I went back for a well over due visit to Pipasha tonight. I was pleased to see that they have spent a lot of money doing up the restaurant. It looks much better than it did before inside and out.

Prior it was very bland, empty, and white but I’m glad to see that it’s transformed entirely into a warm and welcoming restaurant with so much to offer.

The menu was reasonably priced. A curry was around £8.50 which is verging on mid ranged on price. They had Cobra and Kingfisher on tap which was excellent (if you ignore the fact it was £4.50 per pint).

The menu was also well labelled with a key listing different temperatures of the dishes, allergies, and vegetarian logos.

We had a few papdums while we decided what we wanted. As you can see from the photos we were served mango chutney, a crude onion salad, and another version of mango chutney which was onion based with spices. Though I enjoyed the sides with the papdums individually, having two types of mango chutney with only 3 sides felt very poorly balanced. That said, I thought the mango chutney was superb.

I also asked for some lime pickle which was top-notch! I went for a chicken vindaloo with saag aloo, and mushroom rice. I usually have to ask for the vindaloo extra hot as most places these days often serve it mild…and boy did they serve it extra hot!

It was one of the hottest curries I’ve had in years (and rightly so!). Bravo Pipasha for serving a vindaloo exactly how it should be!

The mushroom rice was pretty standard but served me well. The portions were decent. The saag aloo and my friends naan were excellent. We were given a hot wet wipe and chocolates after our meal, as you’d expect. Some Indians try to cut these little novelties out to save costs…but not here!

The bill came up just about what was expected considering the price of the curry on the menu. It seems to be a good indicator of total price of a menu.

I had a very good time at Pipasha. Frankly, I’ve never had a bad meal here. I can see how it serves the local area well (especially now The Shanti has closed). The biggest problem I have always had with Pipasha is it’s very old and very very white interior decorating. This has now been remedied and it has made a world of difference!