34-38 Vauxhall Bridge Road, ,
London,
SW1V 2RY
0872 148 2980
The ViewLondon Review
This is a delightfully peaceable Indian restaurant parked in the gentle lull between Victoria and Vauxhall Bridge. It hovers round the margins of the (unintentionally) kitsch in aspect, in a nice way.
The colour scheme rather resembles the intense pastels of extremely sugary Indian desserts: Pistachio green, yellow ochre and crimson walls provide a spanking contrast to the traditional white tablecloths.
Large floral paintings adorn the candy walls, which reminded me of the screens decorated with magazine cutouts of flowers my grandmother made pre-Blue Peter, when colour photos were still rather special. The overall effect is to create a souped-up 1940’s feel that is quite sweet, and quite smart.
The atmosphere is very calm, and the service friendly if unhurried. There were not many customers in there when we arrived, (which I found surprising when I got my hands on the food), but though the waitress was most delightful and attentive, the starters did take a while to arrive, which could be a drawback for anyone seeking to eat speedily in a lunch break.
The starters were very good. I had vegetable samosas, which were everything a starter should be: light, piquant, and an artful inducement to further pleasures of the palate. There was none of the ham-fisted blowtorch use of heat or grease that can mar otherwise lovingly prepared ingredients. My companion enjoyed some fresh tiger prawns which were just the right chewiness and very fragrant.
For the main course, I had mildly spiced chicken with almonds and saffron, and Sarah had the Chef’s special oven chicken, which turned out to be strongly tomato influenced. Hers was fine, but I thought mine was better, as the coconut flavour lingering after the saffron was creamily luxurious. It was extremely filling when accompanied by the very bijou baby aubergines, which I highly recommend as an utterly unnecessary but very delicious reason to undo your belt.
Starters cost from £2.50 and the main courses hover around the £7 mark. This is very good value in my opinion, as the food was good and the restaurant has charm. There is a decent wine list.
Although the only other man in there when I was there did lower the tone a bit by tucking his napkin into his collar, and patting it happily over his large tum, there is clearly much to be said for restaurants patronised by people who clearly take their grub seriously.
Millbank Spice has been reviewed by 4 users