Cinnamon

Cinnamon

487 Preston Road
Standish
Wigan WN6 0QD

Tel.: 01257 426661

Wednesday 7th July 2004

Phil and I needed to get some dinner after a heavy workshop. Cinnamon is one of the Indian restaurants within striking distance I'd wanted to try. There is a private car park. The decor is modern, pale.

On entry, we were shown to the bar area, but were quickly offered our table. There appeared to be adequate non-smoking provision (there was no ashtray on our table) and air-conditioning is installed.

Although Cinnamon was almost empty when we arrived, it was 40%-ish full when we left - not bad for a Wednesday. The waiter was friendly and talkative - and offered us a sample of "Balti" wine after discussing my T-shirt (which has a list of the major French domaines). This was not bad and dispelled the mistaken idea that one of us had that the wine might be termed "Balti" because it was spiked with Indian spices. It was in fact a very robust red, with plenty of alcohol content and a punch which makes itself present even over the strong flavours of a Balti.

Prawn Puri, Deep fried prawns on unleavened bread was good - fresh tasting. Phil's Tandoori mixed grill was "good in parts"! The kebab wasn't to his liking, and the samosa a little too "bite-sized". The Chicken Tikka was much better.

My choice of main course, Modhu Chicken, is one of the house specials and is served with a standard massalla sauce separately. In my opinion, it was a little too blatantly orange flavoured - nice, but could have been a little more subtle. The sauce was not particularly suited to it, but was tasy enough. A more sophisticated combination of flavours and accompanying sauce could have proved a very interesting proposition.

Phil's Lamb Balti, in contrast, was simple: overflowing with the tastes of fresh herbs and spices, though a comment was passed on the excessive amount of oil present in the dish. The Keema rice was pleasant, and the Pilau rice standard fare.

The Naan was very nice, light and fluffy with a nicely baked crispy outside.

All in all, the meal was perfectly adequate for the price, but could have been something special with just a little more attention to detail.

Coke, Kingfisher 2 poppadoms Prawn Puree, Mixed Tandoori Lamb Balti, Modhlu Chicken Keema Rice, Pilau Rice £32.60 Sandro

Verdict: Good, but could be better. Worth another visit.

Sandro & Phil