I had the pleasure of being invited to dine at Kama Sutra on Drummond Street in the heart of the Edinburgh Festival action, minutes from the Pleasance Courtyard and Festival Theatre.
The restaurant is long and wide and can seat quite a number of people which is perfect for those Festival or (dare I say it) Christmas gatherings. We ordered a cocktail to start, which was aptly named the ‘Kama Sutra Classic’ containing rose vodka, lychee, fresh lemon and cranberry juice, it was the perfect way to begin the evening, very refreshing.
The menu surprised me, as not only can you order Indian dishes, there’s an offering of Chinese and Mexican style options which definitely puts a twist on things with choices such as Hong Kong Chilli Chicken and Jalapeño Con Queso. My dining partner and I both adore Indian food so we stuck to our guns and decided to order one type of cuisine. Kama Sutra also specialises in ‘Indo Tapas’ so you can order an array of small dishes to pick at and share. We went for the stereotypical ‘Chatpati Tokri’ – nibbly bits of spiced onions, mango chutney and raita served with poppadoms, the portion size was perfect as sometimes when there’s lots of poppadoms and nibbles served initially, I eat too much and end up being too full to enjoy the rest of the food. I thought they were very well presented in the mini metal ramekins.
We were both feeling like something fishy to start and the manager Raj recommended Fish Lahori – a chef speciality from Lahore, white fish marinated in crushed chillies, coriander seeds, fresh garlic, whole spice and deep fried. Needless to say it was delicious and they all got gobbled up! Next Raj recommended Sarso Ka Jinga – King Prawns marinated in fresh ginger, garlic paste flavoured with mustard and cooked in tandoor. They were so tasty, full of flavour and my favourite out of the two. it was nice to have the cool raita and the spicier pakora sauce to dip our starters into.
We had planned to go for the Indo Tapas but it just so happened that we ended up going for more A’ la carte. We did however order the Prawn Biryani as our rice substitute which came with a raita dressing. We also ordered the Lamb Bhopali Karahi and everybody’s favourite creamy mild curry, Butter Chicken. My dining partner and I clash over the kind of naan bread to have which means I normally end up settling for plain but tonight I ordered peshwari naan as I love the coconut flavour. In hindsight we definitely ordered too much bread but it was nice to not have to compromise. The curries were divine, it was a good choice to have a contrast in flavours with one more gravy based curry and one creamier one. I also ordered a small kingfisher beer to wash it all down.
We really enjoyed our meal at Kama Sutra, we left with full bellies and would not hesitate to come back with our friends and family in tow. Definitely a place to consider for fuelling you in between those Fringe Shows. Before I forget, they also have a loyalty card offering 20% off your next A’ la carte or takeaway meal which I thought was a nice touch and is a bonus for keeping me coming back.
*I was invited by Kama Sutra to review their menu. Food and drink were complimentary, all views are my own.
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