This large, well-designed and airy restaurant seats 90 plus people;
owners Salim Uddin and Abdur Rahim have a wealth of experience, it is
obvious that they know what they are
doing. There is an attractive blonde wood
bar, which matches the floors and chairs
with a touch of mauve for contrast. They
have 3 private dining sections: the red and
yellow rooms, which hold up to 30 people
and the green room for 20. The restaurant
itself seems to go around in a half circle,
which gives views over Pimlico and
Vauxhall Bridge Road, creating a buzzy
atmosphere. At lunchtime they were nearly
full, and on the evening we visited all the
tables were taken.
We started with the appetizer list, which
includes 11 starters and 9 Tandoori
specialities, which can be a starter or a
main course size. I tried Jhinga Suka, which
are three butterflied king prawns cooked in
sweet and sour tamarind sauce for £5.95, a
little masterpiece and well presented.
We requested the Tandoori Lamb Chops,
but by 9 o’clock they had sold out, so we
opted for the Tandoori Chicken Leg and
Thigh and Lamb Tikka, which were tender
pieces of lamb marinated in spices for
£3.55. The chicken was excellent, perfectly
cooked and very moist. I am told all
tandoori dishes are cooked to order and all
fish and seafood is bought daily from the
fishmarket.
We tried a house speciality, Red Mullet
marinated in sauces and spices with oyster
mushrooms and cayenne pepper at £8.95,
which was terrific. We also had Hash
Shugonda which is breast of duckling with
onion, ginger, garlic and garam masala at
£8.45, but in my opinion the garam masala
over-powered the flavour of the duck. Our
other companion had Chicken Tikka
Masala at £6.95 which was buttery,
delicious and mouthwatering, instead of
rice we had the Peshwari Naan.
Good news for vegetarians: Millbank
Spice has a selection of Paneer Dishes, for
example Palak Paneer at the very
reasonable £3.25, is fresh spinach and
home-made cheese cooked in a casserole.
They also offer Sabji Vegetable dishes with
a signature dish of Palak Aloo at £2.95,
which is fresh green spinach cooked with
potatoes or, do try the aubergine cooked
with spices at £3.25.
I forgot to mention we also ordered
Tarkadal at £2.95, which I thought was very
well priced for a main dish and consists of
lentils, garlic and whole red chillies,
excellent. Don’t forget the good selection of
Indian breads, Roti, Stuffed Naan (£2.25),
and Chapattis at £1.10.
Their wine list is very reasonable; the
owners told me they are keeping the prices
really low. We ordered the Chablis at
£15.95, most of the wines run at the £9-£10
mark, with the house wine at £8.95, which
is very drinkable. They also carry speciality
beers, and their liqueurs are £2.50 and
aperitifs £2.10 which for London, is very
cheap. This would be a good place to have
pre-theatre dinners as they start serving at
5.30pm.
Verdict: Well cooked food at jolly good
prices, averaging around £22.50 per head,
good atmosphere and definitely one not to
miss.
MILLBANK SPICE
34 - 38 VAUXHALL BRIDGE ROAD
(BEFORE THE BRIDGE) PIMLICO SW1V
TUBE - PIMLICO
T. 020 7630 1444
T./FX. 020 7630 8400
W. WWW.MILLBANKSPICE.CO.UK
Open 7 days a week
12 - 2.30pm, 5.30 - 11pm
including bank holidays