📍 Overview
Our fourth Curry Club outing took us to Shimla, located at 10a Church Street, Armthorpe, Doncaster, DN3 3AE — a restaurant with an excellent reputation, multiple awards, and an impressive list of glowing reviews. In theory, this should have been one of the highlights of our journey so far.
Unfortunately… that wasn’t the case.
While Shimla is widely recognised for quality and is clearly capable of fantastic service, our visit simply didn’t reflect that reputation. Whether it was an off night, a staff shortage, or just one of those rare occasions where nothing clicks, the experience left us disappointed — and in one case, so deflated that Jack left the building and returned with a crate of 22 beers to salvage the mood.
It wasn’t the night we hoped for, especially knowing what Shimla is usually capable of.
Our final average score reflects this: 4.92/10.
It’s not a score we wanted to give, but it’s the score that our experience justified.
🍽 Individual Scores
Here’s how each member of the Curry Club rated Shimla:
Jack’s Ratings
- Menu Choice: 6.8
- Service: 4.1
- Taste: 4.9
- Drinks: 5
- Value for Money: 5.6
➡️ Average: 5.28/10
Louis’ Ratings
- Menu Choice: 7.5
- Service: 3
- Taste: 4
- Drinks: 5
- Value for Money: 4.4
➡️ Average: 4.78/10
Luke’s Ratings
- Menu Choice: 7
- Service: 3.3
- Taste: 6.8
- Drinks: 3
- Value for Money: 4.7
➡️ Average: 4.96/10
Oliver’s Ratings
- Menu Choice: 8
- Service: 2
- Taste: 5
- Drinks: 6
- Value for Money: 4
➡️ Average: 5.0/10
Damon’s Ratings
- Menu Choice: 6.5
- Service: 4
- Taste: 4
- Drinks: 0
- Value for Money: 7
➡️ Average: 4.3/10
(0 for drinks — never a good sign.)
Hamish’s Ratings
- Menu Choice: 6.3
- Service: 3
- Taste: 5
- Drinks: 6
- Value for Money: 5.6
➡️ Average: 5.18/10
📊 Final Curry Club Score: 4.92/10
While this visit fell well below the standard we expected from a renowned place like Shimla, we want to be absolutely clear:
We believe this was simply a bad night, not a bad restaurant.
The reputation, awards, and customer praise speak for themselves — our experience seems to be the exception, not the rule. And for that reason, Shimla will likely get a revisit from us in the future. Every restaurant deserves more than one chance, especially when the rest of the world rates it highly.
This review reflects our visit — one night, one experience, one moment in time.
🔗 Want to check Shimla out for yourself?
Visit their official site: https://shimladoncaster.co.uk/
