Restaurant

Name: Eastern Spice
Area: Spitalfields
Address: 12a Artillery Passage
London E1 7LJ
Phone: 020 7247 0772
Website:

Visits to this restaurant ...

1. 26 Oct 2000|2. 26 Jun 2003


The Chelski Boys with the latest signing to the Curry Club.

Visit Report

Visit Number: 40 (visit 2 of 2 for this restaurant)
"The BBC Joy of Curry Visit"
Date of visit: 26 Jun 2003
Cost per head: £22.00 (2 beers)

Serv Amb Beer Start Nan Rice Main Veg VFM Score Comments
Overall 7.8 5.3 6.9 6.3 6.1 6.4 6.8 6.1 7.0 6.55
Dave 9 6 8 6 4 7 5 6 6 6.2 See Dave's comments
Robin 7 4 7 8 6 7 7 6 7 6.7 See Robin's comments
Graeme 7 5 6 5 6 6 7 7 6.2 See Graeme's comments
Mark 9 6 7 6 4 8 7 5 9 6.8 See Mark's comments
Joseph 7 6 6 7 6 6 7 5 7 6.4 See Joseph's comments
John 8 6 8 6 8 8 9 8 9 7.8 See John's comments
Tim 6 5 6 7 6 6 6 6 6.1 See Tim's comments
Jon 8 5 7 7 8 5 6 8 7 6.7 See Jon's comments
Neil 9 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 5 6.1 See Neil's comments

All Comments

Dave - Disappointing performance from the Eastern Spice. Unusual folded Prawn Puri (well I thought it was unusual) was very bland, the nan bread doughy and the Chicken Curry ordinary. Ambience was marked down for the garish orange colour of the walls (bring back flock!). Highlight of the evening was Jon tipping a full bottle of Cobra over Graeme's trousers.

Robin - A very strange experience - eating curry while being filmed by the BBC and attempting to steer the conversation towards the topics in which they were interested, which did impact the ambiance somewhat. The food was good and nicely presented, especially the excellent reshmi kebab starter. The balti chicken madras was nice - warmish but could perhaps have been a little more aromatic. Given that I had a car picking me up at 4:15 a.m. the next morning I felt quite brave to be out drinking beer and eating curry at all!

Graeme - This was better than I expected based on my previous (non-club) visit. This time we were able to sit downstairs in the main restaurant area and the service was very attentive - I can't think why! The place itself is small and the decoration plain (dull). Overall, the food was good and I particularly liked my Chicken Vindaloo. I've given no mark for veg as I can't remember having eaten any, but I do remember that the Sag Aloo looked good. I'll have to wait to see it on television to see what I had! Finally, my thanks to Neil who finished the evening by knocking a whole pint of Cobra into my lap leaving an embarrassing wet patch on my trousers.

Mark - Machli Tikka starter fresh from Bangladesh? Described as pieces of fish but turned out to be a whole fish with tail. Never did find out what it actually was. Chicken Tikka Biryani was beautifully presented but a bit dry as I went for Sag Aloo rather than Veg Curry. Nan was a bit flat for my taste. Surreal atmosphere due to the camera's but did not prevent Diggers spilling his beer. Good value considering all the beer, a solid performance. Note that Baggie Man is now Boggy Man.

Joseph - With the authenticity of the evening gouged by the cameras I tried to form my opinion on incorruptible matters ... the freebies. Sadly none of these were forthcoming so my attention was elevated by the interior. Sun-burst yellow walls and coaxing pictures with a quietly raised nipple. Again sex and food delivering up the compelling dichotomy of an awakening and death. The chicken curry was insistent and plausible for the price. Chicken moist. Rice confused. Overall, as the case is with most curry houses there is a contractual mediocrity. Serving the purpose to stifle hunger rather than unleash any further rampant desires. Meals crafted to cunningly kill chaos.

John - A good effort by the Eastern Spice. I started with the special kebab which was a bit chewy but the main course of Balti Chicken Jalfrezi was excellent - not too hot but very tasty. Chickpeas were superb. I've got a sore head this morning - not sure whether the Cobra is to blame or the fact that I kept bashing my head going into the gents (The Eastern Spice's loo is obviously designed for midgets). The highlight of the evening was Graeme's impression of a jay-cloth - he made a nice job of soaking up Neil's unwanted beer.

Tim - Chutney's somewhat poor; there was no lime pickle until specifically requested. Starter of chicken something was good. Main course of chicken lemon grass seemed to be some sort of chicken curry with slices of lemon in it, which didn't quite work. Toilets were designed to discourage tall people. Ambience suffered a little from having a camera hovering at the end of the table, though the rather small downstairs was unlikely to ever be particularly atmospheric. Overall a bit average.

Jon - A unique experience due to the presence of the cameras but the meal itself was unspectacular.  I've marked the ambience as a guess as what it may have been if it had been a normal night, which was in my opinion less than average.  Service was excellent but that was to be expected - not impressed with the rice and the Chicken Vindaloo was average - a bit lacking in taste.  Veg dishes were very good, especially the cheesy peas, and the shamie kebab starter not bad.  It was difficult to give a verdict to the camera immediately afterwards - I like time to reflect.  The toilets were another example of a facility that can be shared by close friends and the ceiling was very low – I have a large bump on my head to prove it.  I must commend the president for his boy-scout preparedness keeping the conversation steered towards the club as requested by the BBC - he did us proud.

Neil - What a bizarre evening, the first televised curry club meeting. Very little football bollocks for once and we actually talked about curry. Jon, you do know that you will now be forever linked with toilet photography in the nation’s minds? Moving onto the curry itself, the service was very good, unsurprising though as the waiter was getting his face on the TV. Freshly painted curry house (was that done this week?), but not much improvement from last time i.e. still arse, we even had to ask for lime pickle. I doubt if it will make a revisit.


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