Rice Boat Kerala Restaurant

Went here on a recommendation and was very impressed. The menu has a number of unique dishes not commonly found at your typical Indian restaurant, specializing in Keralan cuisine. They also offer a wide range of flavored rices and even more variety of madeinhouse breads.
We were most impressed with an eggplant curry and a dry fried beef, both of which had aromatic flavors and a solid kick of heat, especially the beef. We were also blown away by the kulfi dessert… madeinhouse pistachio icecream with a ground pistachio «crust»…YUM!
The service was friendly and helpful, though slightly inattentive. Still, we got what we wanted and needed.

They serve what must be the best kulfi in the Western world! And although I do not like their dosas – they put carrots in the masala, sigh – there are many other delectable things to choose from. And everything is enhanced by the wonderful ambience and courteous service.

The service is slow. When I asked for pappadams was th my dish they refused to serve. Their policy is serve pappadams only with Briyani. When I told them I would pay for it as a side order the waitress still refused. Needless to say I will not return to the place. I have never come across a restaurant that has the fish in kitchen but refuse to serve a customer because it us their policy!

Great food. Nasty service. Really poor attitude. The slender blonde server was great but the other, more senior server was truly obnoxious.

It’s the best Indian restaurant in town, with expertise in South Indian cuisine. The food is as authentic as it gets. What they say on the menu, they serve on the plate, unlike most other Indian restaurants which try to cater more to the palate of the locals. The spices are right and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get a feel of what home cooked South Indian food tastes like.
Service is tad inconsistent, and they can definitely improve their dessert menu, and serve home-​made Indian sweets which might actually suit the non-​Indian palate quite well!

Ouch! 3 and a half years since I was last here and Wow it’s gone down hill.
Still the same menu of interesting and tasty dishes from Southern India and diverse craft and Belgian beers. This alone got me back through the door.
But the service? Jesus — it’s laughably bad but also irritatingly bad. One waitress who can take orders for 30+ people and another waitress who is «not allowed to» (and got told off when she tried to). 45 minute waits for food, wrong orders with dishes missed out. We wanted to leave early.
And the food? The star dish of King Fish Curry has lost its real spicy kick and your TEN pounds for this dish gets you only a small bowl with only 4 cube-​shaped chunks of fish. That was at least more meat than we found in the frugal Chicken Biriyani. I guess when you see the prices for chapattis, you realise they are trying to either pull a fast one or be ‘high-​end’. Sadly the service negates the latter.

This place is usually packed and food is OK. A couple of us stopped by for dinner one night and had probably THE worst customer service. After our appetizers were served our cutlery still wasn’t provided. So we took the liberty to take it from the next table that was empty. We’ve requested for more as it still wasn’t sufficient and we were told by the waitress and I quote «I would appreciate if you won’t do that». Well … I wouldn’t have done that if I’ve had any utensils to eat my food with in the first place!
I know I’m in the UK and good customer service shouldn’t be something to be expected as most restaurants but this is just plain ridiculous. It’s safe to say that I never went back after that incident.

Great food, family restaurant

Five stars for the food! We had onion vada as starters and then the Kerala chicken curry and an aubergine dish, whose name I don’t remember. Together with dosa and coconut rice this was really great. They have a nice variety of drinks on offer (try the Malbec!). The service is slow, but ours was friendly.

I really hate to give 2 stars, but I made my husband take me here after dying to go here for over 1.5 months. I fasted prior to arriving so I could eat to my heart’s content but was sadly disappointed by the taste.
I am a well seasoned South Indian foodie. This is the worst South Indian food I have ever had in my life. It was so bland and literally tasteless. I really hate to write bad reviews but this review is just honest.
I started off with the Thairu Vada. To my knowledge the vada was stale and the yogurt was not that nice tasting. Kind of eww. Ok, so I will check out the masala dosa. Basically you would have to have an IQ of less then 44 to get a masala dosa wrong, that part was Ok, but the coconut chutney was none existent. How do you dip a masala dosa in such a tiny dish and get literally a microbe of chutney on your dosa, there needs to be a more generous amount of coconut chutney. The other stuff that came with the masala dosa, I honestly couldn’t tell you what it was but it tasted like really bad chili that came out of a can.
Next up was our entrees. I ordered the Aubergine Theeyal it claimed to have been cooked in shallots, coconut, tamarind and spices and have a nutty and tangy flavour. All I saw was brown sludge that looked like mud, when I dipped the rice looking idly thing that had gone wrong it looked like toilet paper in a toilet, hard to stomach actually. The aubergine had a nice consistency but then again there was no taste? Coconut, where where you in this dish? I also ordered the coconut rice, I couldn’t taste the coconut, pretty disappointing. The other entrée was the Syrian Christian Stew, it claimed to have luxurious chicken in a medium spicy, thick coconut sauce. Again no coconut taste. Where are you coconut? Spicy, it wasn’t there. Total fail. Also ordered the lemon rice and there was no lemon taste, the rice was yellow maybe that is why they called it lemon? Hmmph?
I started feeling really sorry for myself at the end of the meal because I had spent over £55 on below mediocre food.
Don’t go here if you don’t want to be disappointed. It is bland, very pricey. Wait staff makes you wait an eternity to get your check, you have to ask them for it, why they make you wait so long is beyond my understanding.
Hope to have better luck in London with South Indian food.

3.5 stars. I’ve only been here once. The food was good and authentic, but overpriced, South Asian food. I had a shrimp curry that I really enjoyed. They have an extensive foreign bottled beer list that is very good, for which they deserve credit. Whenever I was in this neck of the woods, I usually opted for Sala Thong (Thai) over Rice Boat; Sala Thong was slightly cheaper and slightly tastier.

The quality and the authenticity of the food was very good, but this is one of the priciest options in Cambridge for Indian. Better deals to be had elsewhere with the same or better quality.

Alright. I didn’t have a great experience here and I think it’s because I’m not indian and didn’t know what to order. There were 5 of us and none of us really enjoyed it that much.
The reason was that we didn’t know what kinda of breads to pair with all the curries. I would have expected them to suggest not to order some with certain dishes. I found out only later from my Indian friends. Secondly, all of us thought that the dishes were way too spicy for the average non Indian person to eat. Finally the price was a little bit on the steep side.
If I go back again I will definately take someone to help me navigate the menu

The food’s authentic enough & well presented. However, as an Indian who prefers meals that don’t break the bank, I reserve this place for when I DON’T want to take friends to a hole-​in-​the-​wall Indian place.
For the price I’ve paid for dinners here, I could order 4 times as much in both variety & quantity at say «Chennai Dosa» in London. And Chennai Dosa does VERY authentic South Indian.
Service is alright. You don’t see the bathroom from the dining area & I think the place is handicap accessible (call in advance for assistance).

If you thought this was a Chinese restaurant, I wouldn’t blame as the name suggests it, you are however far from the truth. This stylish India restaurant is located at the other side of Cambridge, Newnham and close to India House. They serve dishes from south India (kerala); this makes it very different from the normal Indian restaurants you visit often. With little doubt, I can say that it is arguably one of the best India restaurants amongst the many in Cambridge.
I have gone past the restaurant a couple of times, one thing that stands out is the inviting appearance of the exterior. The interior is a different story altogether, modern design such as wooden floor; we lit room giving it a neat look. It also had a hint of traditional designs, silk embroidered curtains and tablecloths, which you could say it is not necessary if you want to create a full contemporary look.
Vada is a nice starter, I highly recommend the tiger king prawn molee as a main for seafood lovers or the fish in banana leaf, the list is endless. One certain certain thing is that, the dishes are unique and tasty.
The service provided is great and staffs are polite, a great place to recommend to friends and have no fear of embarrassment due to poor service or food.
Verdict: A unique India restaurant

Modern, stylish, south indian cuisine