Will writes...

Jaipur, Southsea (May 2007)

While Rich and Aaron busy stationing the car (took 20 minutes) I made my way to Jaipur. Hides itself as well as parking spaces on Albert Road.   

PLACE is small but really quite roomy. Modern art-deco space, off white walls displaying impressionistic acrylic landscapes, filled out with bambi brown furnishings. Pristine. Rowdy gathering of Pompey harpies slowly built to crescendo.   Someone’s birthday!  Wood floor meant whole place drowned in sound.  Still SERVICE remained restrained, polite.

An adventure in taste! So declares the restaurant’s menu.  Won’t cost you the earth either.  PRICES £3-3.50 Starters, circa £6 for sweep of House Specials, £3.45 Veg, £2.20 pilau.  Certainly a change from formula curry. Best part of meal, our selection of curry mains.  Goan Lamb, homestyle intensity of flavour, ingredients made themselves known – coconut, root ginger, fat red, green chillies, sour lime leaves. Refreshing and lovely.  Jaipuri Lamb, various strong, warm and bitter sweet overtones from cassia bark, ground cinnamon, cloves.  Manchurian Chicken, honey rich, thick dark and viscous.  Heavy but sumptuously sweet.  Starters had been fine if unremarkable. I chose the Nargisi Kebab, 4 breadcrumbed meat and lentil nuggets. A Bhindi Bhajee had familiar butter tea taste while 2 pilau rice and a Misi Roti (unleavened bread stuffed with spinach) were ok though not truly memorable. 

A SUMMARY?

Individuality in the cooking impressed, potential tasted and return trip planned.