Curry Club UK
Curry Club Review #09 – Goa Spice, Mexborough. A quiet treasure, too quiet of a treasure.
Published on 16 March, 2026
There are curry houses that disappoint you, curry houses that surprise you, and curry houses that leave you scratching your head because everything was good — genuinely good — but somehow the night still felt like it was missing a final spark.
Goa Spice in Mexborough falls firmly into that last category.
From the outside, Goa Spice makes a proper first impression. The building looks smart, the entrance has character, and the restaurant carries itself with confidence before you have even stepped through the door. It has that slightly grand, old-building presence that makes you think, “Right, this could be a good one.”
Inside, that impression carried on. The décor was clean, bold, and stylish, with the black-and-gold Goa branding giving the place a polished, premium feel. It was tidy, spacious, well-presented, and had clearly had care put into the look of the place. This was not a tired curry house relying on old wallpaper and nostalgia. Goa Spice looked the part.
And then came the food.
The starters arrived looking fresh and well presented. The shik kebab had a good colour and texture, served with salad, cucumber, tomato, and lime. It was simple, but done properly. Nothing looked lazy or thrown together.
The mains were even better. The curry had a rich, deep colour, the rice looked well cooked, and the naan was exactly what you want to see: blistered, soft-looking, generous, and clearly fresh. There was a proper feast feeling to the table once the food landed. The curries looked hearty, the portions looked strong, and the whole meal gave the impression that the kitchen knew what it was doing.
The drinks were good too. This was not one of those nights where the food had to carry everything. Across the board, Goa Spice performed strongly. Food, drinks, service, setting, presentation — there was very little to actually complain about.
The service deserves credit as well. The staff were courteous, attentive, and efficient without being overbearing. There was no sense of being ignored, no delays that spoiled the rhythm of the evening, and no awkwardness in how the meal was handled. It was a properly run restaurant.
So what was wrong?
Honestly, not much.
But there was something.
The restaurant was silent. Not quiet. Silent.
Apart from Curry Club and one drunken but silent man sat alone at the bar, the place felt empty. It had the strange atmosphere of somewhere that should have been buzzing, but simply wasn’t. The room, the food, the service, the décor — all of it deserved more life around it. On another night, Goa Spice might feel completely different. It might be lively, warm, and full of energy. But on this particular visit, it had an almost lonely feeling to it.
That is the difficult part of reviewing it. You cannot really score a restaurant down for being quiet. Many people would actually prefer that. Some diners would see a silent, peaceful restaurant as a blessing. But for a Curry Club night, where atmosphere matters even when it is not officially scored, it was impossible not to notice.
It felt like we could have been the only people on the planet that night and we would not have known any different.
And yet, the scores tell the truth: Goa Spice was very, very good.
Individual Scores
| Reviewer | Menu Choice | Service | Taste | Drinks | Value for Money | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack | 9 | 8.5 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.66 |
| Louis | 8 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 8 | 8.5 | 7.94 |
| Clay | 8 | 6.5 | 7 | 7.5 | 8 | 7.40 |
| Mini | 7.3 | 7.5 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7.96 |
| Luke | 7.9 | 6.9 | 8.3 | 7 | 8 | 7.62 |
| Oliver | 9 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7.80 |
| Damon | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7.80 |
| Hamish | 7.7 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 8 | 7.7 | 7.50 |
Category Averages
| Category | Average Score |
|---|---|
| Menu Choice | 8.11 |
| Service | 7.51 |
| Taste | 7.71 |
| Drinks | 7.88 |
| Value for Money | 7.96 |
Total Combined Score
7.84 / 10
Final Verdict
Goa Spice is a strong curry house. There is no getting around that.
The food was great, the service was great, the drinks were good, the value was strong, and the restaurant itself looked fantastic. It scored well across every category and did not produce a single poor individual average. That says a lot.
But this was also one of those visits where the numbers do not quite capture the whole experience. Technically, Goa Spice did almost everything right. Emotionally, the night felt a little hollow. The silence was impossible to ignore. Not bad. Not offensive. Just strange.
Still, Curry Club judges what is in front of us, and what was in front of us was a very good curry house serving very good food in a very good setting.
Goa Spice deserves respect. On a busier night, with a bit more life in the room, this place could easily feel like something special.
Curry Club Rating: 7.84 / 10
