Fusion confusion...Come and see the OCC's February outing

This was the first curry house to be reviewed in 2019, on what was a historic night for the OCC globally with 4 out of the 5 franchises aligning meets on the same date.

The meet was held at a restaurant largely claiming to be The Spice, a Thai fusion restaurant, but one that also dabbled in Indian takeaway food under the moniker Brahma. Intrigued, the OCC were hoping it would set a high benchmark as we began our hunt for the 2019 Curry House Of The Year (CHOTY).

Things began well, with seating arranged in the luxury, sound proof penthouse suite, this was to the dismay however of some members who were hoping for a dining experience by the bins.

Ordering honours were passed to Dayne who is leaving us to become a farmer, he dutifully took on the responsibility, making decisions on dishes and quantities without duress or delay. The manager whom it was remarked was very attentive, ensured ice cool beers and gin and tonic (singles) were in constant supply, food expedited and plant pots directed.

Starters were summoned, poppadoms with a large variety of sauces, variety being in the size of bowls, chunky murg malai kebabs accompanied with some very pleasant, lightly battered bhaji’s, however notably no samosas were available on the menu. After much anticipation and not a small amount of waiting, the last starter of fish tikka came through, this alas was received about as well as the ISIS bride requesting UK asylum.

It wasn’t long to wait from placing of order that the mains began arriving, a bold choice by Dayne to start with was the chicken Korma, with quite a thick and sweet sauce all felt that it lacked a bit of subtlety. Next came greeny, creamy palak aloo with what was felt to be a bamboo twist, beef rogan josh and a wide array of masalas. Rice and naan were doled out in abundance in baskets it was claimed were sourced from the Nile, along with other rare artifacts found in the establishment.

With no Indian deserts on offer, the meal was wound down with some coconut deserts that were gingerly passed around. Although consumed, some members were clearly in distress at having to indulge in non-Indian cuisines – not what OCC members are expecting from their monthly curry meeting.

These musings were reflected in the scorings, customer care and service were commendable and some were very satisfied with the value, however quality and variety of dishes weren’t up to the high standards the OCC attest to.

Overall, The Spice/Brahma is not OCC approved; unfortunately the gates to curry Elysium remain closed for now.

The restaurant was scored using the following criteria;

Quality

Score:  5.4

Service

Score: 7.0

Value

Score: 6.4

Customer Care

Score: 7.2

Atmosphere

Score: 6.3

Total

Score: 6.5