Review sites and restaurants intrigue me. How does the Spice Room consistently make it into the Top Ten restaurants on TripAdvisor, when it’s not a particularly known restaurant, say, in other listings or guides? Is it that TripAdvisor’s clientele all stay near Circular Quay and need a good restaurant to go to?
Regardless, the Spice Room’s good ratings, and that it’s constantly busy, did make me want to come here, so I finally arranged it before a most excellent concert by James Vincent McMorrow at the Opera House.
So, we ordered too much. The portions are generous, compared to some other Indian restaurants. I think the selection of pakora did us in (very nicely done; cheap pakoras can be so greasy; here, they were light and crisp and tasty), though the fried beet patties were also substantial. The emperor’s biryani was delicious as was a dahl that was the specialty of the house. And we split my favourite naan, the one with fruit and coconut in it.
We also thought that the decor was particularly charming. It’s done just right, so cozy and cool, great food and service; this is a really good option for eating in the area (and certainly better than the tourist traps along Circular Quay).