Roti, Edinburgh
Hey, Foodwala’s… As you are aware Glasgow is the Curry Capital of Britain, It has won the accolade numerous times fighting off much less worthy challenges from Bradford, Manchester and London. Edinburgh is an “also ran” in the Curry Capital stakes.
Why is it that two cities with only 50 miles in between geographically are not even on the same map when it comes to Indian gastronomy, is it the ingredients? or the water?
In my humble Foodwala opinion, it comes down to two fundamental factors, firstly the spirit of the people of Glasgow and the spirit and passion of the Punjabi Glaswegians as opposed to the Bengali Diaspora in Edinburgh.
Let me elaborate on this with this analogy, I was sitting outside Harvey Nicols on St Andrews Square and some kids were playing footy, one kid kicks the ball over the railings and next to where I was sitting, naturally I picked up the ball and was going to throw it over when a gentleman of no fixed abode and penchant for recreational substances growled at me and suggested I “burst the Ball”
In Glasgow, his peer would have encouraged me to give the ball back with a slice of Glasgow humour and bonhomie.
The point is that the spirit of the people of Glasgow is the catalyst that makes Glasgow the Curry Capital of Great Britain as opposed to Edinburgh.
On this occasion, the Foodwala family decided to try out the lauded Roti Restaurant in Southbridge, it calls itself an Indian Tapas restaurant, which I am always a wee bit sceptical about as an excuse to serve small overpriced portions.
We ordered some street food tapas in the way of Gol Guppay, which was decidedly average with the tamarind jus lacking in any redeemable flavour.
The Papri Chat was again lacking in the flavour department, the tamarind sauce had no kick to it and I suspect store bought and the chickpeas were the same as the ones served with the Gol Guppay.
The Mince Samosa Chat had the same flavour bypass as the previous “Tapas” furthermore the mince in the samosa was fatty and chewy. a definite no-no.
The Lahori Lamb Chops were emaciated, the “lamb” in question must have been the most malnourished creature this side of the Forth Road Bridge.
Round two we ordered some proper curries…
next up was the Dum Lamb Biryani…Hello?!?!… is it me or where is the Dum? (a dough seal used to lock in the cooking juices of the biryani)
The lamb was again fatty and chewy and the biryani had an overriding flavour of Shan Biryani mix sachet bought from the local Asian grocer.
We were expecting the Desi Chicken Bhoona to be a cacophony of ground spices and fresh garlic, ginger and shallots, however, we received the Chefs stock gravy with green chillies and some diced chicken breast.
The mince and peas were a little bit more flavoursome, however, the quality of the mince let it down, the mince was fatty and chewy.
The Palak, albeit tinned spinach puree, was well cooked and blended with a touch of butter and spices, however, the lamb was the same as the other dishes and was tough and chewy, I suspect it was mutton masquerading as lamb.
In conclusion, Roti was definitely a by the numbers approach to Pakistani cooking, the ingredients let it down as well as the cooking style, the flavours lacked the nuance and flair I was expecting.
The website and menu were writing cheques that the chef could not cash.
They should take a wee look at Kebab Mahal a few yards down the road for amazing Punjabi food which is less pretentious and at a fraction of the price.
However we were served by Amit, who was a credit to the establishment, he was jolly, polite and pleasant.
Halal – Yes
Food –4 out of 10
Atmosphere – 4 out of 10
service – 8 out of 10
Cleanliness – 4 out of 10
Total score – 20 out of 40