Brentford - Feb 2013

Date - Tuesday, 15th February 2013 - The Guru Tandoori at Watermans

Attendees - Me, Malc, Mike, Pete, Roland, Alex, Dave (Rolands mate) and Dean (Mike's mate)

This was a trip that nearly never was; had Gavin Tomlin put away a golden chance late on in the original FA Cup 3rd Round match at Roots Hall then we would now be waiting to play Chelsea in Round 4.  Sadly, their keeper made a tremendous save and set up a Griffin Park replay.

There was a big group of us travelling up for this match and several of the usual curry tasters 'A' team opted to forego the Indian in favour of a few beers at Waterloo and then a "Brentford Burger" (which, I'm reliably informed, are supplied by Tesco and are guaranteed to firstly make you hoarse and then give you the gallops. What a load of pony that is.  Ok ok, enough now).

This meant that we had to field a few ringers, namely Dave, a mate of Roland and Dean, a work colleague of Mike and we hope they both enjoyed the company and the experience.  Come along whenever you can again chaps!

As for the restaurant, Malc, Keith and I sampled this a few years back and initially couldn't believe it was a restaurant.  The only clue to it's existence is an 'A' frame outside on the road as it is housed in the basement of the Watermans Art Centre which also is home to a cinema, theatre and bar.  Externally, it is not the most visually appealing of buildings although it is right on the riverside and according to the website photos, the back is much nicer than the front. Strangely, the website has absolutely no mention of the restaurant at all, which is actually an extension to the bar itself.

On our previous visit, we had wandered down into an area that was very poorly signed and which had the appearance of a nightclub; a bar one end, the restaurant at the other and what looked like a barren dance floor in the middle with scaffolding poles lashed together to form some sort of partition (well, it is an art centre!).  This time around, the layout was the same but the central area now had tables, chairs and sofas in it, plus a selection of golden curtains and drapes which made it look not quite so stark.  Still, last time we were very pleasantly surprised by the fare on offer and so we decided to return.  The added bonus was that there was a free car park that we could use for the whole evening.  Woo Hoo!

We arrived in plenty of time and had a drink before the restaurant opened.  There was a large table already laid out (we hadn't booked) and so we occupied that one and placed our orders.  The toilets were some distance away and served not only the restaurant but also the bar and other parts of the centre, which made it surprising that they weren't bigger.  Like most places, they weren't perhaps the cleanest or up to date part of the building.

Food wise however, we weren't to be disappointed.  I opted for the Chicken Jalfrezi, which was just the right heat and the accompanying keema rice was delicious. The Onion Bhajis were of the flat rather than round variety but the flavours were spot on and the Peshwari Naan was not the usual pre-purchased commercial variety... I would guess they made their own here.  Delicious.  I certainly heard no complaints at all from the other diners and the fact that by 6:30 on a Tuesday the restaurant was practically full says it all really.

The only problem was the service.  The drinks were slow to come over and the food didn't all arrive at the same time.  Alex was left waiting for his dish for ages and if we had adopted the usual manners of not starting before everyone's meal had been served then it would have all been stone cold.  When it did eventually arrive - as the rest of us were practically finishing - it wasn't the correct dish. However, his hunger and the time didn't allow a replacement to be ordered and so he just accepted what was on offer.

Price wise, it worked out at around £22 per head, so a touch on the pricey side, but it is West London.

Marks (out of ten)

Exterior - 5

Surroundings - 7

Interior - 7

Toilets - 6

Service - 5

Food Quality - 9

Value - 6

Overall - 6.43 - Let down by the appearance and service, but food is excellent.

The match

Brentford were a whole division above us and it showed.  Our keeper played out of his skin and stopped 17 of their 19 attempts on target.  We were basically thrashed 2-1.