Gainsborough – Elach Indian Restaurant
Before meandering off to watch the football, I thought I’d pop into the top rated Indian restaurant in the town as part of my vague quest to visit as many Indian dining venues as possible. I entered just after a few members of a larger group had come in, leaving the staff member the slight question of whether to sit me next to that table on a table for two, or to sacrifice a larger table for four in the other part of the restaurant where it might be quieter. She seemed to think the larger table was a bit more sensible, but the manager didn’t want the risk of a hoard of hungry people coming in and not being able to seat them. That was perhaps somewhat aspirational, but anyway, I was seated next to the large group of what transpired to be school teachers who ultimately proved quite entertaining. I wouldn’t dream of breaking any confidences, especially those I wasn’t involved with in the first place, but who would have thought school teaching could be so exotic?
Before commenting on this, back to the other table, they had ordered spicy poppadoms but had done so by calling them hot. The staff member obliged by making the standard poppadoms hot, with the table of teachers getting ever more confused as non spicy poppadoms kept appearing. It took quite a lot of poppadoms being delivered to the table before they got their spicy poppadoms when the staff member realised what they were referring to when saying hot. They were adequate, a little soft for my liking. The lime pickle had a bit of a kick which was pleasing, the mint sauce was moreish and the cucumber was, well, cucumbery.
I usually order mango lassi to drink at Indian restaurants even if alcohol is available. However, my choices were more limited here as they’re not licensed, so I went with the old reliable. Creamy, not much mango, but pleasant tasting.
The generous portion sizes were the most notable element of this arrangement, although I liked the coconut rice. The Peshwari naan was light, but needed more almonds and coconut for my personal taste. The curry itself didn’t have much depth of flavour and quite genuinely must have contained an entire onion that had been cut up into it. Ploughing through an entire onion isn’t entirely the experience I’d want before going to a football match, especially as the curry flavour didn’t add much excitement to proceedings. The chicken was tender and plentiful, but it hadn’t picked up the flavour of the sauce, so although it was all perfectly edible, it wasn’t as decadent as even the chicken jalfrezi I had purchased the evening before in JD Wetherspoons. I rather hope that doesn’t sound too negative, as I think highlighting the best elements is important for any small business, but it wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for.
The service was always polite, the surroundings were clean, the ambience was inviting and so it wasn’t a negative experience by any means, but it wasn’t quite the taste sensation that I would have ideally wanted with regards to the main event of the curry. The prices were reasonable, although I can’t recall the exact amounts as the receipt was seized back by the staff member. There was an After Eight mint provided at the end which tasted stale, I’m not sure what they’d done with that as they must get through a fair few of them. It’s possible it’s one of those substitute After Eights sold by discount stores. That makes me sound really rather snobby, demanding an authentic top tier After Eight and not an Aldi equivalent, but a little slice of decadence at the end of the meal is never a bad thing. Anyway, the experience was all acceptable and enjoyable, especially with the anticipation of seeing Gainsborough Trinity play, but it wasn’t quite at the level that I’d merrily start recommending it to everyone. Thanks also to the teachers for keeping me amused and entertained, even though they weren’t aware of it.
