I was with my partner and her sister’s family in Camber Sands in East Sussex. After a boozy lunch in the hotel we were staying at and a very, very long walk on the beach in the afternoon, we met up again in the early evening.

My partner’s brother in law suggested going into Rye to get “a quick curry”. Out came the iPad and The Ambrette was picked as they had recently been voted the best Indian restaurant in the South East.

After walking round the town for a while  (our fault not theirs!) we finally found the restaurant in a lovely building on Rye High Street.

As we walked in it was obvious that this was not your ‘usual’ curry house. This place has a high end air to it, we looked at each other not knowing what to expect.

The menu turned up and the food matched the surroundings, non of your local restaurant favourites here. No chicken tikka masala, no lamb rogan josh. This was modern Indian food, with a definite French lilt.

The waiter appeared with a small glass of fresh mango juice for each of us as an appetiser. It was so sweet and delicious.

This was quickly followed  by an amuse bouche in the form of a mashed potato pakora.  A very well executed little treat and boded well for the food to come.

My partner and I shared a starter of dosai, a classic Indian pancake filled with spiced potatoes. On the side were three chutneys – coconut, pea and pineapple. The dosai was really well flavoured, subtle and delicate pairing very well with the chutneys. I loved the pineapple chutney so much so they could have just served me a bowl of it!

We were then given another amuse bouche, a little cup of celeriac, cumin and coriander soup with a mini cumin and carrot bhaji. Really good flavours, and an absolute treat.

My partner chose the vegetable thali which had a a delicious range of vegetable dishes served on a traditional plate. I tried a few the aubergine (which was slightly undercooked for my taste),  potato and spinach, daal, but my favourite was the green bean dish. The green beans were soft and tasted almost like green peppers. The thali was served with rice and naan.

I chose the Kentish loin of pork for my main. It’s always interesting to see pork in an Indian restaurant. This version came in chicory, orange and cinnamon with spiced apple and a sauce of malt vinegar and garlic wine.

This was a very accomplished dish. The flavours kept their individuality but worked together to create a fantastic whirlwind of tastes in my mouth. The pork was cooked to absolute perfection, moist and tender…as it should be. There was a good heat in there too, it built throughout but never overpowered the dish.

It  came served with a lovely little naan bread. In fact all the main courses come with a naan bread which is great in my book, but it wasn’t very clear on the menu.  in fact we almost ordered naan which wouldn’t have been needed.

Overall the service was impeccable and the food excellent, and the addition of those amuse bouche throughout the meal made our experience feel special.

When we got the bill I’m pleased to say we were surprised at how small it was.

The Ambrette offers fantastic value and seriously good food. However it’s not just an ‘experience’ restaurant, as the relaxed atmosphere and reasonable price makes me wish it was in my local area.

If it was I would be going back again…and again…and again.

www.theambrette.co.uk

Michael Robinson

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The Food Curator

The Food Curator (AKA Michael Robinson) is an aficionado of all things food and bon viveur based in London. A passion for cooking and dining has driven him to put fingers to keyboard to bring you his thoughts on the world of food. When not writing, eating or cooking he has a love of American muscle cars. Pop on over to my Facebook page and let's start a Facebook food revolution together: http://tinyurl.com/thefoodcurator

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