Cambridge Foodies

After the closures of Montaz many years ago, Ely has been down to just two Indian restaurants. To be fair, Ely has been managing just fine with Le Spice and The Sylhet but with the news of a third opening up in the city is still exciting news for us locals.

Ever since I heard that Indian Edge was opening, I have been dying to see what it has to offer. Would it be able to muscle in on two well established Indian restaurants? Does it offer anything new?

I didn’t really get a good chance to take a photo of the restaurant but it is lovely inside. There is plenty of seating, a nice bar, and everything felt clean and new. There is a good mix of traditional and modern interior decorating and a good ratio of staff. If you are wondering why it is looking empty it is because we were there at the opening (17:30).

🅿️ – free parking options across the road at Forehill Car Park.

There is a wide selection on the menu with everything you would expect from an Indian (Bangladeshi) restaurant (classic curry, tandoori mixed grill, etc). There were a few items on the menu that caught my eye that I look forward to trying on my next visit, such as the pan fried sea bass.

I also noticed a ‘banquete night’ on Tuesdays that offers a starter, side, main, rice and naan for £15.

We ordered some papadums which came out with 5 sides – mango chutney, red onion chutney, yogurt, mixed pickle, and an onion salad.

The yogurt was fantastic and stood out as my favourite. The mixed pickle and mango chutney were also decent, though aren’t going to blow anyone away. The onion salad was a little heavy on the onions but was balanced enough to compliment the papadums and other sides.

As we hadn’t been to Indian Edge before, I decided to order my usual – the chicken tikka vindaloo, saag aloo and mushroom rice. This gave me an opportunity to compare the quality with the other restaurants in the area.

Our food was beautifully presented on a candle lit tray to keep it warm. The vindaloo was a lovely natural looking colour with no sign of colourings. The portion was a good size and the chicken was served in big tender chunks.

The vindaloo wasn’t particularly spicy, which was a shame, but it had a nice warm glow to it. My wife has forced me to write that this may be down to the fact that I have an “asbestos mouth” and cannot feel spice anymore. 😂

Either way, it tasted great and had a generous amount of sauce with it. The chicken was clearly tikka’d well, as you could see the holes through the big chunks of chicken. Nobody is going to be disappointed with this dish and I loved it.

The saag aloo was to die for. It had a generous amount of spinach that was lovely and crisp. This complimented the vindaloo perfectly.

The mushroom rice was well executed and had a lovely golden colour. This was complimented by the mushroom and herbs that gave it a bustling mix of colours

I was joined by my sister for the evening who ordered a lamb biryani and onion bhajis.

The biryani looked great, which was a theme I noticed throughout the evening. The presentation of all the food, from the colour to the style of every dish, was spectacular.
The biryani was accompanied with a side vegetable curry. The lamb was served in chunks and was beautifully tender. It was a big enough portion for my sister to be unable to finish and take some home with her. She said that at thoroughly enjoyed her meal. 👍

We also ordered a mixed platter dish called the ‘panch mishali’ which consists of chicken tikka, lamb tikka, lamb sheek kebab, tandoori king prawn and salmon tikka.

Now, I want to say straight off the bat that everything here was really good. I couldn’t fault a single thing but the lamb sheek kebab was absolutely sublime. I haven’t had something of this quality in a long time. It was soft, succulent, and bursting with flavour. The staff team claimed to be the only Indian restaurant serving this, which I’m not sure is entirely true as I am pretty sure I have had it at The Sylhet before but I cannot argue with the quality of what they are serving. The chicken tikka was also beautifully soft and bold with flavour.

If you are a fan of lamb sheek kebab then get yourself down here ASAP and let me know your thoughts in the Cambridge Foodies.

Once we were finished we paid our bill and were on our way. The staff here are very attentive. The restaurant filled up quite quickly throughout the evening yet they still find time to have a little chat without it affecting service.

To answer my questions at the start of this review, does Indian Edge add anything new to the Ely restaurant scene? Not really. Will it be able to keep up with the already well established rivals in the city? Absolutely. There is nothing standing between Indian Edge and other Indian restaurants in the area, judging by my visit tonight. Indian Edge offers beautifully presented contemporary Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine with high quality ingredients, especially when it comes to meat. I can’t wait to visit again and explore the menu!

Highlights: lamb sheek kebab, chicken tikka vindaloo, saag aloo, and yogurt

Thanks for reading.