The Woburn Fort, Woburn Sands (13th May 2010)

Overall Score: 8.028
Cost: £15-£20

RECOMMENDED

We ventured to Woburn Sands with Lee's dad as the nominated driver. The journey took a while as Dave was unfamiliar with the route and was a little conservative with his speed on route.

PICKLES
With one more member of the group we had to settle for just the nine poppadoms, pickles arrived a good selection, which were replenished upon request. Better than some of the previous curry houses, but a little way to go to match the best, still scored a creditable 7.834.

STARTERS
Simon went for Prawn Puri, his favourite starter, Tony for bharjis and Lee for his paneer. All were good and scored a reasonable mark.

MAIN COURSE
Simon opted for a new dish, a vegetarian thali, excellent selection of food which provided a good variety of flavours. Tony went for lamb rogan, following advice from the friendly waiter who insisted he tried the lamb ahead of the chicken. Lee decided on his vegetable vindaloo and enjoyed the dish. Overall the main courses were good but not exceptional.

DESSERTS
Simon and Tony decided on desserts but were disappointed that they did not match the pictures on the menu - somewhat of a let down, hence the lower scores.

This restaurant was good and worth a visit and is in the top third of our restaurants but has some way to go to reach the top.

The Woburn Fort
37 High Street
Woburn Sands
Milton Keyns
MK17 8RB

Tel: 01908 282002

Koh-I-Noor, Horse Fair, Birmingham (1st May 2010)

Overall Score: 6.900
Cost: £15-£20

NOT RECOMMENDED

The second trip to Birmingham to try another restaurant in the heart of the midlands. Tony and Simon met up with Lee and Harry, they had returned from the Villa game in Manchester in high spirits after a few beers!

Following a visit to some of the lively bars in the centre of town, we walked to the Koh-I-Noor, whilst the rain poured down, Tony less than impressed with the distance we had to travel to the curry house. This is the only curry house that I have been to that has a tree in the middle of the restaurant.

PICKLES
The selection of pickles were disappointing, the onion salad arriving on a saucer and we had to ask for the lime pickle too. The poppadoms were not crispy and although the waiter would replenish the pickles, we felt that this was one of the poorer selections we have had, hence the low score.

STARTERS
Simon and Lee decided on the Mushroom Puri, exceptionally good indeed, both enjoyed this and awarded 9. Tony went for Onion Bharjis and was slightly disappointed with them, hence his score lowered the average for the curry club.

MAIN MEALS
Lee opted for his veggie madras, his option when in Birmingham as this is equivalent to the Vinda down south, Simon went for a Chicken Korai and Tony for the Lamb Rogan, on the recommendation of the waiter, who insisted that this was the best choice. All enjoyed their meals, Simon and Tony giving theirs a 9, while Lee awarded his a good 8. Main meals very good and were exceptionally tasty, Lee and Tony taking their left overs for breakfast.

All decided against the deserts, as we had all eaten our fill and the days drinking had made us a little tired. Overall this restaurant provides good food, the service is a little slow and we waited a while for our two courses. The value for money is very good and its worth a visit, but does not figure in our top selections.

Koh-I-Noor
28/29 Horsefair
Birmingham
B1 1DD
Click here for a map

Tel: 0121 622 2053