Warm up with Curry Corner

On a freezing Edmonton day in late December, we headed to a little hidden spot on the south side for some tasty Indian food with our first Meat VS Veg special guest, Becky. Curry Corner, located in Riverbend Square, is a small but cozy restaurant serving up authentic East Indian cuisine in a casual setting. Like many ethnic restaurants there are numerous vegetarian and vegan options, and in fact the menu categorizes their food as "vegetarian" and "non-vegetarian" which was a novelty for Steph, our resident veggie girl!

Ambiance and Service

Jackie:  This elegant little restaurant is furnished in dark wood with beautiful photographs of East Indian culture adorning the walls. This wonderfully cozy neighborhood restaurant stays true to it's Indian theme from beginning to end. Our server was personable and friendly, but incredibly casual and quite awkward. He failed to do a food quality check until we we're near the end of our meal, and despite his kind demeanor was just average. 
Rating 3/5

Steph: I quite liked the ambiance, it was simple but tastefully accented with bright photographs, and the space felt clean, open and airy. The server was very sweet but very quiet. He brought our food quickly and politely but disappeared after we received our main dishes.
Rating 3.5/5

Taste and Presentation

Steph: In order to do a proper review, and because we had three people dining, we ordered plenty of food. For beverages Becky and I had Masala Tea ($2.49) a spicy, milky chai that we both added sugar to and then enjoyed. We then ordered the Vegetable Pakora ($5.99) to share, which was delicious and a generous portion, and two Beef Samosas ($4.49) for Jackie and Becky.

For her main, Becky had the lunch special ($10.99) which consisted of butter chicken, saffron rice, curried cauliflower, lentils, and rice pudding for dessert. She thoroughly enjoyed everything on her plate. Jackie ordered the Butter Chicken ($14.99) and I ordered the Palak Paneer ($12.99).

I was very pleased with my choice. Consisting of paneer cheese and corn in a spiced spinach puree, it had an amazing, complex flavour that I really enjoyed, and the texture of the paneer was exactly how I like it. Both the Butter Chicken and the Palak Paneer came in enormous portions, much too big for one person to finish! The main dishes did not come with sides, so we shared an order of Naan Bread ($1.99) and Coconut Rice ($4.99). The naan was absolutely delicious, a huge order for the price, and perfect to soak up the tasty sauces.

After we had eaten to the point of bursting, I was still determined to try the Gulab Jamun ($4.99) which I had been wanting to try for ages. They brought us out three pieces instead of the two I expected and after a quick picture we dove in. Described as "round milk ball dumplings dipped in sugar syrup" it was an unusual dessert for our Western palates, but I thought it was delicious. They were hot, soft, and drenched in syrup with an interesting taste and consistency. Jackie hated hers but I would definitely have them again!
Rating 4.5/5

Jackie:  This place has helped me to appreciate East Indian Cuisine. The vegetable Pakora was steaming and wonderfully crispy. 

The beef Samosa was incredibly well presented and reasonably tasty, though without the sauce on the side it would have been quite bland.

My entree, Butter Chicken, was very good. However, it lacked the spice that I expected it to have. Normally the heat builds over the course of the meal, and ironically, I found myself a tad disappointed by the fact that my taste buds were not set aflame. As for dessert, it was absolutely atrocious and I could barely choke down this gooey saturated excuse for a mini doughnut. I don't even remember was it was called, as I was so desperate to find a discrete way to scrape the taste off my tongue.
Rating 4/5

Overall Value

Jackie:  I find Curry Corner to be relatively expensive. Pop at $2.99 a can is highway robbery and a massive markup. It isn't even refillable. The appetizers are all reasonably priced as are the Curry options. The problem is that all the side dishes are sold seperately and bring overall cost of the Butter Chicken up from $14.00 to almost 20.00. The portions sizes are colossal but it would be better for them to cut the size a tad and include Naan bread and rice which are essential to eating curried cuisine. 
Rating 3/5

Steph:  The pricing seemed to be very inconsistent, with some items being a great value and others quite overpriced. The portions were large and tasty, but I would recommend sharing in order to keep costs down. The best value was certainly the lunch special, and it was a great way to try several different flavors for one price. I was very pleased with the amount of different vegetarian options and they were priced quite a bit cheaper than the meat dishes.
Rating 3/5


The Verdict: A quiet, casual place for great Indian food, but come prepared with an empty stomach and a full wallet!
Final Rating: 21/30

And the winner is... Veg! While the meat eating girls argued that their butter chicken was the best, the sheer amount of high quality veggie options and the Pakora and Naan made Veg the overall winner of this review!