Boy oh boy, have I been looking forward to visiting Indian Palace!

This restaurant has been on my radar for years. The only reason why it has taken so long is because Cherry Hinton is an awkward drive from where I live but tonight however, I decided to make a big effort and take the plunge. Let’s do this!

The restaurant doesn’t look much from the outside but is gorgeous once you walk in. It’s spacious, light, and colourful. It has lots of beautiful artwork on the walls and an assortment of interesting things lined up across the bar. The chairs are comfortable, the atmosphere is relaxed, and it is the sort of restaurant I feel I could spend the entire evening in.

♿ I was also pleased to see good quality disabled toilets.

Indian Palace is authentic Indian cuisine, claiming to serve both North and Southern Indian food. Think biryani’s, dosas, and a selection of dishes you won’t find in the typical Indian (Bangladeshi) restaurants dotted around.

For those of you unsure, you’ll be pleased to know that they still serve the usual classic dishes too (vindaloo, bhuna, balti, Madras, and korma etc). They also serve Kingfisher and Cobra beer on tap for a modestly priced £5 a pint 👍

The menu had some really interesting dishes. Many caught my eye and I feel that I might need to return to try everything else I wanted. A real foodie could spend a lot of time exploring this menu.

One starter dish that really stood out was the ‘medhu vada’. This is a soft spongy Keralan style doughnut made with white urid beans, chopped onion, ginger, and curry leaves. It comes accompanied with coconut chutney and a curry sauce for dipping. I absolutely adored this. It was also surprisingly heavier than I was expecting and was very hearty.

Next up was one of my all time favourite dishes, the ‘masala dosa’. This is made from batter of black gram lentils and rice which is then thinly cooked on a specially designed griddle. Folded in the middle is a portion of ginger flavoured potato and carrot masala, served with sambar and chutney sauces.

I always enjoy a masala dosa because they are great for sharing between a table and make an impressive centre piece in any meal. It’s a real sight to behold and looks fantastic with this golden brown colour and selection of sauces. It is also massive, which always makes it more fun.

This was one of the best examples of a masala dosa I have had in a while. Generally, I prefer a thicker dosa (like at Banana Leaf) but this really showed me what a thin one can do. It was nice and crispy while still being strong enough to keep its structural integrity together which made scooping a breeze.

The potato had a lovely flavour to it. The ginger was well balanced and not over powering. It is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter evening. Both Sean and I were thoroughly enjoying breaking off the dosa and scooping up the potato between us then dipping it in the sauces provided. I couldn’t recommend this enough! A great fun and social dish.

I was looking for something comforting and familiar. For people who read my blog will know that my favourite is the good ol’ chicken tikka vindaloo with saag aloo but I felt like it would be a complete waste of a visit to Indian Palace, so I decided to venture out. One dish that caught my eye was the ‘Fish Molly’. This is king fish marinated in vinegar which is then cooked in thick coconut milk with curry leaves, onion, ginger, and tomatoes.

I ordered this with some mushroom rice and saag aloo. First of all, the mushroom rice was surprisingly well executed. It’s hard to get excited about rice unless you are ordering a biryani but the rice at Indian Palace was colourful, vivid, with lots going on. The portion was also more generous than other places I have visited lately.

The saag aloo was also excellent. The potatoes were soft, the spinach was plentiful, and had a warm comforting flavour.

This all combined with the Fish Molly resulted in a beautiful plate with a lot of exciting colour and contrasting flavour. The king fish was served in several large chunks. You will notice bones in this dish, which is good for flavour, but will result in having to pick a few out. The fish itself tastes great with a delicate taste while being soft and juicy. It simply melts in your mouth.

Sean had the ‘Keralan Lamb Curry’. This is boneless lamb cooked in a thick paste of tomato, cinnamon, garlic, onion and aromatic spices. Served in a beautifully golden brown colour, this might be one of the highlights of the evening. It was so thick, creamy, and flavorful. The lamb simply disintegrated in my mouth upon trying it. After the first taste, I was then picking at the dish for the remainder of the evening. Sorry, Sean!

I would also like to take this opportunity to praise not only Indian Palace but the Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant scene as a whole. For decades they have offered significantly better value when compared to Chinese and other mainstream food from across the world and even though prices have gone up significantly lately, they still manage to keep prices reasonable. This meal, including beer came to just over £50. Which I think is remarkable. 👍

Both Sean and I were in agreement that Indian Palace is something special. I am kicking myself for not visiting sooner and I look forward to coming back and exploring more of the menu. The service is fantastic, the prices completely reasonable, and the venue is comfortable, spacious, and somewhere you’d be happy to spend an evening. I couldn’t fault any of the food and cannot wait to return.

Thanks for reading!