Spice Lounge review
The Spice Lounge makes a bold claim in its marketing literature that its team of chefs bring you “Indian food how it is supposed to taste”. Now, I’ve been to a good few Indian restaurants in my time, so I was very interested to see how they live up to this reputation.
I was not disappointed. First let’s talk atmosphere – there is certainly plenty of it. You enter the building on the ground floor and make your way up the steps to the first floor where we found a lively bar and a band setting up for the night's live entertainment. We kept going up the next flight of steps to the restaurant, a wide sweeping area that sits on a mezzanine floor overlooking the dance floor and the live band. We got there about 8.00pm and the place was already pretty packed for a Saturday night (I think reservations are must).
We were taken to our table and the attentive waiting staff brought our menus and some poppadums to help get us started. The menu range is good but maybe not as large as some Indian restaurants I’ve been too, but I quite liked that, I wasn’t overwhelmed by endless pages and many of the dishes simply listed the main flavours but allowed you to choose either chicken, lamb or king 
prawn versions. The chef’s special page was very enticing with dishes such as grilled monkfish curry and Hare Mirch Masalla (chicken braised in a fenugreek chilli sauce), but we started with some appetisers to get us in the mood.
We chose starters of stir fried scallops and chicken Aloo Chaat both of which were delicately flavoured and my husband was happily surprised with the number of scallops he actually received (nine to be precise). For main courses, I went safe with Chicken Korma while my husband went for Lamb Sagwala (cooked with fresh spinach, ginger, garlic and various spices). We both had pilau rice and a naan bread each and a side dish of Bhindi Bhajee (Okra packed with mango powder and spices). The dishes were simply delicious and very filling. The korma sauce was creamy and perfectly flavoured, and the lamb hit the mark without being overly spicy.
While we chose our desserts (after a much needed break in proceedings) the live band for the evening, ‘The Shamlas’ burst into life and belted out a series of classic motown hits to get people up and dancing. Our desserts came; a classic lemon sorbet and a Croquante (a mix of meringue, crunchy nuts and ice cream). Both were very light and finished off the meal in some style. While we enjoyed a coffee the atmosphere really went up a notch as the bar area downstairs filled up with the diners who had now finished their meals.
The second half of the live music set packed the dance floor and had everyone enjoying a great night out. A DJ finished off the night's entertainment and although we left at about 11.30pm I had the feeling the night was going to be carrying on for some time to come.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 9/10
Menu range: 8/10
Quality of food: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Value for money: 7/10
Summary:
If you are looking for a quiet Indian restaurant for a romantic meal for two this probably isn’t the right place for you (at least not on a Friday or Saturday night). The live music element of this restaurant plays a big part in the atmosphere it generates. The food is very good and it certainly lives up to its bold claims; my husband wants to go back and he isn’t easy to please. I think this would be a great venue to go with a group of friends for an impressive meal and then end up downstairs in the bar for a drink and boogie. A really great atmosphere!
Facilities:
Disabled facilities
Although the restaurant and bar area is on the first and second levels there is a escalator and a stair-lift for disabled users.
Parking
Parking can be difficult and expensive during the day around the shopping centres. Although there is a free multi-storey car park just 100m away.
Other amenities
Separate bar and live music area allows for a drink before or after your meal. Regular live music sets are held throughout the week featuring local artists - see website for further information.
