EASTERN EYE
170 Firth Park Road, Firth Park, Sheffield, S5 6WQ
Telephone: 01142 610 078
"Curry - Our only addiction!"
Date of Review: 19/07/2008
My friend and I had enjoyed a couple of pints of real ale in The Fat Cat and needed a curry to finish the afternoon off.
Sheffield has a shortage of lunch time curry houses, in fact they are a rarity. Most Indian restaurants in Sheffield are aimed at the couples/foursomes or lads/lasses night out clientelle. They are full of pomp and pretentiousness and the currys are often what I would consider to be sub-standard or anglicised.
However, we know exactly where you can get a good quality curry at this time of day in Sheffield and that is in Firth Park (S5).
Eastern Eye is one of a number of curry bars located at the Northern General Hospital end of Firth Park Road. It is certainly unpretentious and also unlicensed and it can not really be described as a restaurant, more a take away/curry bar. The establishment has tables to seat 32 people and whilst we were there we noted that there were diners on 2 other tables. Take-away business was quite brisk.
We ordered 2 chicken methi's, a plain rice which we shared, 2 portions of seekh kebabs on a roti and an extra roti each. The meal came with a generous plate of salad and a dish of yogurt sauce.
As I was ordering the meal, the owner intervened and recomended the chicken curry or the chicken dansak to us. I was immediately on my guard as I am pretty good at making instantaneous decisions about people and their motives. My friend fell for the sales pitch and was going to go with the owners suggestions. I had to explain to my friend that the owner already had those dishes made up in his chilled display cabinet and that he wanted the easy option for himself.
First impressions weren't too good.
Entertainment whilst the meal was being prepared came via observing one of the local drug dealers doing his business in the public phone box outside. I wonder if people thought that we were CID?
After we had negotiated this initial hurdle we were pleased to see that the currys were made from scratch in the open kitchen; no common pot or bought in ready made sauces were used here!
The food when it came was of good quality, though not quite as good as that served at Hot & Spicy, which is located only a couple of doors away.
If you have been to The Kashmir Curry Centre, The Mangla, The Gulshan, Kebabish, Akbars, Pakeeza or Hakeems which are all or were located on The Wicker / Spital Hill then you ought to consider giving Eastern Eyes or Hot & Spicy a visit. You've experienced the non-pretentious, utilitarean restaurants so these won't be too big a surprise for you.
If you have visited one of the above restaurants and did not like it, then the two restaurants on Firth Park Road aren't going to be to your liking.
I can not recommend this establishment as a full blown restaurant dining experience in the traditional sense. However, for functionality and quality of the food it is well worth a visit. If you need a lunch time curry then Firth Park Road has to be the place to go. If you are a curryholic then it is worth a visit just to see how good a real ethnic curry can be.
Chicken Methi £4.30, 1 Seekh Kebab on Tandoori Roti £1, Plain Rice £1.35, Roti £0.60, Salad & Yogurt Sauce free.
The salad is priced at a £1 and the yogurt sauce at 50p on the menu.
The rating grade is awarded for the quality of the food not on the mock palatialness of the establishment. If you like to be fawned and pampered, then this is a million miles away from your comfort zone!
Awarded September 2015