All Comments

Brian - Leadenhall market was crazily busy - hundreds of people outside the New Moon, and thankfully a slightly smaller crowd outside the Lamb. Curry house was full, although tables were nicely spread. Prawn puri starter was excellent, and so much cheaper than the king prawn equivalent. No fish mains on offer, so I went for a lamb sag, which was delicious. Sides and rice were all good too. A thoroughly enjoyable evening.

Dominic - I missed the last outing here so it's been quite some time since I last visited this modern eatery, and as with my last few visits, I again avoided the pub and just went straight to the venue and occupied one end of the table. Once our "motley crew" arrived, (well most of them - Griff joined us later once he could extricate himself from his "real mates"!), the place filled up nicely and added to a good atmosphere. I went for the Reshmi Kebab starter which was nice enough but nothing outstanding although much more tasty once we got the poppadom condiments back. For main I chose the Lamb Tikka Mardell which was explained to be beyond a Naga level ... and it certainly was that! Definitely rather "spikey" but enjoyable without being a standout. The veg were all ok and for some reason, we departed from the usual "Diggers/Dom stuffed paratha alliance" so no bread this time. The wine was also ok while the VFM was seen to be reasonable for what we had and another indication of the new-norm in city prices. A free round of port was a nice gesture and very welcome from an attentive serving staff. All in all a very enjoyable evening catching up with everyone and not a song to be heard ... perhaps Griff had come directly from choir-practice and wanted to preserve his "organ"! PS. The "finger-master" was again very much missed.

Jon - The Spice Trader rarely disappoints but it managed to on this occasion albeit in one small aspect.  My chicken tikka starter was OK I guess, but when I compare it to the chicken tikka I get in my pre-match pub in West Bromwich, it was just bland and probably more expensive.  My lamb shaslik main was good, however, and all the usual accompaniments were of the required standard.  With eight members in attendance, the evening was full of banter and sparkling conversation and a top night was had by all, well I'm making assumptions I guess but no one looked upset!

Neil - Meeting in The Lamb worked out quite well considering Leadenhall Market was packed due to the Wetherspoons being closed, this made for a noisy but fun (large) number of pints. Curry house had reasonably quick service although a small delay after the poppadoms. I enjoyed the onion bhaji starters which were fresh and tasty. The main, chicken dhansak, was very hot indeed, although I'm told by the other members I may have been 'over sensitive'! The rice was a tad dry but the veg quite good. VFM not great though, forty quid for not the biggest meal but I enjoyed the evening.

Tim - It was quite busy downstairs at the Spice Trader; slightly surprising given that it was a cold day in February and the restaurant is somewhat unobtrusive at ground level. The decor is still a little monochrome for my taste, but I guess it's quite smart and the tables spacious. No Kingfisher, but the Mongoose (beer) was quite tasty. Starter of prawn puri was fine; personally I'd have preferred a little salad with it, but I don't expect most people would miss its absence. The menu was not the most exciting with the house specialities being rather mainstream, so I ended up going for achari gosht, which was fine, though perhaps could have done with a bit more pickle. I really liked the flavour of Dom's dish (something unusual, that's not on the website), but sadly it would have been too hot to have a whole portion. Veg and nan (keema) were fine, which really sums up the meal as a whole - everything was fine. We finished with some liqueurs, unfortunately, we weren't offered a choice, but gift-horses and mouths... Overall VFM is probably the new normal, although we might have saved a bit if the other end of the table had only ordered the quantity of beer they intended to drink.

Richard - A good evening and it was great to see everyone. I had a lamb chop starter and chicken bhuna main, both tasty and well executed as were the side dishes. In short the Spice Trader was reliable quality as ever with good service.

John - Sheek kebab followed by chicken tikka Balti. Nice selection of veg too - chana masala particularly good. Not a bad effort by the Spice Trader. Good to be back out again!

Dave - Just made it in time for the starter at the Spice Trader - excellent Griff set menu - great crisp nan bread the highlight - but all the food was good. Lowlight was the beer selection with no Kingfisher and no draught beer - this aside should still retain top six in my view.