Piccadilly Restaurant, Robertson Road: Review

I’m well aware that I’m guilty of mainly sticking to BS1 and BS8 when it comes to reviews. Being involved in the current ‘Around The World In 80 Days‘ campaign, however, means that I’m getting the opportunity to eat at restaurants a little further afield.

The most recent of these was the newly opened Piccadilly Restaurant on Robertson Road – a glitzy-looking affair on the corner of the Fishponds Road.

The neon lights outside are slightly at odds with the interior, which is smartly decorated and obviously well-funded. The restaurant has only been open for a few months, but has already changed the way in which it operates: the previous all-you-can-eat Indian buffet counter stands, empty, behind a screen at the corner of the dining room, having made way for an a la carte Indian menu.

This, however, is not the only menu that they offer. Having looked at the Piccadilly website, a friend of mine commented that ‘they can’t seem to decide if they want to be an Indian restaurant or a Nando’s’. It’s not just the website that confuses: the only menu advertised outside the front door of the restaurant is their Grill menu, offering chicken with various levels of spice and accompanying side dishes.

We were the only diners at 7.30 on a Tuesday (another table did join about half an hour before we left), but Piccadilly is evidently doing a roaring trade in takeaway chicken. A number of customers came in to place their order before taking a seat on the sofa by the front door to wait for their food.

While we browsed the menu, we ordered our drinks – a milkshake for my dining companion (who was disappointed not to see lassi on the menu) and a mocktail for me. With no alcohol licence, I’d suggest dining somewhere else if you want a boozy evening.

We asked for the chef’s recommendations for both our starter and our main courses, and, as a result, were served the mixed grill (£12.00) to start. Presented on a sizzling platter, and with a side salad and chutneys to share, it was a very generous portion indeed – so much so that we had the remainder boxed up to take home. In our eyes, it wasn’t the most exciting starter they could have recommended for us, but the meat was succulent, the spice levels perfect and great value for money.

For our mains, we opted for Piccadilly’s recommendations of a lamb rogan josh (£5.95) and a chicken karahi (£5.50). Again, we were expecting something a little out-of-the-ordinary as a recommendation, but we were both very pleasantly surprised.

The chicken karahi was definitely the highlight of our meal. The chicken was cooked well, the chunks of onion were cooked enough to avoid any harshness but still retained their bite. It was the wonderful, rich tomato flavour of the sauce that left us mopping the bowl with our garlic naan at the end of the meal.

The lamb rogan josh was served with chunks of meat on the bone – surprising, but amazingly tender. Full of flavour but without the greasiness that you often get at Indian restaurants, we were impressed.

Overall, a very enjoyable meal. Prices are reasonable and the food was well presented and tasty, I’m just not sure that Piccadilly know where they want to position themselves. It’ll be interesting to see how their menu evolves in the future.

Please note: this meal was received free of charge, but in no way impacted on our opinion. We were not obliged to write a positive review, and the venue did not see this review before it was put up on the site.

Find Piccadilly on the Bristol Bites Directory…

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