Eat My Words: We reviewed Castle Cuisine in Newark
When a shrimp lover and a curry lover go to an Indian restaurant, one who is up for new things and one is a regular, you know you’ve got yourself a good combination.
My partner Cam and I — who picked curry for dinner at the first chance he had — decided to try Castle Cuisine on a Tuesday evening, making it the ideal ‘cure’ meal for a long day.
When we first entered the premises, we had been warned it felt like being in someone’s front room, and it did, but it was quite homely and not the intrusive feeling I expected.
The whole atmosphere was quiet, respectful and delicious as the plates we looked at when we entered looked amazing and the restaurant also smelled lovely.
Looking around, it seemed like it was a family-owned business, which automatically made me like it even more.
Firstly, we ordered some poppadoms and a chutney tray to share, with some water for me and a lemonade for Cameron, and then the main challenge began for me — what do I pick with such a vast menu?
Everything looked and sounded really tasty, which made it hard for me to pick. I often go for a saag paneer as anything vegetarian, cheesy and creamy is usually my go-to. But as someone who also loves prawns, I decided to take a risk and pick something a bit more fishy.
I never tried fish in a curry, and the thought of it was always a bit intriguing for me, but why not? If I had never tried it, I would never have known how great it is, so much so that it became my now go-to order.
But first things first, the poppadoms arrived and you can never go wrong with a chutney tray, although on the tray there was a lime pickle sauce and it was combination of sour, spicy and lemony. Do you know the face you make when you eat a lemon and it is a bit acidic? That is exactly the face I did every time I ate the lime pickle sauce, but it was good and I kept eating it.
It also came with some mango chutney, cucumber raitha, and onion salad and as always, the variety of flavours and textures make it the perfect starters, although if I wasn’t sharing it, I would’ve been full enough to call it a main, rather than a pre starter.
As I mentioned above, I went for a prawn curry, but there were so many different ones, and I didn’t know the difference between a lot of the dishes, that is why I always like to ask for an expert opinion.
In between a few different prawn dishes, I ended up ordering the Tandoori King Prawn Karahi, from the Castle Specialities. It was a Tandoori king prawn cooked with chunky onion, peppers and tomato in a thick sauce.
Cam, who always orders the same thing from an Indian restaurant, as he claims it is the best of the best ordered a Chicken Tikka Masala.
To go with our dishes, we ordered a portion of mushroom rice and a garlic cheese naan to share.
Even though I didn’t get to try his dish as I don’t eat meat, Cameron described it as being ‘sublime’.
He added: “It was sweet and creamy and up there with one of the best I've ever had.”
And for someone who has had both expensive and cheap and curries for many, many years, this is a great ranking.
I don’t know if it was because it looked or smelled amazing, or simply because he was hungry, but the truth is, he attacked the food straight away.
My dish came only a couple of minutes later, in a little tray, sizzling hot, but it looked divine, and Cameron would agree that it tasted just as good, if not better than it looked.
It was perfectly seasoned, the perfect temperature, the perfect texture and honestly? The perfect dish. It was all I wanted and needed and didn’t even know, so I am very glad I decided to try something different.
The vegetables were cooked to perfection, the shrimp was tasty and the way it was involved in a creamy sauce completely changed the game for me. 10 out of 10.
Now focusing on the sides, the mushroom rice was also great, it had vegetables, onion, and plenty of mushrooms, just like we both love and it was loose, which is good as sometimes you get sticky rice and with creamy food, what goes better than some loose rice?
And of course, I wouldn’t forget the cheesy garlic naan. There was so much cheese and when I saw it, my eyes popped with happiness — it was the perfect amount of cheese for me.
At the end of our meal, I was so full I could nearly nap and when the waiter put the dessert menu in front of us I was tempted by the dairy pistachio kulfi — yes I love pistachio as much as I love shrimp and cheese — but unfortunately I had to save that one for another visit as I wouldn’t be able to leave my seat otherwise.
Overall, it was one of the best curries I had in a while and definitely a place that I will be visiting again and recommend it to people as the food was incredible and the service made me feel at home and looked after.
Out of five:
Food: The food was amazing, from the starters to the main dishes and even the desserts I left the restaurant dreaming of were absolutely amazing, couldn’t recommend it more. *****
Drinks: Even though we ordered very plain drinks, the restaurant had a wide range of drinks for people to choose from and I heard that even though they don’t serve alcohol, you can bring your own, which is always a bonus, and one that I will have to try when I am not driving. *****
Decor: The decor at Castle Cuisine was simple but welcoming. It had some paintings on the walls, low-ish lights, and the walls were painted red and white, making it sort of romantic. ***
Staff: Everyone was very friendly and welcoming to us, from the moment we entered through the door to the moment we left. Waiters kept checking if everything was alright with the food, if we needed anything else, and at the end we received a chocolate each, what a treat!
Price: The overall price was £48.20, although we paid £50 as my heart was warmed with the thought of a family-owned business. It was very much worth it. Considering the portion sizes, the taste of the food and the service I would say that this was a great price for a two-person dinner.
Have you had a great meal? Share your own Eat My Words reviews or tell us where to try by emailing: news@newarkadvertiser.co.uk