This month’s Curry Club was a revisit to Cafe Balti in Wolverton. Last time we came here was in 2022, so we were keen to see how things had progressed since then.

The usual Pre gathering at the Northwestern pub with its interesting collection of local folk and music, which was probably a little too loud for us to chat & hear properly.

Entering Cafe Balti a couple of things were immediately noticeable, first we were the only people in the restaurant (Friday), and second was the general state of disrepair. Something seems to have gone quite wrong here as the décor and furniture looked very tired and grubby.  However, of more significance was some ceiling collapse & damp issues, and over by the kitchen entrance the floor tiles had been taken up and the whole area was incredibly dirty. I could tell you more including the state of the toilets but……  To be honest I was all for leaving but logistics led to us staying for the duration.

Two young waiters served us, and they were friendly enough. Some initial confusion arose around prices of drinks, and it didn’t help that they supplied one menu to us which was out of date with all prices lower than the current menu.

It was also quite telling that as we first entered the restaurant, we noted there were two draft beers available, although when we asked, we were told both had only just run out. More likely there is insufficient business to support draft beer anymore.

Now onto the food.  

Poppadoms and dips were fine and brought out promptly.

A range of typical starters ordered, which to my mind took a little longer to arrive than I was expecting, especially as we were the only people in the restaurant. My chicken tikka tandoori was pleasant, and it was good to see the salad was fresh. 

As is the norm we ordered a range of main dishes and most of us tried each other’s food. A couple of people had the Lamb Naga which surprisingly wasn’t as spicy as the Lamb Methi Madras. My Murgh Rezala dish, a mixture of chicken tandoori and lamb, mince was very tasty, and others thought so too.  Mains were of good size. Rices were fine but my Keema Naan was quite dry with not much meat inside.

On reflection the food was quite reasonable and had it been in a nicer, cleaner venue I think the scores would have reflected that quite positively.  One of our members described the restaurant as “It’s a butterfly in a chrysalis shell”.

During our time here we were the only people sat down in the restaurant, plus only one or two takeaways were collected. 

It’s hard to end this review on a positive note despite the reasonable food.  How will this restaurant survive in the long-term unless it makes some changes?  

What I can say though is that it needs a damn good clean and some basic repairs!  Perhaps the waiters could be given a cloth and some cleaning products and start that while they are standing around doing nothing.

Richard W

Also, check out the scores and the common curry.

Common Curry – Cheap.
Certificate –  No stars, No certificate awarded.
Web site – https://cafebaltimk.co.uk/

Positive	Negative
Service friendly but affected by the poor business	Establishment in need of re-furbishment
Generally the food was good	Dirty facilities, water damaged
Chicken Tandoori, tender with fresh salad	The only customers on a Friday night
Mixed Delight, tasty selection	Mixed Delight, tough lamb and dry kebab
Murgh Masalla, tasty	Cafe Delight Lamb, a bit chewy
Lamb Methi (Madras), good spicy heat
Garlic Chilli Chicked, super spicey and flavoursome
Veggies, Rice & Naan all good