We visited Curry Lush located inside The Meadows pub in Beaumont Leys, for our May outing.

The pub itself is a decent size with a good bar area and pool tables, while the restaurant occupies what was probably the old lounge area. It certainly got us reminiscing about when estate pubs like this would have been packed with drinkers and smokers years ago – it would have been the place to be back in the day.

We started with our usual order of 10 poppadoms. Unfortunately, no pickles or chutneys arrived initially, although lime pickle and red onions were provided when we asked. The poppadoms themselves weren’t great and were probably the weakest part of the meal.

The menu is very different from a typical Indian restaurant, which can be a good thing, but we found it difficult to understand many of the dishes and had to ask several questions. The staff were lovely and did their best to explain everything, even saying the chefs would happily make dishes to suit our tastes. However, I think the menu could benefit from clearer descriptions and perhaps a few more familiar dishes done really well.

We ordered the Dhaba Chicken, Lamb Curry, Non-Veg Mix Sizzler, plain rice, pulao rice, plain naan and mango lassi. The curries had good flavour, although one of our party commented that their lamb curry only contained three small pieces of lamb. One member  enjoyed their meal and thought the food tasted good overall.

One thing that stood out was the price of the pulao rice at £5.99, which is probably the most expensive rice I’ve seen at an Indian restaurant. We also had to send the plain naan back as it arrived buttered despite being specifically ordered without butter.

Drinks were ordered separately at the bar, and the total food bill came to £98.82 for five people.

Curry Lush is clearly trying to offer something different from the standard Indian restaurant experience, which is admirable. However, if you’re going to move away from the traditional menu format, the dishes need to be clearly explained and consistently executed. There’s definitely potential here, helped by friendly and accommodating staff, but a more readable menu and a few refinements would improve the overall experience.