Ashoka...or a pleasant surprise?
This review of Ashoka, Ashton Lane, is the first by the Oakham Curry Club (OCC), Scotland Branch.
...take a saunter down the cobbled stones of Ashton lane, just off the bustling Byre’s Road. At the top of the lane, stop. Close your eyes, inhale deeply and breathe in the buzz of Glasgow’s cosmopolitan West End. The magical milieu is almost tangible and you wont be able to resist the intoxicating aroma of all things spicy, enticing you into the Ashoka, Ashton Lane.
The OCC is a well-respected Institution with multiple international franchises. The OCC takes pride in searching out the finest Indian restaurants and providing impartial reviews of Curry Houses all over the world. Members vote anonymously without being influenced by other members (we call this “no swaying”) on 5 categories, and an average score out of a maximum 10 is given to each restaurant we review. Restaurants must score an average of 7/10 or above to receive the OCC sticker of recommendation. All OCC members have been through a rigorous selection process to gain entry into the Club. In short, we all know our curries.
Do we enjoy appointing the club to judicially appoint the scores? I’ll let you, the reader, be the judge of that!
Quality: 7.92
Value: 6.83
Service: 8.17
Atmosphere: 7.33
Customer Care: 7.83
I am delighted to announce that Ashoka is awarded the much-coveted OCC sticker of recommendation, scoring an impressive 7.62 overall.
An early contender for the first Scottish CHOTY perhaps..
I think it’s important for the reader to know before we start that someone has stolen my antidepressants. I hope they’re happy!
Located at the top (or bottom) of Ashton Lane, the first ever OCC Scotland branch descended on Ashoka donning their cagoules and and a craving for curry. We were welcomed nicely and directed to a lovely seat in the corner. Best place for us really. The restaurant is busy and there’s a good atmosphere of middle class chatter. It is Ashton Lane…
Beers and menus were offered and like my Father who bought a TV with the volume stuck on loud for a quid, we couldn’t turn it down! At this point enter the chilies.… On request for a bowl of the green gods, the poor waitress is confused.. “Why do you want chilies, they’re already in food”… after a brief chat covering the salient points and the merits of a Punisher, a bowl of plump little bad boys arrived. Turns out that the delay was the staff sneaking off to Marks’ to purchase said ‘boys’.
An interesting start followed by some excellent and interesting starters. Haggis Pakora, fluffy Poori and delightful Dosa really did excel with one member guffawing at their ‘amazingness’. I paraphrase, but he was giddy in his praise.
The starters turned out to the highlight. The mains, whilst better than ok, were a bit samey and memorably lacked meat. The horror. They also ran out of Cobra which isn’t the sexiest of things to tell a curry club.
In summary, a very lovely experience with the quality of the starters setting expectations which weren’t quite met. Saying that, an outstanding barometer for the OCC Scotland moving forward.
Highlight for the service overall; one lady in particular was a keeper. She was wearing massive gloves!
Sadly, I have to go, I’ve accidentally booked myself onto an escapology course and I can’t get out of it.
If you know how to fix door hinges, the OCC’s door is always open – you can follow us on Instagram @theoccScotland. Check out our other reviews and check back each month for the latest on the Scotland curry scene!