All Comments

Jeff - For our now traditional pre-Christmas trip down Brick Lane, el Presidente booked the Bengal Village, pre-negotiating 25% off food when booking, and confirmed at the door - but when the bill was presented, it took a lot of persistence to get this discount applied.  Meanwhile, service was good to start as we were moved away from our table near the door to a warmer spot near the back, but fell away afterwards. The food was distinctly below average, my only highlight being the King Prawn Puree, although others had issues with theirs. Main of Chicken Korahi featured dry chewy chicken, of which I left half, and the rice etc was unmemorable. I'd not be in any rush to come back.

Dominic - It was great to attend another evening after once again missing quite a number in a row. And with it being the Xmas curry, everyone was in a festive mood … aided and abetted by "El Prez's Elf-shirt", no doubt! After making a brief appearance at the PoS, it was off to the main event at a fairly modern venue. Although initially placed at a table near the door, (watch that step!), we were quickly moved to the back of the eatery which was far more convivial and away from any cold drafts. In fact, the service throughout the night was very good despite the place being full. I selected the Lamb Chops as a starter which were quite tender and tasty. For main, I couldn't resist the Bombay Blast Lamb which, although described as fiery, was very tasty despite it being a little subdued. Of the rest, the most interesting dish was the pumpkin side with everything else being quite good. The house red was reasonable and a free round of liqueurs a welcome treat. The 25% discount certainly helped with a respectable VFM grade. All in all, another great evening where everyone seemed to tolerate Dave's singing, although he could have spared us from knowing his mid-life toilet habits!

Richard - It was nice to be out with the pensioners having an early pint for once. Wrats full of Christmas cheer stacked up pints in the Jampot (yes, first time visit for me), and early to the traditional PoS meant a nice corner spot. The Bengal Village were friendly and efficient, and food was good but not great: chicken tikka starter, lamb bhuna main, usual sides plus someone ordered a pumpkin dish (lap khodu) - probably not Mark. They were however creative with the bill, and luckily el pres was able to produce an email to get our approved discount. Don't they know who we are? The wine was good value, and a round of liqueurs secured so Mr "Bombay Blast" Dom was happy (just imagine the MAE from that dish).

Mark - We finally got here after a 22 year wait! I'd lost an hours drinking due to Thameslink but POS always a good starting point. Table near the back better than by the cold door and main waiter friendly although some confusion over similar meals when serving. Chicken tikka starter followed by Lamb Sag. All tasty and I even tried the pumpkin side dish. Xmas songs, several beers, a good meal and enjoyable company all make a great evening - if only trains were not rubbish.

Dave - Very enjoyable evening at bengal village - started early with the traditional xmas kick off at the jampot followed by brick lane favourite - the PoS. Meal at bengal village was good - good ambience enhanced greatly by the "currymarks choir" rendition of Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody (surprisingly my "walking in the air" solo was not requested). Evening rounded off with a beer after curry at the Hamilton hall!

John - Pretty decent pre xmas curry. Started with sheek kebab followed by chicken shashlik balti. Only negative being the various attempts to over-charge us... but not unusual for Brick Lane! Enjoyed the pre-drinks in the PoS even though we were wedged in to a corner. Overall a lovely evening!

Graeme - In an unprecedented move, we returned to a restaurant that had previously been blacklisted (albeit 22 years ago). I fear it may be another 22 years before we return again. The service, while friendly, was poor. After we had got ourselves comfortable at a table near the front of restaurant, they moved us to another table nearer the back for no apparent reason - we didn't have any more room there. When the starters were served, there was confusion over which of the three Prawn Purees ordered were king prawn and which were regular prawn. In fact, we were charged for three King Prawn Purees. At the end of the meal, they tried to renege on the 25%-off-the-food discount that El Pres had obtained. Even the 'tout' on the door had confirmed that when we first arrived. My main of Karahi Chicken Tikka Masala was not chicken TIKKA at all - just long strips of bland white chicken that tasted like it had not been cooked in the sauce. The veg dishes were nice but all-in-all it was a disappointing meal. However, it was a very enjoyable Xmas evening out, the highlights of which were the Pride of Spitalfields (yes, I did have a good time there!) and a full rendition of Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody in the restaurant.