I have been really looking forward to this one!

After the sad news of The Old Crown in Girton changing hands, I was relieved to hear that a new Nepalese restaurant was due to take over.

The restaurant has now been open for two weeks, while keeping the same name “The Old Crown”. The owner is already well established across other Cambridgeshire locations, including at The Bell in Sawtry. This bodes well, as it shows he is experienced in serving Nepalese cuisine and has already proven himself popular with other residents in the area.

The restaurant is stunning, inside and out. From the outside, this picturesque 19th century pub perfectly encapsulates the classic old English country pub. On the inside, it has a more contemporary design, that mixes a modern design with traditional features. It’s unusual but it works, with lots of space and enough seating to host any number of people.

🅿️ Parking available around the back

Chicken Momo’s

We started off with a traditional Nepalese dish called “momo’s” (or dumplings). You get five in total, making it awkward to share between any number of people, other than 5 (but I am always more than happy to heroically volunteer myself for the remaining one 😂). There is a choice on the menu between vegetarian and chicken momo’s but we were told that any dish on the menu can have the meat substituted with any other. We opted for chicken which is minced and mixed with herbs for flavour.

The Momo’s tasted ok but were quite rubbery, almost like pasta. We found it hard to even get out on our fork and while doing so had the insides plop out on our plate. This happened more than once. They didn’t offend but didn’t particularly inspire either.

Mains

The menu had a good selection, with well over a dozen traditional Nepalese dishes available. I also noticed dum biryani and numerous pub classics. Mixed grills are also available, along with traditional Nepalese desserts, such as a rice pudding dish called, Kheer.

A kids menu is also available, hovering around the £6 mark 👍

There were so many great choices on the menu that I simply couldn’t decide between. In the end, we managed to narrow it down to three dishes between the two of us; all from the traditional Nepalese section.

• A lamb Lasun Kukhura Khursani (gf)

• Chicken Rum Rum (gf)

• Rara King Prawn

The lamb ‘Lasun Kukhura Khursani’ is one of the more spicy options on the menu and is made from garlic, crushed chilli, spring onion, and “fresh cream in the chef’s special Nepalese sauce”.

This might have been my favourite of the evening, with the lamb being generously placed in the sauce but was also incredibly tender; a winning combination.  The sauce was medium heat, with a thick and creamy sauce, similar to a chicken tikka masala. Delicious!

The ‘Chicken Rum Rum’ is cooked with Nepalese herbs and a type of black pepper called timur.

The dish tasted quite similar to the ‘Lasun Kukhura Khursani’ with a mild spicy warmth but also came with a slight zesty flavour, which I found quite refreshing. This complimented the chicken that was swimming in abundance in the thick creamy sauce. I also think this flavour would go well with other light meats, like fish.

The ‘Rara King Prawn’ is a coconut based dish cooked with Nepalese spices, as well as tamarind and mustard. Taking a look at it, you would immediately guess that it is similar to a Thai curry or a chicken korma, and you would be exactly right; though this one is slightly spicier with a richer flavour. The king prawns were a good size and cooked precisely, giving them a succulent and juicy texture.

You can’t have three sauce-based mains without rice, so we ordered egg fried rice and mushroom rice. The rice was colourful and well presented but the portions were slightly smaller than we were hoping for (especially when compared to other Indian restaurants). Joined by my guest, he ate the equivalent of a single portion of curry and found himself feeling a little short on rice…and I had to agree. It was by no means a huge deficit but half a cup each would have made all the difference. Otherwise, the rice was perfect.

We ordered a peshwari naan to bulk out the rice (that came out in absolutely no time). The naan was a great size, fresh, and was nice and warm. It was served cut into quarters and brought out in a charming basket. This made it easier to share and proved to be the perfect canvas to mop up the remaining sauce. The peshwari was also generously portioned inside, adding a lovely sweetness that was very welcome after so much heavy savoury food.

Conclusion

My guest and I both had a blast at The Old Crown. As much as I liked the old pub, you’ll be unsurprised to learn that I prefer it now I can get a curry 🤣

More importantly, this isn’t your usual curry from an Indian or/Bangladeshi restaurant, as The Old Crown (being Nepalese) offers something a little different, not commonly found in the Cambridge area. The three curries tonight were excellent, offering thick creamy sauces and tender meat that will be accessible with a wide enough appeal to please anyone. If you are a vindaloo hot-head, then you may struggle to find anything that satisfies your last remaining taste bud but otherwise I think everyone will love it here.

I couldn’t fault the service this evening too. The team were friendly, chatty, and prompt, from start to finish. They really made me feel at home and keen to return again.

Get yourself down and let us know what you think in the Cambridge Foodies community!