The Purple Poppadom is situated on Cowbridge Rd and is above a butchers shop. Not the most obvious or salubrious of places for Chef Anand George to set up his own restaurant, having moved from Mint and Mustard, on Whitchurch Rd.
It was a Sunday night and the restaurant wasn't particularly busy. It would have been nice to have been offered some poppadom's (£3.50)whilst we were supping on our wine, but for some reason they were not offered. We finally realised the error and quickly ordered some, unfortunately they hit the table at the same time as our starters and so were rather superfluous to requirements.
Our starters on the whole came in trios, a fantastic idea as it really is three different starters on one plate. My Prawns in the Pink (£7.95)were absolutely delicious. The prawns were perfectly cooked, seasoned and spiced and an absolute joy to eat. I had three different versions of prawns, Crispy tiger prawn , Kaffir lime marinated tandoori king prawn and Prawn Balchao – Goan style prawn.
My wife's Crab from the Pot (£9.50) consisted of crispy soft shell crab dusted with curry leaves and garlic, a spiced cake of crab encased in crispy breadcrumbs and a warm salad of crab meat and sweetcorn spiked with turmeric and coconut shell crab. All perfectly cooked and well seasoned and normally my favourite.
My brother in law chose the Boeuf a Trois (£7.95), which came as a spiced beef samosa, a Chapli kebab of minced beef and possibly every mans favourite a homemade twist on a beef and beer pie. I didn't get to try any which is a testament to just how good a starter it was, or that my brother in law doesn't like me!
I'm not going to go through all our food as their would be too many to go through and make this blog far too long. All I will say is that all our starters were some of the best food I have tasted in a long time.
Our mains arrived in good time and our wine was replenished although we did have to ask several times for our water, which really annoyed me, as they only had four other tables to look after.
My Tiffin Seabass(£14.95), Anand George’s signature dish, was perfectly cooked, three meaty slices of sea bass, pan seared and served on a bed of curry leaf infused mashed potato, with a tongue tickling raw mango, ginger and coconut sauce with beetroot pachadi. Wow, I'm not surprised its an award winner. An amazingly tasty dish that was just heaven on a plate.
My wife's Seabass Pollichathu (£14.95)was wrapped in banana leaf with a Kerala masala of shallots, garlic and curry leaves, cooked in its own juices and served with prawn risotto. So delicious, it was polished off before I took a photo!
My mum enjoyed the Murgh Chatpata Kolaphur (£10.50) and told me she thought it was a really well balanced dish and not too spicy and not too creamy for her. Phew!
My brother in law's Swordfish loin (Spirit of the Sea £13.95) marinated with coriander, mint and spices, grilled in the tandoor served with a South Indian style risotto and chilli garlic sauce was probably the best swordfish I have ever tasted. Perfectly marinated and seasoned. We're friends now!
We also ordered a variety of delicious naan breads(£2.50), Dal(£4.50) and Saag Khumb(£4.50), Saffron Pilau Rice(£3.75), but in all honesty you don't really need them. We ate them and I could hardly move. Saying that, we still managed to squeeze in dessert though; it was my birthday after all!
I had the Chef's selection of desserts (£8.00), which basically gives you one of each of the three desserts on offer.
The Chocomosa Anand (£6.50) is a light crispy pastry parcel filled with a melted Belgian chocolate ganache with homemade vanilla ice-cream, Rose petal creme brûlée and Tandoori Pineapple which has been quickly seared and served with coconut ice-cream.
The samosa (£6.50) is wonderfully crispy and oozes dark chocolate, the creme brûlée (£5.50)deliciously creamy and full of flavour and the tandoori pineapple (£5.95)is simple, yet refreshing.
Purple Poppadom is a wonderful gastronomic experience that I find difficult to fault. Chef Anand George has brought subtly and finesse to Indian food that has brought Purple Poppadom an Indian restaurant of the year award in its first year, and I would say it has truly earned it. Six of us ate and drank for £250, which for the quality of the food is good value for money, in my eyes. My only criticism would be that their front of house service just doesn't have the same attention to detail as the chefs put into their food. I have eaten here since and encountered the same problem, the staff forget to bring you water and this becomes extremely tiresome as I had to ask six times over the course of two hours. Full marks for the food let down by forgetful service.
Details:
Address: 185 Cowbridge Rd E, Cardiff, Canton, Cardiff, Cardiff CF11 9AJ
Tel: 029 2022 0026
Opening times:
| Monday - Saturday | 12pm-2:30 pm, 6pm–11pm |
