Kennington Tandoori - Restaurant Review

Recommendations are important in the life of a restaurant and the fan fare for Kennington Tandoori was growing daily around my office. There are a lot of South Londoners in the office and for some reason I have kept my distance, but to be honest, South London is not all that bad and if you look closely you can find some good places and restaurants. I was hoping that Kennington Tandoori would be this.

OBelieve the Hype or Don't Believe the Hype. I firmly believe that you should listen to the hype but fundamentally be your own judge of the food. Make sure you do not let the hype cloud your judgement.

So once seated we could tell this was not your usual curry house. Very trim and proper, Kennignton Tandoori is that bit more upmarket. No real sense of rush or hassle.  However, at one stage it almost seemed a bit stand-off ish . Some people are never happy. So the food we ordered was our version of keeping things consistent and familiar with a mixed grill of sorts to start and then curries after for mains.
The dishes and what they were are below:

Starters
The Famous KT platter: Chicken Tikka, Sheek Kebab, Onion Bhajee, Lamb Samosa, and Methi Palak Pakora
Chicken Chaat: Chicken cooked with onion, garlic, and fresh herbs in a tangy tomato and tamarind dressing

Main courses
Naga Murgh: A curry of marinated chicken and herbs in a chilli sauce 
Keema Peas: Lean double-minced lamb cooked with spices, fresh herbs, and  green peas
Tarka Dall:  A blend of of lentils,  with onion and garlic

All that food, served pristinely and delicately was a reminder that we were not in East London anymore. However, I wasn't even sure that we were in Kennington either. The restaurant does feel a bit out of place and the dim lighting took it away from the social occasion and made it feel quite romantic. This was a bit strange for a lads night out between three married guys and their love for a curry and mixed grill.

I would liken Kennington Tandoori to Nurjenna in Southgate and of the two I definitely preferred the latter. KT was good it just didn't wow me. The charred flavours that usually come with the food weren't there, the punch from the herbs and spices were soft and often missing. It was like a heavyweight boxing match were they just cuddle for the most part and every so often you get a jab to the chest. 

Subtle flavours are good when they are rich and strong. However, otherwise it becomes a bit of a shame. KT provides good food, it just hasn't elevated itself to be a favourite of mine unfortunately.  One key takeaway from this trip was that South London wasn't too bad of a journey and I am definitely happy to venture around the city, country and world to find a good food joint.

Do these blogs provide any real value to anyone? Do people want more on the food and flavours?
I trust that you all catch my drift based on these write ups and genuinely use them when looking for restaurant suggestions.
ENJOY.