We recently returned to the Jungle Club in Leicester to try Sam’s Spice, now operating in the restaurant area previously visited back in 2017. Back then, under different ownership, the restaurant scored 30.5 and ranked 7th in our annual round-up that year.  Sam’s Spice is operated/owned by Samir from Broadway Bar & Grill so I was really looking forward to this visit.

The Setting

The venue itself feels tired and in need of a refurb. There’s a sense that not much has changed since our last visit, and the décor and overall ambience could use some freshening up. Several in our group commented on the dated feel, with one guest describing it as “a bit tired.”

Service

Service was generally polite but fairly unremarkable. Staff were slow to engage, and eye contact was noticeably lacking for much of the evening.

The Food

We ordered a wide variety of dishes to share, including poppadoms with pickle tray, a mixed sizzler, Tikka Biryani, Chicken Dum Biryani, Lamb Chops Curry, a lamb curry, various naan breads (including chilli cheese, chilli coriander, and peshwari), a tawa dish, a side sauce, and garlic & onion rice.

Feedback was mixed. The poppadoms and pickle tray were fine. Several diners said the Naans resembled pizza bases more than traditional naan bread. The lamb chops were tough and disappointing, though one diner did praise the accompanying sauce as “probably the best sauce this year.”

The biryanis were serviceable but didn’t stand out. The Tawa dish was especially dry, even with the sauce, which didn’t do enough to rescue it.

Drinks & Value

One consistent positive was the drinks menu – a good selection and very reasonably priced. The drinks are served and sold by the Jungle Club – and paid for separately. Overall, the bill wasn’t excessive, and for the quantity of food and drink ordered.

Overall Impression

While the menu offers plenty of choice and the drinks are attractively priced, Sam’s Spice fell short across key areas.

There’s definitely potential here, but on this occasion, it just didn’t deliver.