Chutney

Oh, Chutney. Such a mixed bag. Perhaps the least pretentious of the Maid Marian Way Indian restaurants (and I don’t include the well-​established Laguna in that set). The food is usually very tasty, I can’t deny that. Well spiced, with a real quality feel to the dishes. The chicken here is some of the most tender i’ve had in a curry, and they usually tend to be happy to seat you fairly late on in the evening. The service is usually pretty good too.
So what are the downsides? Well, on more than oe occassion i’ve been presented with poppadoms and pickles very quickly after being seated, without ordering them. Lovely… complimentary, I thought. Very generous, especially considering the wide range of dips and pickles they give you, far more than the usual chutney /​mint yoghurt /​chopped onions combination. However, when the bill came, there they were. I don’t mind paying for food if i’ve ordered it, but we hadn’t. They did take it off the bill though. Next, given the prices of the main courses, I would really like to see them include rice or naan within that price, and they don’t. In fact, I resent paying a whopping £3.95 for a small portion of plain pilau rice. Don’t go ordering one portion and thinking it will be enough for two, it won’t. Finally, we have a discount card as we have been visiting for some time. 20% off the food bill.
On more than one occasion, we have been presented with the bill with our discount applied… but either they aren’t very good at maths, or they were trying to rip us off, hoping that we were too drunk to notice. The last time this happened, I started to show the waitress my calculations to show what the bill should come to, and was told «just tell me how much discount you want».
I really can’t fault the quality of the food, I just wish I didn’t have to feel ‘on my guard’ everytime I eat here. My only slight gripe about the food is that the saucy curries can be quite rich sometimes, but they are always flavoursome and well spiced. I wish I could give this place 3.5 stars, as I think it deserves more than 3, but not sure if it deserves a full 4. I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt, because the food is usually of a good standard, and I wouldn’t want to put people off trying the place by only giving it 3 stars. It is definitely worth a go, just check that bill when it comes, and don’t go crazy and over order rice, as it will bump the bill up very quickly.
My recommended dishes are the spiced combo as a starter, and the Agra Falls or Patna Pathia as a main.

I’ll be honest, I’ve only been here once but that’s not because of the quality, but because I don’t live in Nottingham. If I did I’d go a lot more often.
Friends booked this in advance and were able to sort a table including a highchair for our little one. Often when we’ve turned up at restaurants there’s much huffing and puffing about finding a highchair but that didn’t happen here, no hassle whatsoever so it made a pleasant change. The staff were very helpful with everything we needed. Obviously having a baby with us meant we were a bit awkward with requests, (including having to clear up puked food with napkins!) but the staff happily helped.
The food was delicious and there was so much of it, my stomach’s not used to that quantity!
I’d happily recommend it.