Kasturi

After a long day walking the Edinburgh sightseeing spots, we were looking for a place to have a decent dinner. After looking into a few places which were all full, we decided to go into the Kasturi after checking the menu outside and approving of the dishes and prices.
From the first impression with all the white interieur and tablecloth, I thought this place might just be a little to fancy. But then, we did’nt want to search any further and picked our table.
I ordered a mango lassi and a tandoori with vegetables, and some rice and naan to go with it. The lassi came first and was good, allthough a little to sweet to my taste. During the wait we could watch the chef through a big glass window operating the tandoori stove, sticking skewers with meat and veggies into it. After about 20 minutes our meals were served. I got a plate with plenty of onions, mushrooms, broccoli, pepper, aubergine and courgette. The stuff was spiced allright, with just the right amount of hot and tasty seasoning. The vegs were cooked to the point of perfect crunchiness. A enjoyed every bite. The rice was flavored, I think with cinamon, onions and cloves — absolutely delicius. The naan bread tasted good too and went well with the food.
So I was very satisfied with the food and the price. A little bit annoying were the lights all along the wall at our table, they had a constant flicker which was reflected from our tablecloth. That was a little irritating, but not enough to make us change tables. The service was allright, not the fancy kind, more kind of relaxed.
While I would’nt call the place a gourmet restaurant (as the sign outside suggests), I recommend it to anyone who likes some tasty tandoori food.

The place has the dubious distinction of being the first restaurant in Edinburgh where I’ve sent back a dish. Their seafood soup was really poor! The rest of their stuff was fine by pretty mediocre, although the tandoori pomfret fish were well cooked. A real shame as the place is very smart and the service really rather good.
Overall, we said: «Kasturi isn’t worth the visit. If what they are serving is „gourmet“ Indian, as they claim, there are a raft of Indian places that should be expecting Michelin stars, any day now. Back in reality land, Kasturi should be walked past and pitied, because the tram works will likely mean it doesn’t get a chance to mature and improve. But as things stand, they are contributing to their own downfall, in no small measure.»