Kebabish Grill (323–325 Victoria Road, Glasgow, G42 7SA) is a venue I have passed often, especially when heading towards the magnificent Yadgar around the corner in Calder St. The layout of this restaurant feels more like a Belgian Brasserie than a Glasgow Curry House, but it probably sells more Milk Shakes and will never sell Abbey Bier. The place has the feeling of being in a chain franchise, but it has nothing to do with the similarly named Kebabish Original who have an outlet a few blocks away on Pollokshaws Rd. The staff all wear uniform black, there were plenty of them. It definitely has the air of a chain.
Hector obeyed the instruction and waited at the dias to be seated. The young waitress seemed surprised that I was here to dine alone, she offered me a Takeaway. As a regular diner at this time on a Saturday I was surprised at how busy the place was. I was even more surprised to be sat immediately beside a party of six. Why do they have everyone bunched up at the rear left of the restaurant instead of spacing their customers out? I busied myself with the trusty HTC and tried not to hear the conversations beside me.
The menu was presented; I expected to see a Desi section as there is a sign in the window advertising Authentic Desi Cooking, Karela Gosht on the first page caught the eye, this would be worthwhile test for any restaurant.
More people entered and were sat on the edge of the throng, amazing. Am I part of some sort of Cosy Curry Convention? The meal did not take too long to arrive. It was preceded by a Salad and Dips which I looked at and was somewhat baffled by. The presence of Olives made me immediately not wish to eat it until the Curry arrived. My only other Olive in a Curry experience at the Meghna in Blairgowrie came to mind, this works.
Today I felt like Rice, Mushroom Rice looked the most attractive choice, when it arrived there was masses of it, more than enough for two. It looked a bit stodgy but turned out to be fine.
Karela Gosht
The Karela Gosht looked bountiful in the karahi. The thick and dry Masala looked perfect, there appeared to be a lot of Lamb but as I progressed through the meal I discovered the base of the karahi was all Karela, excessively so.
The texture was perfect, the appearance was perfect, where was the flavour? The wow factor was not there. This was a competently prepared meal but it did not hit the spot. What did impress was the varied texture the contents of the Salad provided, bits of gherkin along with the raw Onion and Olives did make the meal more memorable.
By the end I had a mountain of Rice and large slices of Karela. This did leave a very bitter taste on the palate, but I suppose that it what is meant to do. It also highlighted once more just how bland the Lamb and Masala actually were.
The Bill
£14.10. The bottle of Sparkling Water must have been expensive. I presented my calling card to the waiter who took my cash. There appears to be no banter in this venue.
The Aftermath
An orange coloured seed was wedged in the teeth, just how bitter was this?