Mid Week Buffet

Decided to pop in and try the mid week buffet at The Ocean Village on Bridge Street in Maidenhead last night with two friends.

Now we believe at the FFCC that what you pay is not an indicator of quality when it comes to curry and so an offer of £6 cash only for a buffet we were optimistic.

Sadly it was not to be - the food was not bad it was perfectly fine but just very very bland flavouring. Which was a shame.

These guys are always friendly and polite and welcoming and we have eaten here before with mixed results and last night was more of the same.

Choice of starters, samosa, bhaji, chicken tikka and spices all very ordinary: mains was a choice of three curries, two chicken and one lamb all with tender meat but again just very bland, making food as bland as this is crime... We are sure locals will throw their arms up in outcry but thus is very bland ordinary curry and these guys can do so much better.

Won't be trying the mid week buffet again a definite 4/10. .

The Guardsman Inn - Maidenhead

We tried something different this month... We went to a pub for a curry! Yes we know that doesn't sound very different but it was ...

We were only discussing that in the last couple of months a lot of curry is getting bland - someone said "Some of this stuff takes just like last month's so..." action was required.

The solution : we popped in to the Guardsman's Inn in Maidenhead on Oldfield Road which boast a fabulous back room bar and better still a ex-Gurhka chef... Who apparently prepares a fabulous Nepalese curry … we tried a special arrangement. Set price curry with a selection of starters and choice of three currys.… Lamb, Beef and Chicken.

The starters were a Nepalese potato dish and Nepalese Bhajis and some vegetables - with a small order of very spicy red salsa style sauce. The starters were excellent.

The mains were excellent - the beef was voted most popular, closely followed chicken but the lamb curry was a bit bland. Overall jolly good and politely served by a proud Gurhka who was attentive and seemed very anxious to please. Which was frankly very endearing.

Seating arrangement was a little weird in being in two groups which we altered quickly, and the banter kicked off! Wide ranging from cancer patients regrets, The Killing TV series, Definition of Dubz-Step as a genre, and whether money makes you happy. The normal stuff!

This is a great little pub with a nice attitude and ambiance and a mix or regulars and new folk a well kept a pint, friendly and not without a nice military charm. Nice for a drink let alone a curry....

Voting this month was influenced by a definite warmth to ex-Service men, but the food was good and perhaps more importantly it was different from our normal fayre -but scoring puts curry house in to our top restaurants - at number 12.

Would we go back - YES! And probably let the chef go mad in his choices.