The Cook's Tale - Canterbury

First time in an Indian restaurant, very pleasantly surprised. Excellent service and delicious food. Great cocktails and parking close by. Take note. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: £40–50 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Picked a bad day to return to the once excellent ambrette. The starter was good lamb kebab, main course chicken biryani, looked great with a poori lid, but the steam from the dish had made it soggy, the chicken beautifully cooked but sitting on insipped rice lacked any cohesion, it did not taste combined just chicken on rice, It was a shame because the restaurant normally understands it seasoning and spices, the pudding a baverois was ok but lacked intensity and was rather overset, in contrast my colleagues creme brulee was not set at all, a true disaster. The service was truelly excellent, we politely lied that everything was fine, but it certainly wasn't the waiters fault. So we left disappointed but will probably return as sure this was just a bad day in the kitchen, maybe Dev was away polishing his awards? Parking: No local parking, multi story half a kilometre way down dark street.In winter take a torch.

Went here for the first time for a birthday dinner and loved it. Food was amazing I 'm not vegetarian but couldn 't resist the vegetable thali which was great. When the mixed starter arrived, my companion remarked (not critically) that it was less substantial than she expected and our server responded by bringing us 2 or 3 extra little nibbles free of charge while we waited for the mains. Atmosphere was pleasant, enhanced by a brilliantly eclectic pianist who chucked the lounge standards songbook out the window and had me playing Guess the Tune all evening. I moved back to Canterbury last year after a long time away and this was by far the best dining experience I 've had since my return. I 'll definitely be back.

I don't often rave about places but I cannot fault this venue. Food was lovely, we had the meat thali, it's bottomless but I couldn't even finish the first portion, such a nice variety of good quality food. Atmosphere was lovely, spacious but full, gentle piano playing, service was fantastic, bottomless beers, prosecco or cocktails for an extra £10. Didnt feel rushed or like I didn't get my moneys worth at all. Definitely a new favourite! Service: Dine in

We enjoyed a late lunch. The service was excellent and the food was great. We weren't rushed even though it was the end of the lunchtime service we were the last customers in the restaurant. Service: Dine in Meal type: Lunch Price per person: £40–50 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4