MJ’s Verdict
On Thursday, we passed a fun-filled evening tasting tequila at a fabulous Yelp event, where I could appreciate the nuances of differences in flavours, colours, smells, and vintages of the tequila, but was reminded that I am not a tequila girl, (except for #3, I could drink #3 after a bit of wine).
Once the event came to its natural conclusion of people taking comedy photos in traditional Mexican garb, we wandered down the road to try Khushi’s (the other Khushi’s…or is it the other, other Khushi’s?)
The interesting sign outside made me pay close attention to the seats in the restaurant, which, though they were shiny and had wee mirrors in the cushion, didn’t really strike me as memorable except me wondering why they should be in comparison. The wee amouse bouche of chickpea salad that was brought out was fresh and light tasting and it was a nice touch.
Tandoori Lamb
"Them's fightin' words!"
I opted for the lamb tikka tandoori while Blythe went with the waiter’s suggestion. When it arrived, in good time, I was not visually stunned by the lamb, but the proof is in the tasting, as it were, and it tasted perfectly spiced-heat wise, but a bit on the salty side. The rice was flavoured nicely, but I was more than a bit skeptical of the flecks of rice that were dyed red or green and were mixed into the whole thing and I mainly left it.
The small salad was a repetition of the amouse bouche, and it was nice again. The most interesting part was the naan bread, though. Please note the fork used to show scale. It was fresh and nice. A nice example of a classic naan.
A wee salad to start
Overall, Khushi’s is ok. It fits somewhere between Mithas and the Mosque Kitchen, taste-wise, price-wise, and locationally too.
Blythe’s Verdict
It barks at you from the get go. “We are not that Khushi’s. We are the better and more original and more spectacular Khushi’s. We will not associated with that brand, under any circumstances.”
And as it turns out, this doubly damns them. Firstly, the quality of their product is almost exactly the same as the Khushi’s on Antigua Street. Secondly, by disassociating themselves with the Khushi brand, they choose to distance themselves from Edinburgh finest restaurant: Mithas. But more of that, later.
We decided to head to Khushi’s after a drop or two of tequila at the Yelp event at the Voodoo Rooms. MJ was in entirely sensible health, but I can confirm that I was a touch inebriated. This is not an uncommon state for someone to head to a curry house.
Punjabi Chicken
On arrival, we were shown to a nice window table, and left to contemplate the smartly presented drinks menu. Having ordered a giant Kingfisher and some water, we were left to contemplate food menus. I quickly decided to let our waiter choose what I ate, rather than make further detailed examinations of the menu, while MJ settled upon the tandoori lamb. The recommendation was the Punjabi chicken, so I went with that. We ordered a garlic naan to share, too.
Dishes arrived in good time, and looked fine. The naan looked quite extraordinary, offering plenty of bready goodness to share.
Giant naan
It is sad to report that my chicken was incredibly underwhelming. As a recommendation dish, it was particularly baffling. There wasn’t a single aspect of the dish that stood out or was worthy of comment.
The naan was very good. I tried a little of MJ’s lamb and it was fairly unremarkable.
In a remarkable irony, the quality of the food on offer was very reminiscent of another nearby Indian. Can you guess which one? That’s right – Khushi’s on Antigua Street! But where Khushi’s Broughton are mired in swingeing bitterness, the folks who run Khushi’s Antigua have the magnificent Mithas in their stable of offerings. So while the Broughton Street version is currently drowning in self-made pools of bitter sorrow, the ‘other place’ is moving onwards and upwards.
Overall, Khushi’s is routine and reliable, but feels stagnant, not to say moribund. Their namesake on Antigua Street isn’t great, either, offering almost exactly the same “quality”. I would welcome a change in direction that involved them focusing on improving the quality of their dishes, rather than pursuing a feud. (It has been pointed out to me that the “other place” is equally bad in perpetuating this nonsense, but they tend to reserve their barbs for the world of social media). They have a loyal following, so will continue to do a reasonable trade, no doubt, but they need to take down their silly signs as if this remains their focus, they place themselves in danger of being relegated to a footnote in Edinburgh restaurant history.
Scores
Blythe scores Khushi’s:
3/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 12/20
MJ scores Khushi’s:
3/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 12/20
Today’s questers were: Miriam, Blythe
We ate: Punjabi chicken, tandoori lamb, garlic naan
We drank: water, lager
We wore: comedy moustache, faint whiff of blue cheese
Total bill: £37 (due to us tipping a ridiculously generous amount, mainly)
