The Indian Cottage, Fareham | Restaurant review

This annual celebration of consumerism is not entirely to our tastes. However, any excuse to stuff our faces goes down well.

Of the many cuisines generally considered romantic, Indian would not appear top of the list.

However, as a personal favourite of ours, it is an obvious choice for our Valentine’s date.

Not wanting to deal with too many loved-up couples staring into each other’s eyes and engaging in public displays of affection, we book a table at The Indian Cottage, Fareham.

A busy Saturday night sees us shown to our table slightly later than our booking time, which would be forgivable had it not set the tone for the rest of our dining experience at the West Street venue.

We are left to ponder the menu for 20 minutes, growing increasingly thirsty and anxious for some poppadoms and sauces to get us started.

As regular curry-devourers, we simply need a few minutes to decide which dishes to go for, and opt for some usual favourites to continue testing which venue makes the best version of each recipe.

The staff, who are friendly but clearly rushed and stressed, eventually take our order and we wait a short but eager 15 minutes for our starters to arrive.

We share a portion of onion bhajis alongside chunks of plain chicken tikka – feeling too daunted by the option of its ‘spicy’ counterpart – and tuck in gladly.

The bhajis are an absolute delight, with two crispy offerings of onion served up to us with a small side salad and quickly demolished.

Choosing chicken tikka is the night’s wild card as it’s not a regular choice for this pair of diners – and it is well worth the selection.

The squares of seasoned chicken melt in the mouth, and have an amazing flavour which gets us even more excited for the main course.

However, this excitement dissipates into impatience half-an-hour after the starter plates are cleared, and my dining partner starts becoming hangry – luckily it’s not a first date.

A full 45 minutes after the crumbs of our first course are whisked away, we are compelled to inquire when the highly anticipated main courses will arrive.

Soon afterwards, they appear in front of us with a polite apology and an offer to take a percentage off the bill for the inconvenience.

This, coupled with the appearance of the food, quickly placates our party of two.

While I cannot say it is worth the hefty wait, the dishes are delicious and cooked to perfection so we soon push the waiting time to the back of our minds and get to work.

I go for a personal favourite of chicken pasanda, which is creamy and mild and full of almond flavour.

It is everything this dish should be, and more.

My date for the night digs into a chicken tikka masala, of which I am granted a mouthful.

It is delicious and my companion certainly has no complaints.

We share a pilau rice and peshwari naan – one of the best we have ever tasted.

Feeling very satisfied with our choices, we finish every last mouthful with relish (the pleasurable kind not the condiment) and settle back with full stomachs as our amiable host clears the plates with another apology for the wait.

The bill is a very reasonable £35.95, including a glass of wine, a beer and a 20 per cent discount. We leave delighted.

The Indian Cottage, West Street, Fareham

Tel: 01329 236009

Ratings (out of five):

Food: 5

Value: 4

Ambience: 2

Child-friendly: 2