Beautifully presented, richly colourful, hitlisted and critically acclaimed. Ignite is one of the most modern and stylish Indian restaurants in Edinburgh. Discover! Enjoy!
The Indian Cavalry Club
- Telephone 0131 220 0138
- Bar open Mon–Sun noon–10.30pm.
- Food served Mon–Sun noon–11.30pm.
- Average price £8.95 (set lunch); £22.50 (evening meal)
- Website www.indiancavalryclub.co.uk
Jump to comments (4)
The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).
This review is taken from the 2012 edition.
This West End institution, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2012, is where the old Raj meets modern day Edinburgh. Funky screen prints on the wall look down on crisp linen tablecloths and waiters in military-style uniforms serve classic Indian cuisine. It is clearly a recipe for success – a 600-strong band of loyal 'members', regular customers who sign up for special offers and events, account for a significant number of the diners. Such devotion must certainly help whittle down the novella-sized menu which could be overwhelming for the novice. 'Build your own'-style starters allow for endless combinations, but both the chickpea and okra puree and chicken dosa lack the expected fiery punch. Chicken methi, however, is a triumph, fenugreek leaves and ginger providing spice and aromatics to spare. Lamb sag gosht is packed so full of fresh spinach you wouldn't be surprised to see Popeye digging in at the next table. Plans to open an outdoor 'field kitchen' for lunchtime dining in the summer suggest an innovative approach which will see this club keeping members and visitors happy for years to come.
Takeaway review
For a place with a distinguished reputation on Edinburgh's dining circuit, The Indian Cavalry Club’s takeaway fare falls short of expectations. Dishes suffer from overgenerous measures of oil, with overcooked vegetables and a paneer masala dosa served up limp to the point of saturation. Few if any traces of the titular spices show up in a bland and greasy chilli garlic alu baigun, and while buttery Afghan chickpea rice proves a welcome reminder of the venue's potential for sophisticated cuisine, the lurking aftertaste of burnt onions in a dark, rich daal pancharatni seems to confirm that takeaway doesn't necessarily get you access to the Club's full range of attractions.
- High point: Wonderful dining atmosphere
- Low point: Dauntingly large menu
- Number of wines sold by the glass: 4
- Delivery: No charge, but minimum order £15
- Private dining: Up to 60 covers
- Provides: Gluten-free options, Children's portions, Children's high chairs, Wheelchair access, Free wi-fi
- Music on stereo: Nothing
- Capacity: 120 + 20 in Pakora Bar
- Largest group: 60
- Open since: 1986
- House wine: £15 per bottle
Comments & ratings
- 4. andrew_murray – 3 Jan 2011, 3:51am Report
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i agree this restaurant is very bad, they rip you off and you dont enjoy the food! my partner and i went there for a meal and the same night we went home we both had very bad diaoriya! :( i dont recomend this restaurant to anyone
- 3. Gareth C – 22 Apr 2010, 10:56pm Report
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Very disappointed with the Cavalry Club, have never been inspired to write a review but I am tonight. £40 a head for very poor service, very small portions and the standard of food was spectacularly average, only had two courses and one pint of beer! Nothing at all warranted such a completely inflated price, at £20 I still would have felt disappointed, indeed I'm still hungry now and only ate there a couple of hours ago! No atmosphere what so ever, I can't actually think of much decent at all...oh yeah the poppadums at £1 each were pretty good!!!
- 2. Worst Service and sorry excuse for a Breyani – 15 Feb 2010, 4:47pm Report
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I agree with the previous comment. My 1st visit to the Indian Cavalry Club, was terrible, but I attributed it to our party being very large. The second visit proved better, but still not very good. I am sucker for punishment and decided to give it another try. I ordered a take-away which took almost 1 hour to get ready. I called in and then went to the restaurant and had to wait another 45 minutes. Their prices are extremely high and don't afford the same quality that other take-aways will give. When I eventually got my food, I asked if they gave pappadoms with the takeaway for free...and they laughed at me. I told them that their service and price is ridiculous. The worse was yet to come...the food was cold, the lamb breyani, looked like some burnt meat re-braised in a gravy and mixed into white rice. It tasted as disgusting as it looked. The salad was basically chopped onions.
It is an absolute rip off! Needless to state, I didn't eat it and it cost me £10.95. I have bought breyani's from other restaurants for at minimum £2 less and was much better! Their portions are also significantly smaller than other restaurants. The Indian Cavalry Club, is a definite rip off! There are much better restaurants where the effort is spent on the food rather than branded china and staff uniforms! Message to the owners....I think a visit from the UK Borders Agency, is definitely something that you should be prepared for!!!
- 1. Tim R – 16 Feb 2009, 9:27am Report
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The Indian Cavalry club is astonishingly bad.
It is probably the most expensive Indian restaurant in Britain but doesn't live up to its billing.
I was there on Valentine's night and the service was rushed and the waiters kept rushing over to ask if we'd finished when clearly we were trying to digest the food.
The food was bland, tasteless, and had been under the grill for too long.
We ordered a three course meal at £40 per head and they had us out the door within an hour.
I wouldn't recommend it to anyone and actually Edinburgh people are being hugely ripped off.
DON'T expect the standard of service or food you'd get at Omar Khayam's!
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