Cinnamon Central was the venue for our September visit, which is situated on Belvoir Road in Coalville, a former coal mining town in North-West Leicestershire. There is a public car park nearby on James Street which is free of charge in the evenings.

On arrival one of our members was already seated, so consequently we sat down, exchanged pleasantries, and opened our cool bags – please note this is an unlicensed restaurant but allows customers to bring their own alcohol if required – they do however provide glasses, bottle openers etc, and will also serve the usual soft drinks.

The restaurant is what you may describe as small and cozy, and it was great to see the majority of the tables full – this is always a good sign for a Wednesday evening. The menu was quite extensive, with Chefs Specials, Signature Specials, Seafood Specials, and of course all the familiar favourites.

As tradition dictates, we began with the usual two poppadom’s each, which were warm, dry, and crisp, and accompanied by the classic pickle tray, including mango chutney, onion salad, etc.

We then ordered our Mains, these being two Lamb Tawa’s (Madras strength), a Tandoori Chicken Chana Palak, and a Zamdani Special… the waiter did inform us that this was hot and spicy, and asked whether we were ok with that.

The accompaniments we chose were a Vegetable Pilau Rice, and a Saag Rice, along with a Garlic Chicken Tikka & Cheese Naga Naan, and a Garlic & Coriander Naan.

The consensus was that three of the dishes across the table were flavourful, well-prepared, and all served at the required strengths, however the Zamdani Special, which was perceived to be hot and spicy, was considered a little bland and rather disappointing.

The rice was well-cooked, and the naans were good too — it’s refreshing to see some alternatives on the menu such as the Saag Rice, and the Garlic Chicken Tikka & Cheese Naga Naan – well done.

The service throughout the evening was calm, relaxed and attentive – thank-you.

We were pleasantly surprised that the total bill for the four of us came to just under £75, which we felt was extremely good value for the quality of food and the service received.

A couple of messages that I received the following morning from our members were;

‘I am at 7.5 – great place, and I like the fact they are trying to do new things like the Naan and the Saag Rice… the Tawa was ok.’

‘Unfortunately, it’s only 6.5 for me, it was bland, and not as spicy as I thought it would be.’

‘I am at 8 – service was good, poppadom’s and pickle tray good, naan ok, rice ok, Chicken Chana Palek was very good.’

Some great comments and feedback.

The score out of 40 based on the venue/surroundings/food/service/cost was 29.75… which is unfortunately a little lower than expected due to one score of 6.5 – this could easily have been more if the Zamdani Special had been a little spicier and more to their liking.

Overall, a very enjoyable evening, and worth the trip should you find yourself in North-West Leicestershire, and fancy a curry.

Please note as always, our reviews are personally subjective and isn’t necessarily what others may think or experience when they visit