Chutney Joe at Bishops Stortford
When you approach an Indian restaurant and are greeted with a sign on the door advertising a Nepalese Sunday roast, you know to expect something out of the ordinary. In fact it’s a little unfair to call Chutney Joe an ‘Indian’. Although it does provide all your typical tandoori favourites, it also offers a number of speciality Nepalese dishes which form a large part of its overall menu.
Chutney Joe is part of a small chain of restaurants that includes outlets in Chingford and Brentwood. We arrived at Bishop’s Stortford on a Friday lunchtime and found only one other pair of diners in this large restaurant. In fairness it was a cold and murky January day, the sort that isn’t conducive to venturing outside but we felt later on that Chutney Joe deserves to be much busier.
We were greeted immediately, shown to our table and handed the menus. Now, if you’re the type of person that gives an Indian menu a cursory glance before announcing the three familiar words ‘Chicken Tikka Massala’, then this is the place to come if you wish to be weaned off that process.
Starter dishes here include Malai Tikka at £2.55, Budha Mix at £2.55 and King Prawn Lay Bay at £4.95. From the starter menu we chose Zaara Cakes, which are potatoes baked with spring onion and smoked paneer and Rani Kebab which are spicy lamb chops grilled with herbs and spices.
First thing to notice were the poppadums. Nothing unusual about them but the accompanying sauces were a little different and included what appeared to be a mango chutney with cracked black peppercorns. Delicious!
Our starter dishes arrived in good time and both were very good indeed. The lamb chops were very meaty and the deliciously rich sauce had been absorbed perfectly. The potato cakes were ample and the cheese had much more than the bland taste you receive in some restaurants. Both dishes came with a more than generous helping of side salad.
Main course dishes include traditional Indian fayre such as Dhansak, Passanda and Dopiaza but if you’re looking for something different then do try the Nepalese menu. We chose Lamb Paprikash which are lamb chops cooked in a rich paprika sauce and Kalimao, which is breast of chicken and minced lamb cooked in a creamy sauce.
To accompany our main dishes, we chose an Aloo Gobi and a Kulcha Naan.
Again food arrived quickly and both meals were a delight. The lamb chops arrived in the most divine sauce – rich and tangy with just a small kick of spice whereas the chicken and lamb dish came in an outrageously creamy sauce yet this wasn’t so rich that it was a chore to eat. Portions are generous and we were left feeling satisfied rather than full.
On previous visits to Chutney Joe, we have tried the Indian menu and this is one of those rare occasions when you can actually taste the component parts of a curry. If they say it includes lime juice then you actually know it’s there rather than it being lost in a slurry of hot thick sauce.
Even the dessert dishes here were out of the ordinary. Although we must confess that the ice cream that comes served inside a plastic punk penguin was sadly missed.
Service here is friendly and sincere: Our waiter told us that he welcomed customers’ comments good or bad and would prefer constructive criticism rather than just be told that a meal was ‘fine’.
We had just one thing to say to him – that it was the best meal of its type that we had ever had. And that was also sincere.
Our bill, together with a large bottle of sparkling mineral water came to a shade over £47.00 which we felt was very good value for money given the quality of the food. We urge you to try Chutney Joe as soon as you can.
Chutney Joe
- 24 Hadham Road, Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM23 2QS
- 01279 507777
