Papa Gills Restaurant

This used to be my local go-​to Indian restaurant. It’s only not now as I moved away, but I do still occasionally travel back for my fix. The staff are quietly friendly and efficient, with the owner always taking the time to come and say hello. They also remember our drinks, and just generally make you feel welcome.
The food is pretty good and they’ll recommend stuff, if you’re not sure. Garlic naan is ace! Hmm, now I’m hungry again… need to go back soon!

Absolutely brilliant food, my girlfriend and I shared a couple of different curries that were very different to each other but equally delicious. It’s a shame we live so far away and were only visiting the area otherwise I’d want to go there every week.

I remember going to Papa Gills years ago and it being really good hence why I suggested going again on this occasion… it was a quiet weekday early evening and we were the only customers in the restaurant. We decided to opt for the 3 courses for £7.95 deal which we thought sounded very good indeed for an Indian restaurant.
Firstly I have to say the dude that served us was seriously a bit off… I don’t know if he’d had a bad day or didn’t like the look of us or what?! He was just quite sombre & brusk in general… at first we found it a bit rude but by the end of the meal it actually became quite comical as he was almost a caricature of a surly waiter. So we had to laugh.
For starters we ordered mixed pakora & tandoori chicken drumsticks. My ‘mixed’ pakora was 1 piece of mushroom, 1 piece of chicken & 2 pieces of vegetable pakora. It was okay. My boyfriend says his drumsticks were equally ‘just okay’ but he wished he’d picked something else. For mains we had a chicken tikka masalander & a chicken tikka masala. I asked if instead of a masalander I could just have a chicken tikka but I was abruptly & flatly told ‘No’, so don’t bother to ask for any changes to this (very) set menu as I think you’ll find they won’t budge. Shame as I know other Indian restaurants are very willing to accommodate any special requests/​changes to their set menu, usually for a small charge but I do not mind paying if it means I get something I truly want. Anyway… the curry was nice, not pure amazing but not inedible. It was also quite hot as there was a LOT of fresh green chillies in this dish so beware if you don’t want a curry that is too nippy. My boyfriend liked his tikka masala and I tried a bit of the sauce and it was nice; not too creamy or sweet like some can be. I think what disappointed me most was the quality of the chicken ~ it wasn’t very tender or fresh tasting, instead it tasted/​felt quite over-​cooked & chewy.
For dessert I opted for the Gulab Jamun as I really like those sweet, syrupy baws of tastiness! Yum. My boyfriend chose the ice-​cream and he said it was a bit tasteless/​cheap tasting. My gulab jamun was nice; not the best I’ve had but I think that was mainly due to the fact it came on its own with no ice-​cream & gulab jamun goes PERFECTLY with ice-​cream so I was a tad miffed it was sans ice-​cream.
On serving the desserts the surly waiter almost shoved my boyfriends arm out the way (we were holding hands on the table… aww! Haha!) then plonked down our desserts & proceeded to stare at something happening outside the window we were sitting next too… very strange… again, we had to laugh.
For the price we paid our meal was decent enough but frankly I would rather pay a wee bit more and get a bit more quality. Maybe the A La Carte meals are far superior but I cannot comment on them. I would go back but maybe not for a while & also maybe not for this meal deal. It’s a shame I felt a bit let down by PG’s as I had fond memories of the place and it has potential. Here’s hoping it was just an ‘off day’ or it does get back to its former glory.
(One thing I did LOVE was the glitter ceiling! Brilliant! I want that in my flat :-) Shame about the music though ~ really quite loud, cheesy ‘classic’ pop & rat-​pack music… ooft)

Nothing to complain about, the food was good, although an interesting selection. I don’t think there is any other place I have been to that sells both Indian and British food that is well cooked. I don’t know how you would train chefs to cook both to such a good standard.
Anyone who hasn’t been must try this place. While you wait on your food you can amuse yourself with the wacky and traditional interior, it really is a pretty cool setting to come and eat. I’d recommend Papa Gills for both lunch and dinner. I went for the pre-​theatre starter with a main course to follow with rice. It was yummee! and all for the knockdown price of £6.95, you will never find another place for such a good quantity of food and that satisfyingly full to the brim tummy feeling for such a good value for money! except your mums, but Papa Gills is probably better.

Kind of ambiguous from the outside, Papa Gill’s is an Indian Restaurant that also does British food. We came here because I fancied a Chasni and Stu is scared of Indian food. This would please both of us.
The interior is flamboyantly decorated, with ornate light fittings and the ceiling covered in purple glitter. I loved it. As it was lunch time, my chasni came in a smaller portion — perfect! Stu got the steak pie, devoured every scrap and declared it delicious.
I struggled to finish my meal, but it would be easy enough for most to finish. The bill came to a reasonable total, something under £15. Service was quick too, especially for a guy that came in, obviously a regular, and his food was placed in front of him like a minute later.
Loved it in here!