Bangla Lounge, Birstall, West Yorks

Occasion:                      Reunion

Party Size:                    4

Overall Rating:              ***** Excellent

Date Visited:                 September 2012
Price Per Person:           £14 =  2 Courses + Sides + Soft drinks + tip per person

The Bangla Lounge is located on Low Lane in Birstall, Bradford. Not far from the Junction 27 retail park this small local Indian restaurant can easily be found on the main road. They don’t have private parking but you will find street parking directly outside and along the side streets. There is also a pay and display car park nearby.

The Bangla Lounge came highly recommended by a friend and was supported by 5 star reviews on Trip Advisor so I was looking forward to putting this venue to the test with 3 friends who love curry.

The restaurant itself is small and modern but as I understand this location is only temporary until they move a couple of doors down, to a bigger space.

The staff were very welcoming, taking the time to talk to us on where we came from, if we had been before etc. The tables were well presented and had a touch of class with crisp table cloths and coordinating napkins.

Bangla Lounge is a BYO so you cannot purchase alcohol however they do serve a good selection of soft drinks and there is a Co-Op nearby.

The menu was very reasonable. Starters ranged from £1.95 to £3.50. The main dishes were priced from £5.50 to £7.95 and side dishes were very cheap with Chapattis at 50p and Rice and Naan priced at £1.95. The menu included all the usual traditional Indian courses from Tandoori and Bhuna to the Balti. For those who like something different they had contemporary dishes such as Venison and Duck. The chef will also make any of your favourite dishes that are not on the menu, just ask the waiter.

As a taster we ordered some Poppadoms for the table which were fresh and came with a selection of dips including– lime pickle, mango chutney and mint yoghurt. The starters were well presented and I was really surprised to find that they were not oily as you can sometimes find. I had the Chicken Chat to start and this was a really big starter, in fact all the starters were more than ample.

For my main course I went for a Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi but as I like it spicy I opted to have this cooked hot like a Madras. This dish came out and again I was pleasantly surprised that it was not swimming ghee, the chicken cubes were big and the depth of the sauce was great. I asked for it hot and it was definitely spot on.

                    

The steamed rice again was a good portion and cooked perfectly and the Chapatti was great. A friend had the Fish Fry followed by a Vindaloo that was really hot which left him pleased. Other dishes ordered included Samosas, Chicken Shashlik and a Balti.

All of us were really impressed with the quality, the presentation and service, the only criticism we could find was that the Shaslik didn’t come with its own sauce, but in fairness this dish tends to be served differently from restaurant to restaurant. The total bill for our party for Poppadoms, Starters, Mains, and Sides plus soft drinks and a tip came in at a very reasonable £14 ppn (Included 10% discount for booking online).

This would suit anyone who is local to the area, or those that are looking to go somewhere out of town. For a good curry at a fraction of the price you would pay for dining in Leeds it is definitely worth trying. The quality was superb, the portions were good and well presented. The staff were welcoming and the venue clean and contemporary. Highly recommend - I still can’t get over how much of a bargain this was!

http://www.banglaloungebirstall.co.uk/