Curry King

Can’t say I understand the higher reviews here. Maybe it did use to be worse, but coming in with no history, it’s not great.
First, the place smells like Indian food. There are certain kinds of atmospheres where I’ll take that burden of additional laundry, but not at a sit-​down place with tablecloths and priced accordingly.
Second, the food wasn’t anything special. It was all edible, but I wouldn’t even say this was a viable place to go if I had a craving for Indian food. The mango lassi was particularly disappointing. The pompadum was pretty good, but you don’t go to a restaurant just for that.
Finally, the CD player kept skipping. End of story.

Came on a Sunday evening a few weekends ago. It was strangely deserted — our group was the only party in the restaurant at around 7 PM. Very weird… but one of our friends had already vouched for the place, so I wasn’t too put off by the emptiness.
The menu is absolutely ENORMOUS, but thankfully it is well-​organized. Being over-​confident about my spiciness tolerance and untrusting of English standards of spiciness (I chalk it up to being Chinese and having lived in New York) I was sure I could handle the spiciest thing on the menu, so I pointed to the vindaloo (the menu warns in no uncertain terms that it is «VERY, VERY SPICY») and said, «I’ll take the lamb. I can handle it.»
Holy shit. It was, as promised, VERY VERY SPICY. A bowl of raita wasn’t enough to save my taste buds. But. It was DELICIOUS!
I’d give it four stars, but the only reason I deducted one more star was because it wasn’t clear that they were going to charge us for all the poppadom that we didn’t order at the beginning. (We ate it anyway, because, well, it was just sitting there, and we were hungry.) The service was attentive and polite otherwise, but I just don’t like sneaky practices like foisting appetizers onto you and then charging for them.

Being as I am from Glasgow I know I can be a bit harsh on Indians in the rest of the UK, but I don’t feel it’s particularly harsh to say that the Curry King wasn’t a good experience.
Firstly the décor, I’m not picky but the room was very brightly lit and seemed to have been furnished with cast offs from a convention centre.
Secondly there appeared to be an incredibly loud party going on in the back alleyway, however the staff seemed okay with leaving the back door and alley open the whole time.
Lastly, but not least, the food. I ordered a Lamb Madras, which when it arrived was only small chunks of lamb in a very mild, runny, tepid sauce.
The only redeeming feature was that the paratha was well cooked and seasoned, and the chutneys were good.
I recommend avoiding unless you have a very sensitive palate and appreciate a blander curry.

Great, delicious curry! It’s kindof hidden from the Main Street, but don’t be afraid to look for it. The menu is very extensive and descriptive. Be careful about ordering dishes described as moderately spicy; to the lightweight, they can still pack quite a punch.

The Curry King is my favorite Indian restaurant in Cambridge. The food is outstanding and seasoned perfectly! The restaurant is a bit hard to find since it is down a small roadway off Bridge street but well worth the effort. 5 stars!

Delicious! Apparently this place used to be kind of grungy and «drunk food», but it’s under new management and really, really tasty. Very friendly and prompt service, all-​around great food. The chicken korma was stand-​out amazing; next time I’ll order two to eat and one to go. They have a variety of different types of curries from all regions of India and tasty breads. Sadly, they only had ice cream — no traditional Indian desserts.

The Curry King. I should have known by the name that it is not a high quality place. Ok, the food is good. But the atmosphere isn’t. The staff we experienced seems unmotivated. Used minimum words. Non unfriendly, but a certain amount of enthusiasm is just part of the job. So either bad mood or just not the right person for the job.
We met the owner too. Nice guy, but we only saw him when it was time to pay.
Location of the restaurant is central, but in an ugly side street. The decoration itself was very average, actually the ceiling was just like the one I remember from high school (with the panels), so made a pretty poor atmosphere.
A pint of Kingfisher was 3.50 and curries around 8 pounds. Not sure but I guess average prices.
Again the food was alright, but I will not go here again.

The Curry King is a little hard to find, being off a passageway leading from Bridge Street. But it’s a very welcoming and spacious Indian restaurant with an extensive menu of generous, well-​prepared dishes, with very friendly service not under any pressure of time. Prices are reasonable over a good range-​in all it’s a very comfortable place, enjoyable and relaxed.

Ha, I love that the Bay Areans have taken over the reviews for this restaurant. I’ll be direct: the food is VERY good and reasonably priced. I had the lamb rogan, garlic naan, and a half-​pint of Kingfisher. Everything was extremely fresh and flavorful. The menu offered plenty of choices and was very descriptive. I’m looking forward to going back.
I might go back only in takeout form, though, because the service was rough. I was seated, then not acknowledged for close to twenty minutes. The food came in decent time, but my request for a glass of water took a long time and had to be repeated. When I asked for the check, I again waited for 10 – 15 minutes before finally getting up, standing at the front, and asking to pay. This was on a weeknight at about 9 PM, so although they were fairly busy, it wasn’t exactly prime time. So, in future, my goal will be to enjoy their food without dealing with their shoddy service.

Ok, being a fan of spicy food, I have been sorely missing it in the UK. However, the very nice folk at Curry King were able to meet my needs – with fantastic food. I am a fan.
I got a dish that was marked «hot» on the menu. It was hot – for most people (my S/​O thought it was a bit too spicy). But I have other tastes. So I asked them for some chili peppers, or to make it spicier. They brought out some naga pickle chili sauce, which was amazing. Seriously, this stuff was like candy to me. I loved it. They told me it was what they usually eat with their food, and I can completely understand why. Yum!
For service, it was fantastic. I met my waiter, who is getting his masters degree while his wife and child are back in the states – best of luck to him! The manager gave me his personal email address in case I can’t find the naga pickle sauce back in the states, so he could ship some to me. It was their last jar, or he would have given me some.
When I come back to Cambridge, this will be a stop. The food is great Indian, and the service really puts it over the top. And, yes, after my searching, someone finally gets what «hot» means. :)
Fantastic!

Though hidden in the back of that dark brick mini-​mall in Cambridge right by the Cam, this place is kind of amazing. The (anything) Korma is the best thing everrr. Except maybe the tikka masala at the Maharajah up the street. If you’re a curry newbie (or, say, an American learning British culture one baby step at a time), get the Korma and have your life changed.