiences: Back to an old favourite! Again with a very select group. Amid fears of curry cancellation due to the late bailing of one key curry eater we set off down Glisson Rd to Hills Rd. Straight away the banter began.

Lizzie mistook a couple looking for the station for a couple wanting to show us the way to the station and politely informed them that we were "getting a curry". They were bemused. Seconds out of earshot Sophie couldn't help herself but exclaim at how *fit* the man was. Heavens...

We arrived at the curry house with everything in order. We took our seats and made our order. Some people ordered a fully blown curry. Others missed out on rice, or a naan, or shared etc. This confused the waitress who carefully confirmed the rice, naan and curry totals. A nice feature.

We waited in the pleasant atmosphere and soon enough the food arrived all packed into a neat little bag and with free poppadoms. A very important extra. We walked back to Blantyre and set up shop in room 17.

It wasn't as comfortable as some other rooms. There aren't as many chairs. Or as much space. But we folded out the wings of the desk, used the floor and the bed and had a cosy curry. There was even enough room for Fran and James to pop in.

All said and done this was a fantastic night. With lots of luck and organisation very much on the fly it turned out very well. And it was timed to be shorter than usual to allow everyone to get back to their studies, or bed, before too late.

This was the curry that Andy forgot. But that time will not!

Prices: 10% discount here means the prices are very reasonable. Full curry you are looking at about £8.

Bottom line: Consistently Brilliant. Station Tandoori did it again. Another excellent takeaway.

Saffron Brasserie, Hills Rd

Andrew Smith	Sam Davyson	Lizzie Barker
Berni Wood	Lizzie Davis	Sophie Goodall
Tom Watson	Scott Murphy	Fran Face
Rich Duncan	James Rees

Location notes: Near the Co-op on Hills Rd. In the same parade of shops as One-Stop, Dominoes etc. Very close to where KBC BBQ used to stand.

Experiences: We wondered down to Saffron Brasserie to find (just like last week before) that we were in a very empty restaurant. And just like last week this takeaway is very close to Blantyre. Saffron Brasserie is definitely the closest curry house there is to Blantyre. Fact.

Ordering went ok. Initially it looked like there might be some problems for Sophie who had no one to share with. But the restaurant provided a half sized portion that was just perfect.

The food took a long time to arrive. And whilst we waited we had to all perch on a corner shaped sofa which proved to be relatively uncomfy and in fact for Scott rather damaging to his feet. After the wait we hurried back to Blantyre to get stuck in.

The food was good. The naans were a little burnt, but still nice, and the staff refused to give us free poppadoms despite the huge size of our order. Not a nice touch. The food was less spicy than at the Kohinoor. A madras, however, was still a challenge.

This night should be remembered for the banter that followed it. Scott trod on Andy's injured foot and then afterward tried to pour water into his mouth but got it first on his chin, and then in his eye.

Prices: Nothing out of the ordinary. A discount for takeaways.

Bottom line: Good but too slow. The food was very good, the service didn't quite cut it though.

Station Tandoori, Hills Rd

Andrew Smith	Sam Davyson	Lizzie Davis
Sophie Goodall	Nick Flynn

Location notes: Nearly on the corner with the road that leads to the station. Amongst a collection of shops and eating places. Easy to miss.

Experiences: A smaller group than normal we set off to find the Station Tandoori. We billed it as the "closest yet" although I'm not sure how true this is. It is certainly very close to Blantyre. Upon arriving we were greeted with a near empty restaurant with wicker chairs.

We quickly ordered our food and Andy had an altercation with the proprietor regarding a Cobra Beer. Andy wanted to buy a Cobra to takeaway. The member of staff eventually decided that this wouldn't be possible despite initially suggesting that it would be. So no beer was bought.

After a surprisingly short wait, although the time per curry was probably fairly standard, the bags of food arrived and we came back to Blantyre to devour them. And devour them we did. The food was delicious.

Prices: Standard curry fare, with a discount for takeaways.

Bottom line: A fantastic curry house. Lovely naans, free poppadums and good curry.

Kohinoor, Mill Rd

Lizzie Barker	Sam Davyson	Andrew Smith
Gary Mullen	Nick Flynn	Berni Wood

Location notes: [ This review has been left dormant for too long... We can't remember it anymore! ]

Experiences:

Prices:

Bottom line:

Istanbul, East Rd

Andrew Smith	Sam Davyson	Rich Duncan

Location notes: Near APU but on the other side of East Rd, and a little further away from Parker's Piece. Very near Rich's house.

Experiences: This takeaway is very small. And very confused. When we were in the takeaway the two members of staff working there didn't seem to communicate with each other very effectively at all, or indeed with the customers. Fortunately for us this meant that Big Rich got a large chips for the price of a small, and it also meant that Sam got 10p more change than he should have. The whole experience was quite biazarre.

Andy best summarises the style of service with his Chip Butty Anecdote. On a previous visit to Istanbul (not reviewed on this site) he asked for a chip butty. The woman replied with "Huh? A chip what?". So Andy asked for "chips and bread" and that is what he was served. Andy went for "chips and bread" again on this visit and we were all shocked to see it ringing in at £2.00. That's a whole extra pound for a pitta bread. They're 5 for 26p at Tesco. Come on!

The food was actually surprisingly ok. Nothing special, but quite edible. E.g. the bun on Sam's cheeseburger was slightly too toasted and had started to crack. But it tasted alright.

The lowness of the star rating for this establishment comes from the high prices and poor service coupled with the takeaway not delivering anything remotely mouth watering. We expressly do not want to return. And that's pretty unusual for takeaway addicts like us.

Prices: Seemed quite expensive. Cheeseburger: £2.80, beefburger: £2.60, chips: £1.50/£1.00, chips and bread £2.00.

Bottom line: Worst takeaway so far. High prices, sloppy service and not great food.

Golden Curry, Mill Rd

Andrew Smith	Sam Davyson	Gary Mullen
Berni Wood	Sophie Goodall	Joe Travis

Location notes: Very near the Curry Queen restaurant. Head down Mill Rd out of town and it's on the left before you reach the railway bridge.

Experiences: When we reached the takeaway we entered to find an empty restaurant. More notable than it's emptiness though was the fact it was entirely green. Requesting a takeaway we were directed to some soft benches with and presented with menus. The seating arrangements were far from ideal! The benches were placed rather too close to fit two pairs of legs in making the whole thing a bit of a squash. Newspapers were provided and we busied ourselves looking through the menu.

For the sake of records: Sophie and Joe did not order food. They did however come to the takeaway. We ended up ordering 4 curries, 3 naans, 3 rices and one starter. The wait for food was a very reasonable 15 minutes during which Gary asked for (and was given) a small tumbler of water with ice.

We were presented with a bag with the food in and hurried off back to Blantyre for our Sunday night feast. It was when we got back that the trouble started. The boxed with the curries in had not been labelled which led to several people starting the wrong curry and then having the swap. In the end we use Wikipedia to check what the each curry should look like and matched them up from there. Also notable is that no free popadums were included. This is the first time we've had this.

Apart from these glitches the food was actually very good. One of the best tasting takeaways we've had so far.

Prices: A 15% discount was given which none of us thought about when paying. So when we collected too much money and all got to take a little bit back we all felt as if we'd done very well for ourselves. In fact the prices were very standard.

Bottom line: High quality food but the service could be improved.

Curry Queen, Mill Rd

Andrew Smith	Sam Davyson	Gary Mullen
Nick Flynn	Berni Wood	James Morris

Written by Andrew Smith

Location notes: Quite a long way down Mill Rd. Beyond Carlos's and on the same side. Near the Video Emporium, just before the bridge

Experiences: It was a Sunday night. The wind was a-howling and it was cold outside. It was decided following a telephone conversation with Big G to shun the Sunday Service pizza in favour of an "Indian". That hand gesture is frowned upon. As per usual Smudger wanted to try a different place again ("A different place every time") and during previous travels with Sam he'd noticed a different "Indian".

The lads set off in the direction of Mill Rd passing Carlos's on the way. And headed down towards the railway bridge. After what seemed like an eternity and following many disapproving comments regarding the fact that the "Indian" might be closed Smudger ran on ahead and located the aforementioned Curry Queen and raised his thumbs in recognition of this.

They entered the establishment with Gal asking the question "Can we still eat in?". Even though we had entered before the designated closing time the proprietor said "Yes, you can do a takeaway". Gal persisted with "Yeah, but can we eat in?". The bloke said "Yeah come and sit at the takeaway table". Acknowledging defeat Gal took up his place at the takeaway table which was liberally spread with the days' newspapers and promptly had a nosebleed. One of the waiters handed him a tissue and commented on how he used to similarly suffer from such occurences.

We had a butchers at the menus and Smudger was straight in there with his Rogon order including pilau rice and peshwari naan. Others followed this form and Berni, after most people had ordered, finally put down The Sunday Mirror's "Celebs" supplement and looked at the menu. The main geezer confirmed that we were all students and gave us the accompanying 20% discount. By rights it should have only been 15% (since we were taking away) but he gave us the extra 5% off.

The bill was delivered on a white china porcelain plate, it came to £44.90. We worked this out to be £7 to £8 each with Gal paying a bit more for his house special. The money was delivered to the plate with a clink and a tinkle. And handed over to the geezar. Banter and chat ensued on the table whilst we waited for the food. Semi-Pro and couple chat were the mainstays.

Upon the food's arrival we were greeted with a MASSIVE expanded polystyrene box containing the goodies. We carried it back - Smudger and then Berni. Once we made landfall on home soil the spoils were distributed according to the person who had "dibs" over each specimen. Eating commenced and everyone ate, drank and was merry.

Although a rung below Curry Garden the food was still very good. Characterised by suspiciously large chunks of meat in the curries. Nice touch on the free popadums again, we didn't have to ask for them this time.

Prices: Standard curry fare.

Bottom line: Good food and takeaway facility. Solid restrained prices. Friendly staff. And good student deals. A highly commendable curry establishment, it made for a great night.

Carlos's, Mill Rd

Andrew Smith	Sam Davyson	Sophie Goodall
Rich Duncan	Tom Watson

Location notes: It's on Mill Rd. Not too far down. Luckily just where you come out on Mill Rd if your coming from Blantyre.

Experiences: It should be noted that this was not our first trip to Carlos's. Not by any means. Some members of the group were there for the first time but Sam and Andy are regulars at Carlos's and are treated as such. This is said by way of a disclaimer just in case your own experiences vary.

We were greeted by Carlos in his ever friendly manner and order some food to eat in. Not technically a takeaway perhaps but it is served as a takeaway that you just happen to eat on the seats inside. Carlos gave Big Rich extra food since he was new and Tommy got an extra bit of chicken in his box. Carlos refused to take the money for the bonus bit.

Prices: Great deal on burger, chips and a drink (£3.50), good prices on everything else too. A note: you pay after you've eaten. Very unusual

Bottom line: Probably the best takeaway in Cambridge, Carlos's should not be treated as a meal or even a snack but instead an experience. Don't go after a night out. Go for a night out.

Curry Garden, Regent Street

Andrew Smith	Sam Davyson	Lizzie Barker
Alex White	Berni Wood	Rich Duncan

Location notes: Hills Road, on the North side of the junction with Lensfield Rd.

Experiences: We entered the establishment and were greeted by a friendly proprietor and a airy well lit restaurant. We indicated our intention to takeaway and we were directed to a small seating area that we could wait in. We ordered 4 currys, 4 rices, 3 naans and a mango chutney. Andy also ordered a Cobra beer which was (somewhat surprisingly) served in a glass. We were presented with the bill, and appropriately paid. £38 in all.

Mid-way through our wait Lizzie asked if we'd get any poppadoms with our meal. The member of staff said that normally you wouldn't but since we'd asked he'd throw in several for free. A nice touch.

Around ten minutes after placing the order the food arrived in sturdy carrier bags and Lizzie was presented with a rose. It was, after all, Valentines day. The speed of the service presented Andy with quite a problem: the pint of Cobra. He downed it, and stumbled out of the restaurant.

When we got back to Blantyre Alex realised that his mango chutney was missing. Consulting the rest of the group we came to the opinion that it hadn't been on the bill. So we didn't feel too annoyed. We did definitely order it though. Not impressive. The food that we did get though was terrific. No complaints at all on that front.

Prices: Big Rich got himself a house special which was pretty pricey but everything else seemed very reasonably priced.

Bottom line: Brilliant service and food. The quality of the food completely overrode the one small omission from our order. We'll definitely be going back.

Grill House, Mill Rd

Sam Davyson

Andrew Smith

Location notes: On the right hand side as you walk out of town. Before the large Co-op, but after the railway bridge.

Experiences: Never get: The cheesecake! That was Andy's downfall. £2 for something that looked like it had been in a cupboard for several years. It also quite clearly wasn't actually cheesecake. Company: Anglia Ruskin country. Plenty of them about. Personal preference on whether this is bearable!

Prices: Prices: Cheap. Cheeseburger: £2.50, 12" margherita: £4.80, chips: £1.20.

Bottom line: Not great. Good opening times but that's about it.