Many home cooks dream of opening their own restaurant. For Romy Gill, that dream has taken her from her native West Bengal in India to the quiet market town of Thornbury.
Gill launched her own line of sauces, spice mixes, lemon pickle and mango chutney before opening her first restaurant last month in a Grade II listed seventeenth-century building you can’t miss thanks to a bright pink paint job.
2 and 2a Castle Street had been empty for more than five years, most recently being a tax advice business and job recruitment office, before the arrival of Romy’s Kitchen.
It looks as if two old houses have been knocked into one, with low doorframes, steps leading nowhere, and a corridor which presumably used to be an alleyway between the two houses and still has windows on both sides, through one can be glimpsed the kitchen.
Romy’s Kitchen is far removed from a typical Indian restaurant. This is fresh, healthy food – with our vegetarian thali (£12.50) served by Gill herself in her chef whites, presenting us vegetables, dal, paneer, raita, chutney and pickle.
From the snack and lunch menu, we also chose lamb samosas (£7), cooked with onion and ginger; and delicate pakoras (£5) served with tamarind and coriander dips.
The presentation was beautiful, but although it had delicious touches, the food didn’t quite match either the plating or its historic surroundings.
The expected bursts of spices never materialised in what was nevertheless a perfectly enjoyable meal.
Romy’s Kitchen, 2 Castle Street, Thornbury, BS35 1HB. 01454 416728.
