Dining out at The Viceroy

Our reviewer discovers delicious Indian cuisine in Duffield

Monday night is curry night in our house – well, not actually every Monday, but it ought to be! So as a fan of Indian cuisine I’m a difficult person to please…

The Viceroy in Duffield is tucked away just off the A6 towards Belper. It’s refreshingly modern, luxurious and spacious inside; the latter a pleasant surprise when it’s often the case today that as many seats as possible are crammed in.

We were warmly greeted by staff in traditional costume, a hint of the authenticity to come. There’s a comfortable lounge area and stunning central water feature to distract you – not that I needed distracting for long – the service was impeccable and the food appeared quickly – poppadoms to start of course!

I like spicy food so for a starter chose charcoal-cooked barrah lamb chops. My wife went for a more familiar dish of samosas, before tucking into my chops as well - as ‘they were so nice’. I would highly recommend them if you don’t mind heat!

For our main course the manager recommended we try the ‘desi’ style chicken. This is a traditional type of ‘home cooked’ food – again a warmer combination using lots of garlic, spices and ginger. We added a butter masala chicken tikka, a really rich mild dish that was deliciously smooth and creamy and contrasted well. We accompanied this with rice and a ‘kulcha’ style naan bread. This is stuffed with your choice of filling – we picked potato and coriander.

A traditional Indian dessert of dumplings – gulab jamun – served with a really light pistachio ice cream was a great way to round off the meal.

Before I visited I was told that the Duffield restaurant had been pleasing customers for some time and now I can understand just why. I’d highly recommend it.

As well as The Viceroy on Tamworth Street in Duffield (01332 841111), there is a branch at 9 Midland Road in Derby (01332 209991).