Morningside institution Curryville has put itself firmly on the culinary map

A sense of humour runs through the menu at this long-running Brisbane Indian food favourite Curryville, in Brisbane’s east.

THERE’S nothing about sitting at a pavement table on a major arterial road in a heatwave being served goat curry in what looks like a miniature nuclear reactor that screams epic dining experience.

But hey, life is full of surprises. As the sun finally retreats towards the horizon amid a violently red and purple bruised sky I tentatively tweak the valve on an apparent single-serve pressure cooker before me. The only instruction I’ve been given is to watch out, it’s hot.

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The valve emits an alarming jet of steam that has me signalling a waiter for assistance. He gradually lets the steam out bit by bit and unclamps the handles of the metal cooking vessel to reveal a hefty serving of diced goat leg, pulverised by heat and pressure into tender cubes in an intense and full-on thick, red sauce topped with a slick of oil. It’s terrific.

Curryville has been around for 15 years, quietly building a reputation for being more than your average suburban Indian. Picture: Mark Cranitch

We are at Curryville, in Morningside in Brisbane’s east, on Wynnum Road, which has been around for 15 years, quietly building a reputation for being more than your average suburban Indian. While it’s decor is not unpleasant – outside there’s terracotta paving, bare tables, each topped with a container full of knives and forks and a stainless steel plates and tumblers _ this casual feel combined with the view past a council bin across the multi-lane road to a Cellarbrations bottle shop suggests food rather than interior decoration is the likely focus. Inside, the dining room is neat and tidy with wooden floors, fans, dangling light fittings, chairs with cushions, walls lined with Indian prints and a fridge full of cold water and bottles of milk.

Curryville’s Goat karahi. Picture: Mark Cranitch

Service is friendly enough but no-frills, with the menu alerting diners to “Please raise your hand or a simple wave when you’re ready to order and we’ll be right over.” Those wanting alcohol can BYO or pop over the road, (there’s no corkage), then to pay, diners head inside to a servery decorated with posters such as one denoting the Scoville scale for chilli.

In contrast, the menu has quite a bit of chat and comment. The vegetable bhajis ($14) come with the note “as of 20/11/19 we drizzle it with sauce to make it more exciting”.

Curryville’s vegetable bhajis. Picture: Mark Cranitch

The sauce is indeed perky spicy accompaniment to the lightly battered fresh clusters of fried red onion and spinach. Similarly, of the samosas ($8 for two) and available with either a chicken or a veg, we’re told, “We make our own by hand. Yes it is headache and it is far easier to buy frozen samosas from the subcontinent made three years ago. But we always choose the hard way, sometimes I wonder why.” The pastry is light and the vegetable filling is traditionally potato centric and come with a small saucer of the same sauce that decorates the bhajis.

Curryville, at 6/629 Wynnum Rd, is a Morningside institution. Picture: Mark Cranitch

The rest of the menu covers expectations with the likes of chicken tikka masala (the chef notes he has tried 72 spice variations to get to the current recipe), lamb and beef rogan josh and chicken korma but does land some surprises. As well as the goat curry ($25.50), there are goat’s brains fried in red onion, a Karachi street food-inspired eggplant curry and chicken hai hai, which is billed as Australia’s hottest curry.

Our other main, chicken karahi ($24.75), is also a standout of multi-layered flavours, best mopped up with chunks of naan, garlic or spinach and cheese ($5.65) are among the line-up, which are puffy and appealing.

This is above-average Indian food. In a long line of “villes” – Townsville, Nashville, Noosaville – Curryville has put itself on the map.

CURRYVILLE

Food: 3.5/5

Ambience: 3/5

Service: 2.5/5

Value: 4/5

Overall 3.5/5

Must try: goat curry

Address: 6/629 Wynnum Road

Morningside

Ph 0421 150 388

www.curryville.com.au

Open seven days 5-9pm