Tandoori Hut - restaurant review

 After a hard day’s walk, what better way relax and refill the calories than a meal at a curry house tucked away on a corner at the edge of Dymchurch, Kent.

First impressions was a dark interior with 1970s sofas lining against the walls. We were greeted by a chatty and talkative manager. He first offered us popadoms and they came served with the usual sauces and also a spicy ketchup which I haven’t seen before in such an establishment.

Separate menus for drinks and food. I opted for the vegetarian starter and the King Prawn Roshni.  It was the first time that I ever ordered prawns in a curry house.  Oh, there was light, easy listening music being played in the background but unfortunately didn’t distract from a screaming toddler in a nearby table.

The popadoms were crispy despite being cold. The starter was a rather mixed affair, the fried paneer was crisp on the outside and had a good texture inside. The samosa was a little bland and the onion bhaji was acceptable but I expected more. It was more like a standard take away bhaji rather than a restaurant standard one.

Now for the main course, I ordered a peas pilau to go with prawns.  There was an ample portion of rice dotted with green peas, both well cooked.  Sometimes pilau is served too hard but this was just right for me.  For the prawns, which I needed to peel myself, the flavourings overwhelmed any taste of the prawns.  That’s the reason I never go for a prawns dish.  Anyway the spiciness was about right but it would have been better to be able to taste the prawns.

We decided to have the desert and the staff gave us a desert menu each. I went for the lemon sorbet, it arrived inside an oversized hollowed out lemon.  The sorbet wasn’t too sour, although I do have a high sourness tolerance.  The portion was good value for the its cost although I would have preferred a more mature lemon to have a fuller flavour.

The friendly manager came round to chat with us about what we’re doing in town and our plans for the next day. We then paid and left satisfied.

The Bay Tree, Folkestone

After checking into our hotel above the seafront, we realized it had a restaurant on the lower ground floor, so we decided to eat there rather than troop into town. 

First thing I noticed going in was how roomy it was with its spaced out tables. 

The elegant multipage menu offered mostly steak style dishes, it was a grill restaurant after all. The separate drinks menu literally highlighted local Kent specialities. Despite the elaborate food menu, there wasn’t a great amount of choice. 

Being ethnic Chinese and Cantonese in particular, I always like a soup to go with my dinner so I picked the veggie soup first. It wasn't anything special but the accompanying bread was good.

Being on the seaside I chose the fish and chips, felt a steak was just too much for dinner. The fish and the chips were well cooked and crispy, not greasy. It came with a chip shop curry sauce which was bland and runny. There was too much tartare sauce as well however the mushy peas came in a paste and had a gentle mint flavour.

After tackling the main and washing it down with a local Kent brew, there was room left for desert. I opted for a vanilla ice cream which already part melted on arrival. 

 So the food was a bit below expectation but at least we didn’t have to walk into town. We ate there on Tuesday 29th July 2025.

Bob’s Cafe

 Bob’s Cafe 

I’ve decided to review a restaurant I recently patronized for lunch with a friend. So here goes.

Sitting on Salisbury Road, in the middle of London’s leafy Queen’s park is Mediterranean style eatery Bob’s Cafe. Despite a nice Summer’s day, we booked an inside table.  An airy interior with ceiling fans giving a 1950s vibe and an open view of the baristas. The small tables reminded me of a Paris bistro somewhere on the Rive Gauche. However the place had a big echo, so we can clearly hear the conversations going on in the table half way down the room. As it got busier it felt like a din. 

Now to the menu, there were lots of breakfast options, along with dishes meant for evening dinner.  It had a good choice with ample veggie dishes.

I ordered the goats cheese salad, whilst my friend ordered an all day veggie breakfast. It turned out to be an ample serving with a light dressing so the flavours of the ingredients shined through.  The sweet potato cut to bite size pieces was a good touch and the halloumi cheese was grilled just about right, with a gentle crispy bite. The friend’s veggie breakfast had tempting crispy hash browns. You can choose the type of bread for the toast and she chose sourdough. For drinks, I chose the homemade lemonade, which was very tart and my friend a smoothie.

The service was calm and attentive, waitress came over to ask the customary “is everything ok?”. 

All in all not bad, only downside was the acoustics of the room.

I went there on Monday 28th July.