The Saffron Lounge Review!

October 12, 2015 by Rich - Foodie Reviewer

The Saffron Lounge Review!

Before I begin this week allow me to apologise. I’m reviewing another curry house! I do like to keep the restaurants and cuisines I write about a little varied. Reviewing another Indian does seem a little soon after my recent ruby experience at the Shagor! But, as I said in that write up, we just have so many curry houses to choose from, its inevitable I would find myself in another one sooner rather than later! We all love a good curry don’t we? So folks, I am on a mission to hunt out some of the better ones. Watch this space, more curry reviews will be on the way. Come to think of it, I reckon I could write up a weekly curry house review for the next few months and only scratch the surface.

The Saffron Lounge is tucked away at the bottom of Hamlet Court Road; it’s pretty easy to miss. Located almost under the railway bridge, I have seen restaurants come and go here over the past few years. It’s probably not as a result of poor quality food, but more the location. It’s just nestled off the main drag making it a little difficult to find, and not benefitting much from passing trade like others do. However, the Saffron Lounge has caught my eye on numerous occasions, as it seems to have stood the test of time. I’m sure it’s been there for a good few years now, so they must be doing something right. A visit is long over due I reckon, so time to get down there and sample their fayre.

The restaurant wasn't too busy, well it was a mid week evening, so I didn't think getting a table would be a drama. On first impressions the menu didn't really look a great deal different to any other curry house. However, upon reading further, there were a few unique additions I haven’t never seen anywhere else. Now I'm not saying I’m a health freak, far from it. I live by this saying, which pretty much sums me up, ‘During the week my body is a temple, at the weekend it’s an amusement park!’ Basically, Monday to Friday I do try and eat well and exercise, but by Friday evening you've just got to let yourself go and have a bit of fun! This is where the Saffron Lounge menu helps me stick to my regime. A number of the dishes had an ‘H’ marked next to them. ‘H’ stands for Healthy! So, if you are watching your waistline just pick one of these. They even go one better, with a whole section in the menu entitled ‘Healthy Specials’. These are all your favourites, tikka masala, Balti’s and Korai’s, but minus the fattening ingredients such as ghee and replaced with healthier olive oil. I honestly don't think I have seen that anywhere else?

So what did we order? Well after all that, and me waffling on about how my body is a temple, I ordered nothing with an ‘H’! To start I went for a Shami kebab, which is a flame grilled, spiced minced lamb kebab. Presented to the table with the obligatory side salad, the two kebabs were more like lamb patties, but the flavour was great! It left me as a good starter should, wanting more! Lou went for tandoori prawns, now these were prefixed with an ‘H’ she’s a good girl! Two large prawns cooked well, not dry, and spiced to a tee! What did we drink? Beer of course! It’s just got to be a Kingfisher with curry. Any of you who regularly read my reviews would have probably guessed this anyway; beer is the drink of choice with curry!

As you’d expect with all good old English curry houses the usual main dishes are present and correct. Chicken tikka masala, madras, vindaloo these would satisfy the less adventurous amongst us! But, I was drawn towards the ‘Saffron Lounge Specialities’. Raja lamb, south Indian xcuti chicken, saffron passion chicken (Passion Chicken? That actually sounds a little weird!), they certainly sounded interesting. The Nagari Chicken was a no brainer for me though. I like a bit of spice and this dish is cooked with the hot Naga chilli! It didn't disappoint, rich and spicy, I was happy. Lou thought she would try the good old curry house staple, a tandoori mixed grill. Chicken, lamb, prawns and a sheek kebab. As always too much for Lou so I helped out, it was good eating!! On the side? A stuffed paratha, chana masala and cauliflower bhaji, it was all very tasty.

I know we all love a good curry and I really don't think you need me to tell you in any great detail how wonderfully spicy it was, and how the chicken was succulent and juicy, but it was! However, what makes these curries stand out was the lack of oil. In my view, many curry houses over do it with the use of ghee. More often than not a slick of ghee or oil sits on top of what is normally a pretty tasty curry. After a few cold ones on a Friday night you just dig in, it's not a problem, after all a bit of greasy food is great after a few beers. But we weren’t out on Friday night session, we wanted quality food, and that’s exactly what we got. All the dishes were almost oil slick free! All the way down to the stuffed paratha. This is a deep fried bread stuffed with spicy potato, which are often served a little greasy, but not this one, it was light and crispy. Bearing in mind we didn’t order from the healthy specials I was impressed. What did we pay? I got change out of £60 for all that food, not too bad at all for a cheeky mid week dinner.

Any restaurant not blessed with a prime location really needs to up their game to get diners through the door and clearly the Saffron Lounge have done just that. A lot of dishes on the menu are a little different to many run of the mill eateries. Their emphasis on healthy curry needs to be applauded. So, if your conscious of your figure, worry ye not, just head on down to the Saffron Lounge, and order yourself a healthy curry, its almost guilt free! Oh and finally I promise not too review another curry house for at least another few weeks!

The Saffron Lounge can be found on Halmet Court Road and contacted on 01702 30575