Shop7, 118 Jetty Rd
Glenelg, SA 5045
Phone: (08) 8350 9747
Open 7 days from 5.30pm
http://www.prideofindia.com.au

Tucked away, entering from a side street off jetty road, is apparently what claims to be some or all of India's Pride. Upon entering, the place was small and patrons were few which did not fare well with first impressions, so hopefully the food would be a lot better. We were about to find out just how proud indians were and how it could be represented by a restaurant! Again this week we had a banquet to try a handful selection of curries (pictured is part of the entree, vegetarian parcels).

Our final score: 5.758/10

As part of the banquet, the entree contained a few dishes of vegetable parcels (pictured above), some chicken tikka pieces and also naan bread and spicy meat sausage things which looked very much like dog meat as Steve suggested (you can see one in the background on Steve's plate in this picture). The best item on the entree plate were the vegetable parcels, followed by naan, then chicken tikka, then sausage things. Upon closer inspection, they were actually just chevapchivis (or however you spell it) like from your local supermarket. Overall, it was pretty filling, quality was OK, but was served on dinner plates like we have at home... classing it up I see!

One of my favourite dishes, the creamy and fattening butter chicken! Again, as part of the banquet, they brought out 2 of each main dish to share amongst 6 of us. It looked quite good, and sauce wasn't too oily, but unfortunately the meat quality wasn't great. It was a bit tough and looked like it was cut from poor quality portions. Luckily the creamy sauce saved the day, but then again butter chicken isn't the most technical curry, you could do well with a jar of sauce from the supermarket. Value was good though, the banquet, normally $30, was reduced to $25 each because we had a decent number of people. On a side note, curry in your eye isn't the most pleasant experience as I found out first hand.

Service: 5.0/10 -Only one main waiter and 1 bar staff, hmm....
Quality: 6.1/10 -Nothing special, but still nice.
Atmosphere: 5.2/10 -Looked like we were sitting in a delhi (deli, haha), cheap looks.
Value: 6.6/10 -$25.00 for the banquet, not bad for amount of food, but otherwise just OK.
Final Score: 5.725/10

Hotness Rating:

Chow

If I had to sum this place up in a word, it would be 'Simple'. The main room was relatively empty and the curries consisted of chunks of meat in varying shades of brown. The banquet was a real banquet, meaning they brought out a bunch of food and we ate until we were full. There is no guesswork here, if you ask for something, that is what you'll get. That is why I cannot really remember the Rogan Josh. After sampling Brad's vindaloo, all I could concentrate on was finding something to cool my mouth. Hot means hot. I'll sum up the curry in a way I think the owners would appreciate- Nice. Meat was not very tender.

Service: 6.0/10 -We were allowed extra banquet dish choices for the vegetarian with us, offers to bring out more food if we wanted it, choice of hotness, but had to ask for water.
Quality: 6.0/10 -basic looking curry, meat was not very tender, but still nice.
Atmosphere: 5.0/10 -pretty standard, very quiet as there were not many people there.
Value: 8.0/10 -$25(normally $30, group discount) for the banquet including massive entree, rice, mango chutney and raita.
Final Score: 6.25/10

Hotness Rating:

Josh

Curries are supposed to be hot. The excitement enhances the flavour. It pushes you past the edge. It also forces you to slow down as you eat, savour each morsel and reflect before subjecting your throat to a burst of spices. Earlier in the review tour, at the Tandoori Oven, I tasted an excellently spiced Vindaloo. The first taste of the sauce sent a slowly emanating heat through your whole body, sweat formed at the lobes. It was like standing in front a dozen heaters, a clean, pure heat. The pride of India was also very hot, but here that heat was dirtier, fuelled by something more ground and unholy. It was like being exposed to a volcano, it wasn't the heat that blasted you it was the sulphur and ash that lathered your throat and invaded your nose. Stringy pieces of beef were carriers for burning invaders. They entered my mouth, shrunk and charred, from their brown bowl of magma. Even the roti I consumed with it was just served to stoke the coals. This dirty heat is not something I want to seek out again. All angry and viscous, though not intolerable, it was like the BSDM of curries but without the blindfold.

Service: 7.2/10 -Plenty of attention on a quiet, rainy night..
Quality: 4.0/10 -This was curry in the traditional sense, roots and all. Cooked in a clay bowl curry. Cooked for too long.
Atmosphere: 3.0/10 -Floor space isn't exactly a priority for a curry den, nor is it an asset when covered by empty tables.
Value: 7.0/10 -($25.00) It's easy to get a banquet for a bargain when you mention a group booking to a desperate restaurant owner
Final Score: 5.3/10

Hotness Rating:

Brad

No one looks forwards to this event, except for maybe Josh, who has now got his number 3 weeks in a row. Pretty good getting those odds for 3 out of 3! No red chilis again this week, which I wonder why indian restaurants don't have them, or use them. I joined Josh in the roulette, having to eat two pieces, which wasn't that bad in the end.

Josh's Roulette Hits: 3 singles
Chow's Roulette Hits: 1 Single
Gus' Roulette Hits: 1 double
Dan's Roulette Hits: 1 double

Yet another shot of Josh and his winning streak.

Going last in line didn't help me at all.