It was decided that we would venture into Amsterdam to try an authentic Indian curry house. I had happened upon Motimahal since it is close by where I live and have been a couple of times before.

We were a group of eight people and got a good table, close to the well-stocked bar. The atmosphere was cosy and the background music was of a decent audible level so that you could easily hear each other’s conversation. We were greeted warmly by Mister Singh, the owner of the restaurant, who am not sure also may handle some of the cooking but mainly tends to the guests. There are a fairly standard range of drinks to choose from that are averagely priced, with us choosing a bottle of house red, several beers and a gin and tonic. The staff are very welcoming and their customer service is really good, they are very happy to tend to your needs and specific requests and if something from the menu requires some slight alteration, they are more than happy to help with your preferences.

With the heady and exotic aroma of Indian spices and fragrance, we all decided to opt for poppadums with mango chutney and mint raita for starters. They were nice and hot when served and had a nice crisp to them when broken to dip in the yummy sauces. We all ordered a different variety of curries such as: chicken tikka balti, chicken korma, chicken madras and lamb curry that came served with a good serving of basmati rice. My chicken tikka balti was really exquisite in flavour with a good strong marinated spicy flavour, combined with a generous creamy sauce, served in the traditional bucket. The korma was a smooth, mild creamy flavour, also delectable, but completely different to the madras which had a spicy and robust flavour. The portion sizes were quite generous with not everyone managing to finish their food so the price is quite well reflected here. We all finished our meals happily full and opted against the idea of dessert as we would have simply burst!

The restaurant was almost full so is a good reflection of its popularity – just have to work my way through trying more of the dishes on the extensive menu!