Indian Temptation
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Published August 18th 2021
Spice up your life
On a recent day trip to Bath, to pick up some tiles, we decided to find a spot for a bit of lunch.
This place is highly rated and has a fantastic location opposite the Abbey, right in the centre of town. It's upstairs, so doesn't look like much from the front but when you get in there, the windows aspect across the Abbey and the queue for the open top bus tour, so you get a great view for people-watching.
We picked it because of the above reasons but also because it is vegetarian and focuses on South Indian delicacies, which are my favourite.
I find it difficult to order anything other than a thali when I'm visiting an Indian restaurant for the first time because I want to try as many things on the menu as possible and the set "meal" in Indian cuisine is always a winner. I just want to try a little bit of everything (making me a nightmare at buffets), so the thali option gives me a limited taste of plenty of items.
This one was a South Indian focused meal consisting of an idli, masala dosa, along with coconut chutney and sambar, spinach curry, aubergine curry, lemon rice, a kofta and a semolina pudding for dessert.
Idli is one of my absolute favourites, always reminding me of my breakfasts at a little street stall in Tirumanivalla, where I would spend a few rupees and get a couple of idli, some chutneys and from the stall next door a delicious sugary chai. Idli is a steamed, fermented rice and lentil patty in the shape of an oval, which is dipped into the spicy sambal sauce and mild coconut chutney. The one here was good, if not amazing, the chutneys were authentic, although I don't remember ever having idli or dosa as part of a thali in my time in South India.
I guess it makes sense to add it into the platter here though, to differentiate from the more standard Thali, which is also on offer.
Masala dosa, for those who haven't tried it, is a wafer-thin savoury pancake, rolled up and filled with a spicy potato mash. It is a bit of a delicacy, although it is found more and more in alternative Indian restaurants these days. This one was pretty good, again, not normally part of a thali and usually more of a meal in its own right but this one was quite small and tasted great. It could have been a little bit more crispy but still a treat.
The baby aubergine curry was flavourful and ideal for dipping the roti we ordered separately. The spinach with garlic was mild and a nice complement to the other dishes. The kofta in a cheese sauce was mellow and agreeable.
I quite liked the semolina dessert with raisins although Kerry-Ann wasn't keen. It did have a slightly odd texture and one of those Indian dessert acquired taste kind of feels to it - at least it wasn't crazy sweet like some can be!
Along with this, we decided to order the platter of starters, which was basically a lot of grilled vegetables and paneer, along with spices and a couple of dips.
This was really delicious. Roasted broccoli, baby corn and paneer were piquant and the sweet pepper kebab was soft, lightly charred and gratifying. These were complemented by the two dips, one a hot green number and the other a sweet, sticky, tangy tamarind. The only thing I would question in hindsight would be the value of this dish which at £9.50 for basically some vegetables and a bit of paneer seems a little steep, especially compared to the good value thali at £15.95.
Overall, it is a great little place. We almost had it to ourselves at lunchtime but I imagine it gets much busier in the evenings. I'd fully recommend a trip if you happen to be in Bath and looking for a delicious South Indian feast.
Temptation Platter starter
This place is highly rated and has a fantastic location opposite the Abbey, right in the centre of town. It's upstairs, so doesn't look like much from the front but when you get in there, the windows aspect across the Abbey and the queue for the open top bus tour, so you get a great view for people-watching.
View of Bath Abbey
We picked it because of the above reasons but also because it is vegetarian and focuses on South Indian delicacies, which are my favourite.
Temptation Platter starter
Temptation Thali
Temptation Thali
This one was a South Indian focused meal consisting of an idli, masala dosa, along with coconut chutney and sambar, spinach curry, aubergine curry, lemon rice, a kofta and a semolina pudding for dessert.
Idli is one of my absolute favourites, always reminding me of my breakfasts at a little street stall in Tirumanivalla, where I would spend a few rupees and get a couple of idli, some chutneys and from the stall next door a delicious sugary chai. Idli is a steamed, fermented rice and lentil patty in the shape of an oval, which is dipped into the spicy sambal sauce and mild coconut chutney. The one here was good, if not amazing, the chutneys were authentic, although I don't remember ever having idli or dosa as part of a thali in my time in South India.
I guess it makes sense to add it into the platter here though, to differentiate from the more standard Thali, which is also on offer.
Masala dosa, for those who haven't tried it, is a wafer-thin savoury pancake, rolled up and filled with a spicy potato mash. It is a bit of a delicacy, although it is found more and more in alternative Indian restaurants these days. This one was pretty good, again, not normally part of a thali and usually more of a meal in its own right but this one was quite small and tasted great. It could have been a little bit more crispy but still a treat.
The baby aubergine curry was flavourful and ideal for dipping the roti we ordered separately. The spinach with garlic was mild and a nice complement to the other dishes. The kofta in a cheese sauce was mellow and agreeable.
I quite liked the semolina dessert with raisins although Kerry-Ann wasn't keen. It did have a slightly odd texture and one of those Indian dessert acquired taste kind of feels to it - at least it wasn't crazy sweet like some can be!
Along with this, we decided to order the platter of starters, which was basically a lot of grilled vegetables and paneer, along with spices and a couple of dips.
Temptation Platter starter
This was really delicious. Roasted broccoli, baby corn and paneer were piquant and the sweet pepper kebab was soft, lightly charred and gratifying. These were complemented by the two dips, one a hot green number and the other a sweet, sticky, tangy tamarind. The only thing I would question in hindsight would be the value of this dish which at £9.50 for basically some vegetables and a bit of paneer seems a little steep, especially compared to the good value thali at £15.95.
Kerry-Ann enjoying the space
Overall, it is a great little place. We almost had it to ourselves at lunchtime but I imagine it gets much busier in the evenings. I'd fully recommend a trip if you happen to be in Bath and looking for a delicious South Indian feast.
Why? Vegetarian Indian food with a view
When: Mon - Fri: 13:00 - 15:00 17:00 - 22:00 Sat - Sun: 13:00 - 22:00
Phone: 01225 464 631
Website: indiantemptation.com
Where: 9-10 High St, Bath BA1 5AQ, United Kingdom
Cost: Thali £15.95, Platter £9.50
Your Comment
This is a great article, and I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you for the recommendation!
by Tom Fieldhouse (score: 1|78) 360 days ago
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