Review of Southampton Indian restaurant The Ancient Viceroy

Located in Portswood Road, Southampton – Viceroy has a varied menu of both traditional and modern Indian dishes.

When you walk through the door, you’re immediately hit by the aroma of burning incense before being greeted by welcoming staff as the pressures of a hectic day are forgotten and you sit down for a mouth-watering meal.

While pondering over the menu it’s hard not to be impressed by the restaurant’s interior as the warm colour palette of purple, green and blue lights up the room while each table is neatly laid out with decorative lavender in the centre.

Viceroy’s vast menu includes traditional, tandoori and biryani dishes as there’s also an array of side dishes that you’re able to select should you want more than a stack of poppadoms.

There’s also vegetable, vegan and gluten-free options for those that way inclined. I went for my tried and tested chicken tikka, with pilau rice and peshwari naan bread – not before having sampled the delicious lamb samosas.

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Everything is freshly cooked upon order as you’re able to soak in the ambience and order a drink from the bar while you wait.

You won’t have too long to wait before your meal is wheeled to your table on a two-tiered tray through the main walkway of the restaurant, to the envy of pedestrians walking past the front of the establishment.

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If you order a starter and a main course, you have the option of whether you’d like them to come at the same time or at short intervals.

Though I might not be Southampton’s answer to Jay Rayner, Viceroy’s cuisine is without doubt one of the best Indian restaurants I’ve eaten in the city.

The chicken tikka sizzled with bursting flavour – served in a dish with onion that’s been marinated in tandoori sauce and yoghurt before being cooked in a special clay oven.

The pilau rice was a perfect compliment to the chicken tikka as it blended spice with a soft coconut texture.

Should you dine at The Ancient Viceroy, just go careful on the naan bread as one alone is enough to feed a party of four.

I hope I’m forgiven for not finishing mine, as delicious as it was – when you’ve already had two courses you realise your eyes are bigger than your stomach. Viceroy might just serve the biggest naans around!  

If you’re looking for a new Indian to try, I can’t recommend The Ancient Viceroy enough, and fear not if you’re not in the mood for eating out, they also deliver with a friendly team of drivers – offering a 10 per cent discount code when you order online.

The Ancient Viceroy (Image: Newsquest)