Wednesday 20th March 2013
The latest curry outing fell on a special week for me personally as my wife had just given birth to our son Louis, so this curry club meeting also served to ‘wet the baby’s head’!
Blue Bengal is a restaurant that faces stiff competition from a number of other curry houses, situated as it is, pretty much next-door to ‘Curry House’ and over the road from ‘Curry Corner’ and ‘Diwana’. This part of West Wickham’s high street resembles a mini Brick Lane.
On entering, I found the staff welcoming and chatty, and they were very pleased to hear that I now had a son! Wednesday nights have the option of a full menu or their ‘banquet menu’, which includes four courses for a very reasonable set price.
Chef's Special Chicken Curry
To start I had ‘aloo phundina bora’ described as ‘mashed potato, stuffed with mint and ginger then deep fried’. I found it rather bland and disinteresting but that is possibly an error in choice on my part, as others seemed more than happy with their entrées.
The menu included a number of unusual dishes but in the end I plumped for the Chef’s Special, vindloo hot. This rich curry is unique to the Blue Bengal and comes in a hot and sour sauce. Definitely recommended.
MENU
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Blue Bengal
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MAIN:
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Chef’s special is a good option. Decent lamb dishes. Perhaps not quite up there with the very best but certainly enjoyable
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15/20
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STARTERS/
SIDES: |
Slightly disappointed with aloo phundina bora. Chicken 65 was very good apparently and Mutter paneer went down well.
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7/10
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VARIETY:
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‘Modern-classic’ cuisine. We all went for the smaller banquet menu but it still had a good range of dishes.
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7/10
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HEAT:
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Heat levels fell slightly short for those that asked for ‘spiced up’ madras or vindaloo type dishes.
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2/5
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DRINKS:
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Cobra draft and bottled. Mango juice for the drivers/teetotallers
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3/5
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VENUE
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ATMOS:
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The restaurant has a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere but it was pretty quiet. Hardly surprising given the amount of competition on Blue Bengal’s doorstep.
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14/20
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SERVICE:
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Very friendly and attentive throughout the evening.
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7/10
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VALUE:
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The great £9.99 midweek banquet deal was bumped up a bit by some pricey drinks and poppadams.
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6/10
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LOCATION:
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In the middle of West Wickham’s curry-rich High Street. A stone’s throw from 4 or 5 other curry houses.
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4/5
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BONUS:
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The others didn’t get any freebies but they gave me a bottle of wine to congratulate me on becoming a father, so I have to give them points!
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5/5
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FINAL SCORE
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70%
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Highlight: Really friendly staff. They made us feel very welcome.
Lowlight: The bill did seem to creep up a little more than expected.
Pubs: The Wheatsheaf & The Swan are a short walk away.
Verdict: Perhaps not one that would set the world alight but this is a good restaurant and recommended if you’re in the area.
Blue Bengal
101 High Street,
West Wickham,
BR4 0LT
Tel: 020 8777 7200
0755 3348 007
http://www.bluebengalrestaurant.co.uk/
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