We have reviewed The Sylhet before but it’s been a while since our last visit and I had started to miss the place. We managed to pick up a quick takeaway a few months ago but otherwise it’s been over a year since our last sit down meal.
Our Cambridge Curry Community moderator Ollie made a fantastic point today about making sure that we support our local Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants during these hard times.
In this current financial climate, it’s understandable that restaurants are struggling.
It’s important to remember this is temporary, we will get through this and when we do, we want all of our favourite restaurants to get through it too!
If you can afford to, go out and eat at your favourite restaurant, if you can don’t just order a takeaway, go and support them and eat there.๏
I couldn’t agree more! This evening he decided to go to his local Indian, Cam Spice, so I decided to go to my favourite local, the Sylhet.
When you run an Indian restaurant blog, it is very easy to get carried away chasing every place you can to make sure you don’t miss a thing, but it’s important to make sure you support your local in the process. These are the essential back bone restaurants of your day to day life where memories are made. If they go, a big part of your life goes with it. So it’s important to support them as much as you can.
The Sylhet is one of my all round favourite Indian restaurants. Not because it stands out with a gimmick, a novelty, or concentrating on doing one particular thing very well, but because it gets everything right and is consistent in doing so.
I am always warmly greeted at the Sylhet. The staff always remembers me and takes the time to chat with us at the table. They even remember the dishes I like and it’s these little details which make all the difference. They have all the classics on the menu, both Cobra and Kingfisher on tap, and really prompt and attentive staff. They even have good wheelchair access. There is nothing I can fault.
We ordered some papdums while we had a look at the menu. Going back to my point about how the Sylhet gets everything right, this was one of the first examples of this. The papadum side sauces were excellent. One thing I’ve noticed lately is how Indian restaurants are giving away measly little portions of mixed pickle, mango chutney, onion salad, and yogurt. Not only was each and every one of them perfect at the Sylhet but the portions were HUGE!
We had some onion bhajis for starters. I don’t usually go for these but we fancied a change and they didn’t disappoint.
These were incredibly meaty bhajis reminiscent of the giant bhajis from Mo Malikโs before it closed down. There is a time and a place for the light and delicate bhajis but if we are really honest with ourselves, this is exactly how they should be! The yoghurt here is absolutely perfect and they were so good for dipping.
After our visit to The Shilpa, my son was shown a wide range of new dishes during his visit, so he was feeling adventurous and decided to choose something different from his usual. After speaking with Zahid, he managed to convince him to try the ‘Sylhet Murgh’. This is a medium chicken dish cooked ‘desi style ‘ where the ingredients are stewed or reused in the cooking process to make the most of the flavour.
I apologise for the photos but the light in my seat was not very good (though it did add to a nice atmosphere in the restaurant!). The dish had a bold flavour and the chicken was very tender. It was presented with a boiled egg which is something I have only ever had with a biryani. My son did not care for the egg but thought the dish was ‘one of the best curries I’ve ever had’. He’s starting to learn that there is life beyond the classic menu of chicken tikka’s, kormas, and madras’s.
This was my fourth curry this week, so I felt like a change. The ‘North Indian Garlic Chilli’ caught my eye and it was also being served with duck, which is something I am not seeing around as much these days, so I decided to give it a go.
The duck was excellent and made a really nice change. The green chillies gave it a Jalfrezi feel but was served hotter, so it still satisfied the spicy side in me. It was an enjoyable dish which I would recommend for someone looking for something a little different.
It was a great meal as usual at the Sylhet tonight. I’d expect nothing less from this consistent restaurant which always gives us a top meal. I always regret not coming back sooner when I visit and will make sure to visit again soon.
Thanks for reading.
The Cambridge Foodies 