The Juboraj group is undoubtedly one of Cardiff’s best known and longest standing restaurant institutions.
With restaurants in Rhiwbina, Mill Lane and Lakeside amongst others, this chain of Bangladeshi / Indian restaurants has a history which dates back to 1989 when they first opened in Cardiff Bay’s Bute Street.
I’ve previously visited the Lakeside and Cardiff Bay branches where I’ve had perfectly decent yet unremarkable meals. So, when I ate at the Rhiwbina restaurant it’s unsurprising that I had a very similar experience.
Poppadoms and chutneys were on the mark. A lime and mixed vegetable number was the standout with a good level of spice and sourness.
A mixed starter (£6.25) comprised of a deep-flavoured keema samosa, crisp onion bhajis and a curiously dense and dry breadcrumbed chicken pakora.
Machli biran (£6.55) saw salmon coated in a lightly spiced marinade. However, the use of a fillet instead of a slightly boney steak would have improved the dish immeasurably.
Masala chicken wings had a good level of char and spice. But, £6 for three half wings seemed over ambitious in price.
Onto mains, and tandoori chicken (£11) was tender and generously portioned. A mound of caramelised onions were equally compelling.
Murgi massala (£12.55) saw heaps of tandoori chicken slices in a keema flecked sauce. It was an enjoyable curry but it would have benefited from a bigger hit of spice.
Salan-e-ghost (£13.60) was intensely flavoured but the pieces of beef in the curry were disappointingly dry.
A peshwari naan and pilau rice both did the job. However, an off-menu garlic keema naan was a revelation which I’ll certainly adding to my regular curry regime.
With slightly higher pricing than other high street curry houses, I'd expect more than the average from Juboraj. On this occasion, it was just average.
The Details:
Address - Juboraj Rhiwbina, 10 Heol Y Deri, Rhiwbina, Cardiff CF14 6HG
Telephone - 029 2062 8894
This place is a hoax for Indian Food.
ReplyDeleteTo start with the food was not even nearer to Indian taste. Some of the dishes which are authentic indian dishes are totally differently prepared. Our "Chicken Kolhapuri" was prepared in the most un-professional method and the taste was just awfull. People not knowing Indian food delicies or taste will obviously like the decor and preparations. So no offence to it.
During our experience with the staff while most of them were courteous, the main staff was very arrogant and stubborn. In our billing, they had ignored the deserts which was their mistake. But they expected us to point out this. When we paid the bill unknowingly they came back to us immediately and said that they had forgotten to add the deserts and because we have checked the bill (which they assumed and were blaming on us for not highlighting this mistake) they said that the deserts will be on-the-house. This was totally not acceptable to us as we were totally un-aware of this fact and readily insisted that they bill us the desert amount and we would pay it immediately in which case they started arguing as if we had made a big mistake by not pointing this to them and started saying that they are not ready to bill. However, we also insisted to make the payment to which they finally agreed and billed us. We made the full payment and came dis-satisfied and felt being humiliated.
People get fascinated because of the decor and the dishes they serve. But very rarely people would realise what lies beneath this and hence will never visit this restaurant or recommend to anyone. There are many other authentic restaurants in and around Cardiff.
@Anonymous - thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like you visit was even more disappointing than mine!
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