I love, love, love Tiffin. If you’re in North Devon and on the hunt for a curry, look no further than this modern curry house in Barnstaple.

Why it’s on my list

There are three reasons why I wanted to go to Tiffin. The first was that the spot it occupies on Boutport Street has been a few different things in my lifetime, including a bar renowned for its shots – it’s interesting to see it turned into a restaurant. Secondly, I have heard great things from lots of people. And third, when walking past it just looks so inviting. Not wanting to be too late to the party, my husband and I booked ourselves a table.

Restaurant Information

Website: www.tiffinindiankitchen.co.uk 

Location: Tiffin Indian Kitchen, 70 Boutport Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1HG

Opening times: Tuesday to Saturday from 12pm – 10pm

To book: call 01271 452570 or email Tiffin70@icloud.com 

Overall verdict

We were blown away with Tiffin. The food was all freshly made and so delicious. This was Indian cuisine for the modern age in terms of the menu choice and presentation. Rather than the loads-of-dishes-in-the-middle approach, which I usually like, it felt more like a typical three-course meal of each person having their own starter, main and dessert. Of course you can still share, but this way everything is a bit neater and frankly you can keep better control of the finances.

What I had

We ordered mango lassis as a drink, but these also appeared on the dessert menu too. These were cold and refreshing, with a hint of cardamom giving a subtle fragrant flavour to the mango and yoghurt.

To start I had grilled tiger prawns marinated in garlic, chilli and turmeric, with a lime mayonnaise. 

My husband had the fish pakora, crispy spiced fried fish, which came with some cucumber raita for dipping.

For main I ordered the butter chicken – chicken Malai in a smooth, creamy tomato gravy. This came with some basmati rice with little crispy bits of onion, a dressed salad, and a naan – I upgraded to a garlic naan.

My husband ordered the prawn moilee – king prawns in a mild coconut gravy. His curry also came with rice and a side salad, and to continue the coconut theme he upgraded to a peshwari naan, which contained coconut and dates.

The best

I loved everything about this meal – everything was amazing. The flavours were great, the spices adding a warmth and aroma that wasn’t overpowering, just incredibly flavoursome. My choices weren’t that spicy, but there were other options on the menu if spice is more your thing.

I had a bite of my husband’s fish pakora with the cucumber raita and I just loved that. Crispiness, spiciness, cooling and refreshing all at the same time, a heavenly mouthful.

Also I was really impressed with the rice. It was so light and fluffy, with none of the grains sticking together. How do they do it?!

Not the best

Nothing to say here really, it was all absolutely brilliant. 

I guess some advice might be helpful. It’s a very good idea to book in advance. We booked for two on a Saturday in December and had to dine quite early (5.30pm) as they had so many bookings. I’d originally tried in November but that was even earlier at 5pm.

The venue

We went in the run up to Christmas so it had a lovely festive feel about it, but even without the extra decorations it’s a nice venue. It apparently used to be the one of the oldest pubs in town and is a Grade II listed building. The windows are really beautiful. They’ve decorated and furnished it nicely as well, so overall it feels relaxed, welcoming and comfortable.

Top tip

Definitely upgrade your naan if you’re going for one of the curries. 

One of the things I really like about Tiffin is that you have your own rice, curry and naan for your main. That being said, it was nice to be able to split our naans so we each had half garlic and half peshwari each. I think the peshwari won the naan battle for me, but it is quite sweet so being able to have the garlic naan too was good.