The Vine, 9 School St, Mosborough, Sheffield S20 5EB

The Alma - George & Dragon - Royal Oak

We started at the Alma. A lovely little old pub in Mosborough village. There was only one other person in the pub. He looked like the village alcoholic.  We had a pint of Warrick’s favourite, John Smiths. Warrick knows his John Smith’s and said it was a good pint. Neil started talking about euthanasia and the wish to have his wife pass him a “Himmler style pill when it gets messy”. At this point the drunk was noticed eavesdropping on our conversation.

From The Alma we took a 10 minute walk to the next pub. If you’re not familiar with Mosborough, it would be advisable to use Google Maps at this point to find the George and Dragon which is on High Street. The pub was packed for a Monday. Annoyingly, there was a man who looked like a local with a big dog, sat right in the middle of the main walkway which he didn’t move as we tried to get to the bar. Trav seemed to think that we had walked into a school reunion party which seemed strange, as they only looked about 18. We had a pint of Stones in here then left for The Royal Oak.
 

Further up High Street we went for one in The Royal Oak. On entering the building Trav recognised a “smelly old tramp” that he’d seen somewhere before. We obviously avoided the room he was in as either Warrick or Neil confirmed that he stinks. The stains down his top suggested that he would indeed be quite smelly. From here we crossed High Street and made our way to The Vine.

Upon entering The Vine, the décor was pretty unimpressive but the staff were friendly and welcoming.

 As always, we had Poppadoms and Pickle Tray despite Warrick’s claim that they fill him up. The Poppadoms were cold but the pickles were perfect. We knew exactly what they were. We all agreed that some Indian restaurants can try to be too fancy with their pickle trays but these were just fine.

We shared starters. Tandoori King Prawn and Seekh Kebab. Delicious and not overfacing. We agreed that it was just enough before the main meal.

For the main meals we had Chicken Karai (8.5/10), Lamb Jal Jhina (8.5/10), Chicken Rogan (7/10) and Lamb Balti (9/10). We ordered a Boiled and Pilau Rice with Chapatis. The main meals were full of flavour and presented well. We agreed the chicken and lamb was of excellent quality too. Warrick found the Chicken Rogan very nice but said it was a little on the “oily side”. If it wasn’t for the oily Rogan, The Vine would probably have been the highest scoring restaurant we have reviewed yet.

8.25/10

Overall, we had another good Curry Club night. We were very impressed with the Vine and the quality of the food. We certainly recommend this restaurant and we will definitely return at some point in the future. In total, it cost about £80. The following day, our guts were no more unsettled than you would expect from a decent curry.

N.b. It must be pointed out that Mosborough is a nice place, particularly as a Curry Club member lives here. It is NOT full of drunks and homeless people as this review might seem to suggest.

Lavang, 478-480 Fulwood Rd, Sheffield, S10 3QD

The Bulls Head – The Rising Sun

This time, we thought the Curry Club should broaden its horizons. Instead of a city centre night out we decided to venture into one of Sheffield’s leafy suburbs. We started off at The Bulls Head. It was a friendly pub with a selection of beers available. We all had a couple of pints of Stones despite the varied choice of beers. A good pint of ‘Sheffield Gold’ still takes some beating. Creamy, smooth and refreshing.

We turned right out of the pub then walked for about five minutes to The Rising Sun, passing Lavang on our way. The Rising Sun seemed a little more ‘stuffy’ than the Bulls Head. We noticed that there were a few men drinking wine! There was a large choice of beers on offer. Probably too many. We had a pint of Directionless and Battle Axe. The Directionless started off really well. Quite hoppy and fruity but halfway through I got sick of the taste. It started to taste stale. I should have had half a pint. The Battle Axe was ok. Mediocre at best. We all agreed that these craft ales can sometimes be overrated. There was a pub quiz on which we found really easy. We were surprised how easy it was considering the intelligent appearance of some of the people in the pub. We started to help a ‘normal looking’ couple with answers. I got talking to a friendly, well spoken, tweed wearing gentleman in the bogs. He said that he’d just been to Lavang and that it was “excellent but the service was too quick between courses”.

We then crossed the road from The Rising Sun to Lavang. It looks pleasant and inviting from the outside. Our first impression was how clean and modern the place was. Once sat down it didn’t take long to realise how ‘stuck up’ the clientele was. Service was quick and efficient. The guy in the tweed jacket was right. We had Poppadoms and a Pickle Tray. Three of the pickles were the usual mango, raita and onion. The forth was a disgusting pink liquid with a weird fishy taste to it. None of us could actually pinpoint what it was. For a starter, we decided to try something different. We went for the Norshaba Squid. The curried squid itself was delicate and delicious. Not too filling for a starter but the bed of rocket that it came on overcomplicated and overpowered the squid. For the main meals Neil had Lamb Bhuna, Warrick had Lamb Naweb, Trav had Lamb Jalfrezi and I had Lamb Rogan. We all agreed that the sauces were appetising but a little under spiced for our taste. The meat was of excellent quality and quantity but was extremely salty. Rice and breads were of decent sized portions.

Altogether the meal cost us just over £80 which wasn’t too bad. The prices on the menu seemed to be slightly more expensive than those of some other restaurants in the city centre. At the end of the meal we asked the staff if they could order a taxi for us. They said there was no answer at the taxi company. We left and saw the ‘normal looking’ couple on their way home.  They said that the answers we gave them were correct! We then caught a bus to West Street in town, then got a taxi home from there.

Overall, it was another good night despite getting home later than expected due to having to catch a bus. Unfortunately though, The Curry Club won’t be revisiting Fulwood Road and Lavang anytime soon. If you happen to live up that neck of the woods, then Lavang is probably the perfect place for you. If not, don’t bother. Trav and myself had dodgy guts the next morning and I temporarily lost all sense of taste probably due to the saltiness of the lamb.

A very generous 7/10

Rajput, 4 Commonside, Sheffield, S10 1GB

The Hallamshire - The Closed Shop - The Springvale

Started off at The Hallamshire. Lovely pub. Seems somewhat Victorian. Had a pint of Black Harry with Neil. We both didn't like it. It was flat and thin. Trav and Ben had a trendy lager. They both seemed to like their's. Had another pint in there. Can't remember the name. Rabbit something or other. Neil called it "rabbit piss!". Again, flat but it tasted quite nice.

Walked across the road to The Closed Shop. Me and Neil had a Black Sheep. It was alright. Trav and Ben had another lager. The pub was quite nice inside. Seemed a bit studenty. Watched Neil and Ben play the most boring game of pool ever. Pub quiz started. Quiz master started making jokes about Donald Trump and Brexit. Should keep his political views to himself.

We then turned left out of the pub and went down the road to The Springvale. Doesn't seem quite as posh as the other two pubs. We all had a pint of Guinness. It was a relief to get a nice pint. From here we went to the off licence across the road from Rajput as you have to take your own booze. The kid in there knew alot about beer and we asked for his recommendation. He advised Cobra. Which was honest of him considering all the poncy beers he could have sold to us in there.

From the off license we crossed back over the main road to Rajput. It's only a small restaurant but modern and clean. Service was efficient. Poppadoms were as you would expect and there were four pickles. No lime though. Had Chilli Fried Chicken starter. It was delicious but very spicy. My main meal was Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi. This was well presented and tasted excellent. We had Boiled Rice and Pilau. We also had a Roti and Garlic Nan. We ordered a side order of Paneer Aloo for a change. Curried cheese isn't something the Curry Club would normaly have but it was quite nice. The portions weren't the biggest so it was a good job we had a starter.

We took a take away (Lamb Bhuna) for Warrick, another Curry Club member who was on babysitting duty. It was cooked just before we left.

I can't remember how much it all cost exactly but we all chucked in £20.

Overall, we had an excellent night and Rajput was very good. We didn't have dodgy guts at all the next morning and we were all very happy with the food. We would certainly go back.

8/10