Friday 28th June 2013
Submitted by Murali Para
On Friday night I went with a friend to In2 Papadam which is located on Bromley Road near Beckenham town centre. We often meet up for a curry and are always looking out for new Indian restaurants to try out, mostly in the borough of Bromley. So when it was suggested that we visit In2 Papadam - which I gather has only recently opened in Beckenham - I was very much interested.
I was particularly curious to see how well they would live up to their claim of providing "fine dining", which is something not all curry houses do in reality.
First impressions were good, as we given a friendly welcome and a table for two without a reservation at 7pm on a Friday night. The decor was pleasant enough, consisting of flowered wallpaper and wooden panels in dark colours plus mirrors at the far end of the restaurant. And the menu had a pretty decent variety of dishes on offer.
The poppadoms were served with four large dips, one of which was a modern chilli dip which had a nice kick to it. I had calamari for starters which were just slightly firmer than I'm used to but still very nice, as was the accompanying sauce. My friend had the mixed Indian hors d'oeuvres which were served from a sizzling dish.
For main course, I had the garlic chilli prawns which I asked to be madras hot. The prawns were very pleasant in terms of their taste and texture, though I would perhaps have preferred four of them rather than the three I received. In any case, the quality of the prawns was absolutely fine and the heat level was certainly madras hot as requested. The sauce the prawns came in - made with green chillies, shallot, lemon grass and fenugreek - was suitably spicy and there was plenty of it. My friend and I shared a side dish of Aloo Gobi which was also very tasty.
The service was excellent throughout the meal, especially in view of the fact that the restaurant was gradually getting busier and it was a Friday night. Above all, the staff were competent and friendly and made us feel very welcome. A complimentary drink was offered as well - I had a small apple juice. At £25 per head, I consider the meal to have been good value too, considering that the food and service were above average.
Main: 17/20
Starters/ Sides: 15/20
Variety: 7/10
Heat: 4/5
Drinks: 4/5
Atmosphere: 16/20
Service: 9/10
Value: 8/10
Location: 3/5
Bonus: 4/5
Final Score: 77%
All in all, I rate my experience at In2 Papadam quite highly and would recommend it to others. There is some room for improvement but it's well worth a visit!
In2 Papadam
Bromley Rd
Beckenham
BR3 5NP
020 8650 4666
020 8650 4666
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