Indian Ocean, CM16 7ES
- 01992 812658
- Coppice Row, CM16 7ES (streetmap) (osm) (gmap) (bingmap) (streetview)
- indianoceantheydon.co.uk
Indian restaurant in Theydon Bois.
Kake, bob, and three friends visited on a Tuesday evening in September 2008. There were a few other parties in, but there was no problem finding us a table.
We started with poppadoms, which bob felt were above average, and chutneys, which were also good, the standout being a really very good and fresh-tasting tomato and roasted cumin chutney.
Moving on to appetisers, Kake was very tempted by the various options on the separate "fish appetisers" section, including crab puri, mussel puri, and black tiger prawns, but decided in the end to go for the lamb chops; these weren't the best I've had, but were just fine photo. The side salad that came with them was intriguing; it included stuffed green olives, grapes, and sweetcorn kernels, which worked better than you might expect. bob was also pleased with his samosas photo.
Kake's main course of king prawn bhuna was also good; the king prawns weren't overcooked as they sometimes are. We also shared some side dishes; the okra in the bhindi bhaji were thinly sliced and thoroughly fried, removing all trace of sliminess, while the aubergines in the baigal massala were perhaps slightly too soft even for Kake (who hates undercooked aubergine). bob was pleased with his main of North Indian garlic chilli chicken photo, especially since there was no problem substituting lamb for the chicken. It came with sliced green chillies on top, and was indeed "very hot" as our waiter had warned us.
We ended up paying £30/head for slightly more food than we could finish (poppadoms all round, five starters, five mains, four rice, four naan, three sides), plus three bottles of wine between the five of us. They had no problem bringing us a jug of iced tapwater, and refilling it as necessary.
Piped music was playing throughout our visit; although it wasn't overly loud it was rather cheesy, consisting mainly of orchestral versions of pop songs. Service was very friendly, and even though we were the last customers there was no attempt to rush us out - indeed, they persuaded us to stay a little longer for a round of liqueurs on the house.
Kake's verdict: I'd happily come back if I was in the area (though there's not a huge amount of competition).
Accessibility: There's a step up to get in, but it's all on one level once you're in, and there's an accessible toilet (which doubles as the ladies').
See also: