Didn't a Montaz to much...

The Oakham Curry Club's (OCC) most recent outing was to the Montaz located in Bourne. The scoring system is well recognised by our subscribed readers so without any further ado the scores for the Montaz are as follows: Customer Care: 6.33 Service: 5.89 Value: 6.17 Quality: 5.33 Atmosphere: 5.11 Total Score: 5.77 Summary: To start, I think it would be fair to say the fine quality of the Nawab Lounge was still within recent memory of the members with the one word to describe the Nawab Lounge was 'wow'. To continue the one word trend, the visit to Montaz was average. In an attempt to quash any presuppositions, it would be fair of me to say if this was the first curry house the OCC had ever visited then the experience would still be scored as average. The OCC were greeted by three young and enthusiastic members of staff who seemed excited to wait on the formidable OCC. No faults with the introduction to the Montaz. We were escorted to the upstairs room where we were placed in what can be destined as a private function room. This could be interpreted in two ways; we were VIP guests and were about to receive royal treatment or we were a large group placed out of the way of smaller groups and families. A conclusion hasn't been generated. It is common knowledge that the poppadom experience is of key importance to all OCC members so I'm saddened to say the poppadoms were not as crispy as the OCC expected and the sauces were served in small pots. To the credit of the staff, more sauces were brought out on request. I don't want to fall foul of repeating myself but I wasn't to visit the atmosphere score. The Nawab Lounge had an electric atmosphere with the decor to match, it created the Friday night vibe that avid curry lovers enjoy. Unfortunately the Montaz atmosphere and setting was more like what you would expect on a Sunday afternoon roast at the pub with the grandparents. Now the OCC members can take any environment and transform it into a night of many laughs and stories, however when the assessment takes into account the atmosphere it's only fair to mention where it went wrong. This review doesn't have to be one sided on the negatives, therefore it should be balanced with a couple of positives. In general the food was served in a timely manner without any errors or hiccups with who ordered what. Based on experience of dining in large groups, this point shouldn't be underestimated. Credit to the staff here. One of the waiters participated in a couple of jokes which is always a nice touch. It shows their human and emotional side and they're not just a serving robot. It was no surprise the customer care score was the highest mark of all. To conclude, it was a pleasant evening enjoyed by the OCC attendees but as evidenced by the scores the curry experience was one of mediocrity and averageness. We look forward to the next meet!