Spice Fusion, Maidstone

Of all the types of food out there, Craig's absolute favourite is Indian so he was very happy to find out we had a new Indian restaurant in town.

Spice Fusion opened in an old pub which has been fully refurbished a couple of months ago.  We have driven past a few times and to be honest from the outside it looks very odd and stark, however we didn't let this put us of trying it out.  A friend of mine who has very high standards visited this place a few weeks back and she gave a glowing report so on the back of that we decided to give it a go last night.

I had a look at the menu online in advance so I already knew that this place seemed a bit different to your average Indian.  It seemed more modern and fresh with more interesting menu choices.  It listed Connoisseur's starters and traditional starters, connoisseurs mains and traditional mains, plus a section for Biryani's, North Indian Tandoori specialities, vegetable main courses, vegetable side orders, rice & breads.

When we arrived at about 8pm there were only a couple of other tables seated.  You enter through a very contemporary and modern bar area which has high stools and red sofas and I could imagine spending a bit of time in here either before or after a meal having a few drinks.  We went straight through to the restaurant......wow.  Wooden floors, crisp white table clothes, funky down lighting at every table and a HUGE central chandelier plus a long yellow leather bench along one side of the room made up the decor.  Even the cutlery was modern and cool.

Menus and drinlks in hand we set about choosing what to eat.  I started with the Jhinga Til Tinka which was King Prawns marinated with fresh spices, dipped in batter, then cooked with breadcrumbs and sesame seeds and served with a mango sauce.  The prawn was a giant prawn split down the middle and was plenty for a starter although it was so nice I could have easily eaten another one.  The mango sauce was not too sweet and had a very subtle spice flavour. 

Craig went for Nizami Sheek which was minced lamb mixed with coriander, tomatoes, mint cheese and spring onions.  This was no ordinary sheek kebab.  The meat was moist and tender and the spicing really well balanced.  It was also served with the same mango sauce as my starter.

For my main course I choose South Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken.  I didn't want rice and bread so I asked for a side salad to go with it. The side salad turned out to be a mixture of various leaves, fresh green peas, green peppers, red onions, cucumber and tomatoes.  It was fantastic although my only complaint would be that there were not many leaves in it.  The chicken dish was probably the best chicken curry dish I have ever had.  Long strips of chicken breast in a rich sauce that had a very gentle heat.  the chicken was still very moist and tender.

Craig ordered a Chicken Rogan Josh, Bombay Aloo, Mushroom Pilau, and a nann bread (why do men always feel the need to order half the menu?)  We shared the naan which was hot, light and fluffy, very nice.  The potato dish was also very good with decent sized chunks of potato in a tomato spiced sauce. For some reason I forgot to take a photo of the curry! Sorry.

When we had finished the table was cleared and the waiter brought us a dessert menu.  We didn't have anything as we were both full so we just asked for the bill.  The bill arrived on a plate with 2 chocolates and 4 straws of sherbet which is something I have never seen in a restaurant before.  I thought this was a nice touch.

I know I have said this before but this is now our new favourite Indian restaurant in Maidstone.  The food was much lighter, fresher and more modern.  I liked the decor, and the little touches like the sherbet.

Give it a go, its worth it.

Spice Fusion

Sharon x