With regards to Ella Wood's review...

A number of her comments do not agree with my personal experiences of myristica. I will list her comments and follow on with my own opinion.

1.
'Unfortunately the music at Myristica is cheesy and loud, blaring out over the restaurant from speakers. Occasionally they play traditional Indian music and blessed are those evenings.'

- This couldnt be further from the truth. As a regular diner at Myristica, I have yet to hear cheesy and/or loud music. Though not always traditional Indian music, the music is always unobtrusive and sounds as if it has been carefully selected to suit the restaurant.


2.'The major problem is that these dishes don't taste very interesting. The dishes are, in fact, quite bland. Unfortunately, the coloured poppodums and the other starters are the nicest bit of the meal.'

- Ridiculous! If your idea of a good curry is one largely made up with masses of oil, Myristica is not the place for you. Each of my visits to Myristica have allowed me to experience Indian food like no other. The fresh flavours have blown me away and not once have I left feeling bloated with oil like at most Indian restaurants. With regard to the pappodum portions.. their lime pickle and mint yoghurt are extraordinary! and we always manage to empty the small bowls of pickles and chutneys.


3. 'As this restaurant is aimed at young professionals, it doesn’t provide good value-for-money. There is no set menu and the normal dishes are too expensive for what they are.'

- I see no written work suggesting that Myristica market themselves towards young professionals. If anything, I think they have a large customer base made up of Indian families. Most of the food can be viewed as it is cooked from fresh ingredients, and for the extra money compared to lesser curry houses (20-30% at a guess), you get that real Indian dining experience which doesnt appear to have been watered down for us British folk.

The decor was perfect and really added to my dining experience. Tastely done, the restaurant's interior was modern and sleek, yet influenced by traditional indian design. But this was nothing compared to the food! In the best way the unusual ingredients and dishes places myristica apart from other bog standard indians. i myself had a prawn and scallop curry which was amazing. my friend had a guinea fowl curry that she was pleased with.
although the restaurant was busy, we were never forgotten by the waiting staff and didn't have to wait long for our food. if you fancy a breath of fresh air go here.

Myristica on Bristol's historic King Street is a truly stunning Indian restaurant.

The decor is subtle in most places but some vibrant colours thrown in to remind you are in an indian restaurant. Very comfortable seats and a range of tables from cosy 2's to a beautiful dining room for 20.

The food is also very unsual, rabbit, venison and mussels are all found on the menu! The mini multi-coloured poppodoms are lovely with the subtley spiced mango chutney, not the gooey sweet dross found at most restaurants.

The starters we had were superbly presented and stunning in taste. We chose the Mussels, and a veggie dish called Chilli Panner, which was delicious and different.

Of the mains, we opted for the Barbarry Duck, which was cooked to perfection, topped with tamarind and sesame sauce, and Prawn Chettinaud, a south indian dish of curried prawns, accompanied by kerala paratha, fried roti breads.

As desserts are not really highly thought of in Indian restaurants, it was great to finally find somewhere, they take their puds seriously. From a homemade Mango Cheesecake to a choice of Ice Creams, we chose the house special Shrikhand and the the Chocolate Samosas. The Shrikhand was alight yougart based sweet made with a tang of lemon and the humble Samosa transformed from a bland starter to a fabulous pudding of pastry filled with chocolate sponge and spices with pistachio nuts.

The wine list was also far superior than you expect in most Indians with a a good balance between old and new world and 4 from India. we tried the Sauvignon Blanc from Sula a vineyard from Maharastra in India and were pleasently surprised by the fruity yet quite dry wine.

This is the best Indian restaurant I have been to in Bristol and would not be out of place amongst its peers in London.