I have driven past Laxmi many times and thought, must give that a go, it looks good. So a few weeks ago we headed over there one Friday evening and tried their Early Bird menu. Overall the restaurant gives a good impression, the interior is modern, the staff welcoming and the tables well laid out so you’re not on top of your neighbours. We tried the Pakora Selection and the Machi (haddock) Pakora to start followed by a Chicken Mirchi and a Keema Mutter with plain naan and mushroom rice. While my selection of pakoras were good, the Machi pakora was overcooked and so very dry and the haddock was…
Read the full storyI had the very good fortune to visit Prashad on the outskirts of Bradford this New Year’s Eve and what a fantastic place it is. Although modest from the outside it as a Michelin Bib Gourmand, two AA stars and serves a delicious Gujarati vegetarian menu. We didn’t have a huge amount of time so couldn’t go for the tasting menu (although I am planning to go back to try it) so we both opted for a Thali. The nice thing was that although we ordered the same one, they brought a different selection on each plate so we could try plenty of their dishes. I know at this point…
Read the full storyUndoubtedly one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at, Swadish in Glasgow’s Merchant City is an absolute joy. Its bright modern interior matches a fantastic menu and the staff were exactly as attentive as you would wish. Not too much, and not too little, attention. It was summer time when we visited and this was my first trip to Glasgow but it wasn’t an accidental visit to Swadish, it was on our plan for our trip and I’m so glad we made the effort. I could have happily tried everything on the menu but on this occasion we had crispy kekda (a crab dish), tandoori salmon, a lamb…
Read the full storyThis is the second time I have eaten at the Blue Tiffin restaurant in Oldham and both times I have enjoyed it! A work colleague recommended the restaurant to me as they visit almost weekly with their family. When we (my friend and I) arrived I was pleasantly surprised by the decor, definitely a step up from your average Indian restaurant. It’s a large space but with the lighting and decoration it still feels intimate. They have all the classics you’d expect to see: Chicken Tikka Masala, Balti, Rogan Josh etc but also a good selection of house specials that were definitely not your everyday indian dishes. We ordered a…
Read the full storyIt’s actually in Netherthong before anyone complains, but anyway here’s what our editor thought when he visited recently… Sweet Chillies is a great little restaurant that shares it’s home with the local pub (The Clothier Arms) in the picturesque village of Netherthong above Holmfirth. There’s nothing fancy about it and it is very much in the tradition of older style Indian / Bangladeshi restaurants that we all know and have locally with a fairly familiar menu. So we are very much in the arena of comfort food, rather than street food or any other of the more recent trends we’ve seen sweep the country. And having sat there on a…
Read the full storyWho opens a restaurant in a pandemic? Well one correct answer is the Delhi House Cafe now open and accepting bookings in the Corn Exchange in Manchester. I’ve been under a 6 week lockdown for various medical reasons so had to delay my first visit but finally, last Sunday, my wife and I made our first visit to the Lamba family’s new venture. Here’s what I thought: The Venue It is a bright, modern, casual dining restaurant in keeping with many of the other operators in the Corn Exchange if you have been there. Contemporary décor, a relaxed atmosphere and suitable for more or less any diner looking for a…
Read the full storyIf you have £10 and are looking for a great meal and are fortunate enough to live within striking distance of Bury Market, head over to Naunit’s and pick up one of their £10 meals. They also do a £20 deal for a larger family. We tried one this weekend and it was absolutely delicious. It’s all vegetarian and some of the dishes will be familiar and some not. Starting with a couple of poppadoms with a nice salsa, mint dip and very sweet mango chutney (pretty much a mango smoothie) all of these will be well known to you. Next came the mixed starters which included onion bhajis, patra…
Read the full storyShabas Balti Restaurant in Birmingham‘s Balti triangle is opening this weekend and here’s the steps they’ve take to make sure their clients are safe when they visit.
Read the full storyIt’s always great when you discover a new source of street food and we were lucky enough to come across Naunit’s Gujarati Street Eats this weekend on a visit to Bury Market. Specialising in a range of traditional vegetarian Gujarati snack foods I tried their Channa Chaat special which came served on top of a crushed samosa, all for the very reasonable price of £3.50. It was bloody lovely I have to say and the perfect lunchtime meal. Mildly spicy and with a hint of Tamarind this is a different recipe to the Channa Chaat I have made at home but it was much better so I am going to…
Read the full storyThe competition for a good Sunday lunch is one of the fiercest in the casual dining sector and a number of non-traditional venues have joined the fight for your Sunday spend. We headed over to Zouk Manchester to see if the good reports we had heard were justified. Zouk is…
Read the full story