Real Taste of India
768 Fort St  
Victoria, BC 
(250) 477-8883

E: One of the essential rules of waitressing includes knowing which is which on the menu and being able to know who ordered what. To not know can spell trouble. That can be excused when taking orders from a large crowd, but when James and I were the only two in Taste of India, I can’t be too kind. The food was great, but the service really needs to be worked on.

J: The service was poor and I’m saying this kindly because I want to use a manure reference. Our first server made many fatal mistakes; the first one was with upselling us more food without explaining his reasons for doing it.

It was only after that Ed & I discovered the extras were to enhance the meal. Service slid downhill as our server turned off the TV we were watching without even asking–and before leaving us in the hands of a new server–was just a bad decision. I was enjoying B4U TV. The Bollywood movie wasn’t bad at all and it had subtitles.

E: Maybe that was what we needed for understanding how this place operates.

When the food was delivered, we were dueling with our chopsticks, er forks, to see how many crispy crevettes we could snare. They were plump and juicy. The garlic salt enhanced the product. The lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes helped add to the presentation, and like a rabbit, I had to nibble those up.

J: The prawn pakora ($9.99) were just marvellous. They were crispy and the spices made them very savoury.

The Lamb Biryani ($12.75) and Goat Bhuna ($12.99) dishes arrived at our table but it wasn’t until after the meal that we realized we were served the wrong dishes. If Ed had a nut allergy, the restaurant would’ve made a serious mistake with a ambulance ride to back it up.

E: I saw James steaming in other ways and it was not because of the food. As mild and spicy as everything was, at least the lamb was soft and the goat (yes, I stole from James’ dish) was tough. There was a bit of boniness that needed to be picked out, but I really need to train my tongue to recognize the difference in flavour when I can sample the meat without all the dressings.

J: Ed asked me before the ordering what the difference was between goat and lamb, and my response echoed his words. Goat from my experience is tougher than lamb but when our server was asked the same question, he neglected to mention this fact. In fact he said goat had more bone. I often wondered why this place was near empty or completely empty on weekend evenings but now I know.

The goat was tougher and I had to pick out the odd bone or two but the sauce mixture was nice. It could’ve been better but I’m still a wimp when it comes to spicy foods (especially Indian cuisine). But I’m getting better since my Sizzling Tandoor (637 Johnson St.) days. The goat went very well inside a naan with rice though and the yogurt lassi was absolutely divine. It was the nectar of the Gods to me.

E: The yogurt drinks that we had were very good. It’s nothing like the Yoplait YOPs people can find in a grocery store. It was heavily blended and my drink was really thin whereas James’ mango concoction was thick. Despite the differences, I knew I should’ve been prepared with a yogurt drink just in case the spices got too much for me.

J: Ed and I certainly made a mess with our meals. Perhaps a pound of food hit the table but not a drop splashed our dress shirts. It appeared our priorities were in the correct order.

2 Blokes out of 5