Nawab's what I call a curry!

We are the Oakham Curry Club (Occ), an independent curry club that searches the east of England for the finest curry experiences the region has to offer. We recently visited The Nawab Lounge in St Neots, and would like to share our review with you all. We try to be as fair as possible, and take into account the views of all of our members. At the end of the year, we will award our favourite restaurant with our prestige CHOTY award. In 2015, the award went to the 8848 in Stamford for the outstanding experience we had with them. We rate on 5 categories, out of 10, with equal weighting. These categories are self-explanatory, and so here are the scores for The Nawab Lounge: Customer Care - 8.78 Service – 8.78 Value – 7.83 Quality – 9.08 Atmosphere – 9.45 Total – 8.78 Summary: Sometimes in life, the only word that will do is… Wow. Friday, 19th February 2016, was one of these times. When we give our reviews to the public, we always try and balance the good things out with the not-so-good, and compare standards we see between curry house to curry house. But let me tell you, It’s very difficult to give a fair and well balanced review, when the standards you have come to expect get blown out the water! I’m going to dive straight into the food. It was superb! Perfectly crisp poppadoms accompanied by no less than SIX pots of sauce. An incredible mixed platter which gave you a jumbo King Prawn at no extra cost. The array of original curries, super soft naan breads and sumptuous sides could not have been more satisfying. It was quite simply, delicious. But there is a reason I don't want to spend so much time on the basics, and that’s because the Nawab Lounge has got the basics down to a T. It’s a solid operation. And because it has that set at the very core, they’ve been able to install a culture of dining which goes above and beyond anything we’ve seen so far in our quest for curry perfection. So lets talk about what sets it apart from the rest, and thus received the highest score we’ve had in the history of the OCC. The buzz of the place is eclectic from start to finish. Something easily taken for granted, but a busy restaurant really does make you appreciate the hard work that the staff and owners have to put in to reap its reward. Of course, it didn't slow down the service one bit. The waiters were everywhere, meaning you never went more than a minute without a drink. They also set up the table wearing latex gloves, a remarkable touch which made you wonder why other places don’t do the same. Not only was it far more hygienic, but it made you feel like you were dining at a michelin star restaurant. The manager dived in and out of the tables, checking everything was okay and that nobody had been waiting too long. This was a guy you sensed had complete control of his dining room. You could also tell he knew how to keep the customers sweet (and likely to return) with the odd free drink here and there. (Our Bailey’s were delicious, thank you!) The decor was modern, and bright yet atmospheric lighting flooded through the two story building, meaning it was a delightful place to tuck into your mains. Which, in true Nawab Lounge style it would seem, were delivered on trays heated by candles underneath, adding yet a practicality to the meal as well as further mood to it. We were impressed even to the smallest post-meal detail, where they provided orange segments to cleanse the palette before even thinking of offering desserts or an aperitif. Okay, maybe it was a little on the pricey side, and the amount of waiters made it felt like they were trying just a little too hard, and one naan bread took slightly longer than the rest. But we really are clutching at straws to find things wrong. We would like to thank the OCC’s good friend ‘Saturday Dave’ for this recommendation, it was truly a brilliant one. Visit the Nawab Lounge, you won’t regret it!!