(Vivvvvaaaa Las) Vedas
The Oakham Curry Club (OCC) is a well-respected institution with multiple international franchises.
The OCC takes pride in searching out the finest Indian restaurants, and providing an impartial review of curry houses all over the world. More recently we started our 3rd franchise to find the best Indian restaurant in Shanghai. Members vote anonymously on 5 categories, and an average score is given to each restaurant we review.
Following a disappointing meet at Rangoli, the OCC chose Vedas due to its well-established reputation within Shanghai. Named after ancient Hindu scriptures, Vedas has won numerous awards for Shanghai’s best Indian restaurant. Needless to say, members were excited to see if it would make a push for the top spot in the OCC CHOTY.
The OCC’s scores out of 10:
Quality: 7.8 Service: 7.1 Value: 7.4 Customer care: 6.8 Atmosphere: 7.2
Total 7.3
As the scoring indicates, the quality of the food was the most pleasing aspect for the OCC. Of particular note was the succulent chicken tikka pieces, as well as the genuine flavour of the chicken masala. The sweet milk dumplings were also a perfect way to end the meal for those members with a sweet tooth.
However what kept the score from the rarified air of 8 or above was the lack of spice. This is something the OCC has found to be a common trend among Shanghai’s Indian establishments, so is certainly not unique to Vedas. It was particularly disappointing though on dishes such as the Bombay prawn curry which are explicitly listed as being spicy.
Unlike the generally high quality of the food, the service was a little inconsistent. Most members were happy with the efficient food service, but some found the drink service erratic, with some long waits experienced throughout the evening. A willingness to go the extra mile in the spirit of customer care was also somewhat lacking compared to other venues. The ability to accommodate the latest trialist’s speech was appreciated though, and allowed all members to fully focus on the detailed and educational presentation they were given. In the atmosphere stakes, Vedas provided a nicely decorated venue suitable for a higher end occasion. Although it was quite busy earlier on, it has to be said that by 8.30 the restaurant seemed a little bare for a Saturday evening.
Lastly, in terms of value, the portions were of a suitable size and thus the 320 RMB cost per person was deemed to be about right for our group given the amount of food and drinks ordered.
In summary, the OCC feels that Vedas provides good quality Indian food and an all-round pleasant experience. It is up there with the better Indian restaurants in Shanghai and as such moves into 2nd place in the race for the CHOTY, just behind Lotus Land in Tianzifang.