Muthus Ballyhoo
The Oakham Curry Club (OCC) is a well-respected Institution with multiple international franchises. This review of Muthu’s Curry House being the latest by our Singapore branch.
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.
On Friday 18th April 2019 – The OCC visited Muthu’s Curry House 138 Race course Road
For full transparency, see below scores (out of 10). The voting is based on the votes from OCC members. 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.
Quality: 8.14
Customer care: 6.70
Value: 6.86
Service: 5.57
Atmosphere: 7.86
Overall: 7.03
Muthu’s IS awarded the much-coveted OCC sticker of recommendation, narrowly making the required 7/10 average.
The OCC descended upon the much ballyhooed Racecourse Road for its April meetup. The curry house of choice was Muthu’s. While maybe not the most famous of the Racecourse Road area establishments, Muthu’s has certainly earned a reputation and notoriety for its excellent food and signature fish head curry dish.
Once all the members arrived and the beers started flowing, the club set upon the task at hand. The menu, while not overly large, offered a good diverse selection of cuisine. After several rounds of poppadums and much deliberation, the order was made. The dishes started arriving shortly thereafter, and needless to say, the group was impressed. If you follow the OCC’s reviews, you will note that, of the curry houses reviewed so far, Muthu’s has received the highest rating for quality. This is not an accident. Both the lamb shanks (Ghosht Sheekh Kebab) and the Gobi Manchurian received particularly high praise, and, for the first time in the Singapore branches relatively short history, were reordered as they were that remarkable. Other crowd favorites included the butter chicken and the ladyfingers (Bindi Masala). One source of disappointment, however, was the fish head curry. It is possible that expectations were set too high for Muthu’s signature dish, but the reality left much to be desired. The members were all in agreement that they would not order it again.
The Atmosphere also received high marks. The restaurant is spacious, open, and modern. It most certainly has come a long way from its humble beginnings. Nearly every table was full, yet at no point did it feel overly crowded. It seems to have found that delicate balance of being busy and buzzing with a good vibe without being overwhelming or claustrophobic.
The cost was a bit on the high side. Though everyone was well-fed and lubricated, and, in the end, well satisfied. The lamb shanks and the beers were primarily responsible for the inflated bill which came in at approximately $90 per head. The group seemed evenly divided here, with some expressing that it was on the pricey side, while others thought that for the quality and amount of food and drink, it was not particularly expensive.
The lone black mark for Muthu’s was the service. It is certainly an area that needs improvement. Although we were not an overly large group (there were nine of us), the staff seemed discombobulated when serving us. Simple requests had to be repeated several times before fulfilled. We had to wait for things like knives and forks to enjoy our food. It was a real struggle to get napkins. Having said that, the service did get better once the night went on and possibly their only saving grace was that we were never in want of a cold beverage.
All in all, Muthu’s received a well-deserved OCC sticker of recommendation (though just barely). With an improvement of the service, Muthu’s would be the destination of choice in the Racecourse Road area. As one member put it, “I would 100% return….and hope for better service.” They have the potential to be one of, if not, the best curry house in Singapore if they up their service game. They certainly get the food and ambience right.
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