Cornwall is home to some pretty amazing curry houses, some excellent, some less so. When it comes to ordering an 'Indian' takeaway or going out for a sit down meal, we all have our favourites.
Whilst not as spoiled for choice as larger cities, our county certainly punches above its weight. So much so that two of its curry houses won awards on the national stage.
While Daaku in Falmouth was recently voted best Indian restaurant in the south west in the Asian Restaurants Takeaway Awards (ARTA) awards, further up the coast, Mevagissey Spice, also won big at another awards ceremony in London when it cleaned out in the Best Restaurant category at the national Curry Life Awards 2023. Local MP for St Austell and Newquay, Steve Double, was present at the event to hand out the award.
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On the night, owner Aditya Kumar Das, who was studying business management and marketing when he decided to take over the running of his family's restaurant in 2018, said: "We’re delighted to have won an award this year, it’s so rewarding."
Having already reviewed Daaku, we decided to take a look at Mevagissey Spice to see if it is worth the hype.
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The Bangladeshi restaurant on River Street certainly does not look like much from the outside, and in fact, it doesn't look like much on the inside either. But you know what they say about not judging a book by its cover. It's absolutely true when it comes to this little hidden gem of a curry house.
Don't expect any baroque Indian décor, garlands, photographs of the Taj Mahal or the Himalayan mountain range, nor will you find Bollywood flicks playing on a loop on a grainy screen in the corner. Mevagissey Spice has none of that. In our opinion, it's rather sparse. Yet when it comes to the food it serves up, it's the exact opposite.
Mevagissey Spice's dishes are rich in flavours and simply beautiful. It must certainly be doing something right for it was quickly packed with diners, with plenty of others queuing up to pick up their takeaway orders.
The restaurant's food was truly amazing. We didn't go for any starters but opted instead for main dishes and sundries. Our son was served the biggest king prawn biriyani with a side dish of vegetable curry you could imagine, while us parents enjoyed a king prawn tikka pasanda and fish jalfrezi. Our daughter being such a fussy eater had chicken nuggets and chips (I know - a shocker alright) but left none on her plate, which is always a good sign.
To compliment our main courses, we had a portion of coconut rice and another of egg rice with some peshwari naan bread and a side dish of Bombay aloo potatoes. I thought the fish Jalfrezi - I had never really tried a fish curry before - was superb. It's one of Mevagissey Spice's specials and was beautiful. Hot and spicy and flavoursome with chunky bits of battered fish on the side that married so well with the rich curry.
The missus was equally full of praise for her king prawn tikka pasanda and said it was one of the best curries she's had in years - and plenty of it too! Also, I have to say that the Bombay aloo potatoes were some of the best I have tried. The potatoes melted in your mouth and had this creamy texture. Just a fab side dish to try.
If you decide to experience Mevagissey Spice for yourself, you will certainly not leave feeling hungry. Not only is the food excellent but it is copious to the point of being almost too much!
One of their most popular dishes is the chef special, Jafrani, a chicken dish flavoured with garlic, cinnamon, cumin, chilli, and lemon chicken. It's one dish we didn't have room enough to try but it sounds like a curry absolutely worth coming back for.
If you're into your creamy and mild kormas, Mevagissey Spice will cook up something that will have your taste buds tingling. If it's the hot burning stuff you're after, fear not, there is plenty of that on the menu too, including, a dish you rarely see on the menu as it's so hot - phall. It's hotter than your average vindaloo that's for sure!
Phall is a dish we used to enjoy when younger (and crazier) but nowadays rather than heat for heat's sake, it's flavours we are after and our fish Jalfrezi certainly ticked that box beautifully while also supporting local fishermen too!
Mevagissey Spice does not sell alcohol but if the thought of having an Appletiser with your honey masala rather than a pint of lager or a glass of wine fills you with utter horror, fear not, the friendly and welcoming staff at the family-run restaurant are more than happy for you to bring your own booze. So much so, they won't even charge any corkage fee.
Overall, Mevagissey Spice proved a real gem of a curry house and one we think is certainly worthy of its Best Restaurant title. We'll definitely come back.
NB: In response to some of the comments we have seen, this was not a freebie, we paid for our own meal thank you very much.
