Flora Indian Restaurant and Cafe

238 Flinders St

Melbourne, 3000

EDIT: Read about my most recent visit HERE

The best thing about combo meals at Indian restaurants is that it allows you to try out several different kinds of curries, even if your stomach is as small as mine. And the best thing about Flora is that it was still open on Labour Day, when everything else seemed to be closed. And it doesn’t hurt that the restaurant is also clean and spacious.

Eggplant Curry

We weren’t very hungry today, so we decided that a large combo 1 (rice with 2 non veg, one veg, daal and pappadam, $11.50) between the two of us would be enough. Little did we know that a large combo is exactly what it promised to be – LARGE.  The size of each of the curries weren’t huge, but between 3 smaller serves of curry, some daal, a pappadam, and a mountain of rice, there was more than enough for both of us.  But how was the food? The eggplant curry shown above is a little sad looking, but it was actually probably the best curry on the plate. It was rich and creamy with coconut milk, and even though there was barely any eggplant at all, it was quite nice when mixed in with the rice. 

Beef Korma

We were told that the beef korma was of medium spiciness, and even though I like my curries burning hot, I had to settle for this because Chris wouldn’t eat anything spicier. So I was doubly disappointed when I found that I couldn’t even taste the chilli at all, and on top of that the flavours were fairly subdued and bland.

Lamb Rogan Josh

I was hoping that the lamb rogan josh would be a bit better, but unfortunately it tasted almost exactly the same as the beef korma – somewhat bland, and no spiciness at all. And like the beef korma, the meat wasn’t exactly tender.

Unsurprisingly, the daal and pappadam were also nothing out of this world, on the blander side, and really quite average. The portion is good for what you pay for, but if you want a cheap Indian meal, you’re better off going to Crossways.

Rating: 11/20 – quantity over quality