Review
Gaylord Spices is an Indian restaurant in Navan. It may have one of the best names we have come across; Meet the Fockers was mentioned over dinner, and there has been an Indian restaurant of this name in the town forever, but this is a new business, with a good chef, fine food and a friendly team out front.
Gaylord Spices is on Railway Street in Navan, and behind an unassuming façade there is a large dining room that stretches right back, with a mezzanine level at the back which would be perfect for a group or private party.
The menu is shorter than what you would traditionally find, and the reason is that the chef has cooked in Cinnamon Garden Ashbourne, one of our favourite restaurants and with Jaipur, who have championed the more modern style of Indian food in Ireland. The chefs name is Muhammad Ali, so cool names seem to run in this restaurant.
The menu is divided into starters, chef specials, Tandoori dishes and traditional curries. You will find all the classics, and some unique dishes. We started well, with two starters from the Tandoor; the jumbo prawns and the duck tikka. It was a hard decision, as there are also fresh lamb chops marinated in yoghurt and mild spices, and I had watched Rick Stein cook them on his Indian odyssey just last week.
I was glad I stuck with the duck; three large pieces were gently spiced and perfectly cooked, still moist and juicy and the flavour of the duck was allowed to shine through. Deirdre’s jumbo prawns were similarly perfect; tender and light, they had been judged just so, and the avocado chutney that accompanied added an extra dimension.
Main courses continued to impress, and the lamb shank roasted on the bone and braised in Kashmiri chilli and screw pine extract was delicious. It fell off the bone, and the sauce was delicious with the Pilau rice and was great for mopping with the Naan bread. Our second main course was a more traditional curry, a lamb and chicken Begum Bahar. This is barbeque chicken pieces with minced lamb cooked with herbs, spices and coriander. We had some Daal and an Aloo Ghobi on the side, and we ended up bringing some home.
The food in Gaylord Spices is very good, the welcome and service is friendly and the prices offer great value for money. For a taste of India, it’s very good indeed.
