I am sitting in Tap and Tandoor Bournemouth drinking a very good cocktail that marries whisky, pear, and anise together to great effect. Scottie Schleffer is on the flat screen telly presumably winning again, whilst upstairs are groups of colleagues and friends playing darts and shuffleboard in the deceptively large upstairs area. To say it’s nothing like the Tap and Tandoor I know in Solihull would be nonsense given that they share the same DNA of mixed grills, curry, sport, and cocktails, yet this feels like an upgrade. More variety, more scope, dare I say it, more fun. A quick search on the internet tells me that this is site number five and that all of them barr Solihull have made a play at the bar sports.
I suppose in the grand scheme of things it makes sense for those four additional sites to be dotted around large towns and small cities. Birmingham is arguably at saturation point for desi style pubs and it’s now a regular sight in most major cities. Bournemouth, on the other hand, is crying out for one. It is not a town with great food options, I know this first hand. They have a decent thai, a decent chippy, and a really good Palestinian restaurant that seemingly opens whenever it feels like it. I get it, they have bigger things to worry about at present. But it is safe to say that Bournemouth needs Tap and Tandoor.
I’ve been twice now. It’s good. They know what they are doing. Fat chunks of chicken tikka, perfumed and devoid of any garish food coloring, and chilli chicken, not quite as good as the Solihull version yet, but still complex in its heat. The loaded naans with paneer, red onion, pomegranate, all covered in a generous splat of mint sauce, and lamb kofta’s aromatic with cumin and I think a little cinnamon that work with the high quality meat.
I like the curries. I like the south indian pepper curry most with fat chunks of chicken breast in a sauce that grows in chilli and black pepper heat. I like this with masala chips and naan because I am a heathen, but also because nobody here knows me enough to judge. The bill the first time around is £75 with too much to drink, and £60 the second time with too much to drink. I have never made it to desserts, though I doubt that anyone has. It’s not that kind of place. It’s a place for good times and familiar food if you happen to be from Birmingham, or good times and something new if you live in Bournemouth. I happen to think that both are fine. I expect the roll-out of sites to continue and for me to find myself in during one of my little work solo travels around the country.
8/10
