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Occupying the premises formerly inhabited by EuroAsia, which closed in June 2008, Agra Fort is one of the latest Indian restaurants to open on one of Chester’s several 'curry strips', City Road and Brook Street being the main ones. The modern, functional décor is pretty much unchanged since then - faux leather high-backed chairs, arty prints on the walls and squishy sofas in the bar area. Not a hint of flock wallpaper anywhere. So far, so good.
Dining out in a group of seven, two of our number were running late but the staff were unfazed at this and were quite happy to bring us draught Cobra to drink in the lounge area while we waited for our missing companions. By the time we were six in number, we took our seats and perused the menu. The Agra Fort has a fairly lengthy a la carte selection of dishes. All the standard dishes can be found - biryani, tandoori, balti, and masala, plus a good selection of specialities.
The special mains start from around £10 and ranging up to about £17 (here I was tempted by the ashami fish masala in a citrus sauce).
As a large group, though, we opted to order from the set menu, which at £10.95 a head for five courses turned out to be very good value. The appetiser course was a poppadum apiece, complete with a selection of chutneys and raitas. The starters and mains on offer are an edited down version of the main menu, with a reasonable choice of dishes available. The salad that arrived with my lamb tikka starter looked a little tired but the meat itself was tender and perfectly cooked. Friends had ordered the garlic fried potatoes or meat or vegetable samosas, all of which were pronounced good.
I ordered a chicken biryani for my main - a good standard to test the kitchen’s mettle. It was slightly oily but otherwise delicious. Two friends ordered a madras of some sort. Sampling it myself I can confirm the heat was nuclear even for a seasoned palate. But the accompanying saag bhaji was well prepared and we were able to identify the subtle spices. Tarka dhal was also pronounced excellent. Most of us passed on dessert as we were full and the choice was limited to ice cream, toffee fritter or chocolate cake. Disappointingly, there is no kulfi on either menu. We finished with coffee, which turned out to be instant. We all agreed that we’d rather pay a pound more and have the real thing.
It was quiet on a mid-week evening, but the other customers that drifted in were mostly Asian, a good sign of gastronomic authenticity. With all the beers consumed (and there were quite a few), our bill totalled just £120 for seven people, well under £20 a head. Everyone in our group had been very pleased with the standard of cooking. And the unobtrusive but very accommodating service was praised as well. We will definitely be returning. Sorting out the coffee and putting some Indian desserts on the menu would easily turn Agra Fort into the curry house of choice in Chester.
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