Balti House
June 2012
With spacious and relaxed surroundings (seats over 300), the Balti House is renowned for its traditional Punjabi cuisine. I have been on several occasions and the level of service and quality of food are consistently good. Having tried various dishes, I always seem to return to the following:
Appetizer: Chicken Tikka Puri (tender pieces of grilled chicken cooked with herbs & spices and served on a puri with salad).
Main: Balti Lamb Bhuna (a combination of spices fried together and cooked with capsicum, onions & tomatoes) served with Chapatis.
Coffee
I always enjoy the selection of dips that are served whilst you peruse the menu. These include a sweet mango dip, a sweet chilli dip, a yogurt and mint dip, and finely chopped onions and tomatoes served with poppadoms. This is also the time to ask for the bottled tap water. As one would expect, there is no charge for this and, should you prefer the mineral variety, they will provide it at the listed price. Although not a licensed restaurant, they do allow you to bring your own alcoholic beverages. If it happens to come in a corked bottle, be sure and bring your own cork screw as I believe there is a corking charge.
I have never had cause to complain about the service. It’s always very friendly and efficient. I quite like the dimmed lighting too as it sets a relaxing mood. For those wishing to spend a romantic evening, there is a downside, the TV screen on the back wall upon which there always seems to be a sporting event. Although the volume is turned down and, for most part, drowned out by the uneven tones of authentic Indian music, it can be a little distracting depending on where you are seated.
In my opinion, the food is excellent, especially the appetizer. That Chicken Tikka Puri really is something else; you must try it if you haven’t already. As for the main course, you can request for it to be served on a plate but I prefer it to be served in the cast iron pot. Maybe I’m labeling myself as one of the old school, but I don’t believe you’ve had a real curry until you’ve walked out of a curry house with minor scarring to your forearm tissue having been repeatedly caught out by those blisteringly hot cast iron handles.
All in all, a brilliant experience. Would I recommend it? Unquestionably, Yes.
Rating (out of 10): 9
Footnote: I did, in fact, go back for a second bite of the curry on Friday, 15th of June, and had the Special Bhuna, which contains chicken, lamb, prawn and king prawn. In all honesty, I wasn't immediately enamoured with the mix being as I thought that the chicken had an unusual taste, having been in some way affected by the prawns. But it didn't last beyond the first couple of mouthfuls and, in the end, I cleared every last bit. Yes, I will be ordering it again as it offered a welcome change to just lamb.
One last observation... as you football fans out there may have recognised the date of my return, I can confirm that the England v Sweden game in the 2012 Euro's was, indeed, being shown on the TV screen.
Review by Tom
Appetizer: Chicken Tikka Puri (tender pieces of grilled chicken cooked with herbs & spices and served on a puri with salad).
Main: Balti Lamb Bhuna (a combination of spices fried together and cooked with capsicum, onions & tomatoes) served with Chapatis.
Coffee
I always enjoy the selection of dips that are served whilst you peruse the menu. These include a sweet mango dip, a sweet chilli dip, a yogurt and mint dip, and finely chopped onions and tomatoes served with poppadoms. This is also the time to ask for the bottled tap water. As one would expect, there is no charge for this and, should you prefer the mineral variety, they will provide it at the listed price. Although not a licensed restaurant, they do allow you to bring your own alcoholic beverages. If it happens to come in a corked bottle, be sure and bring your own cork screw as I believe there is a corking charge.
I have never had cause to complain about the service. It’s always very friendly and efficient. I quite like the dimmed lighting too as it sets a relaxing mood. For those wishing to spend a romantic evening, there is a downside, the TV screen on the back wall upon which there always seems to be a sporting event. Although the volume is turned down and, for most part, drowned out by the uneven tones of authentic Indian music, it can be a little distracting depending on where you are seated.
In my opinion, the food is excellent, especially the appetizer. That Chicken Tikka Puri really is something else; you must try it if you haven’t already. As for the main course, you can request for it to be served on a plate but I prefer it to be served in the cast iron pot. Maybe I’m labeling myself as one of the old school, but I don’t believe you’ve had a real curry until you’ve walked out of a curry house with minor scarring to your forearm tissue having been repeatedly caught out by those blisteringly hot cast iron handles.
All in all, a brilliant experience. Would I recommend it? Unquestionably, Yes.
Rating (out of 10): 9
Footnote: I did, in fact, go back for a second bite of the curry on Friday, 15th of June, and had the Special Bhuna, which contains chicken, lamb, prawn and king prawn. In all honesty, I wasn't immediately enamoured with the mix being as I thought that the chicken had an unusual taste, having been in some way affected by the prawns. But it didn't last beyond the first couple of mouthfuls and, in the end, I cleared every last bit. Yes, I will be ordering it again as it offered a welcome change to just lamb.
One last observation... as you football fans out there may have recognised the date of my return, I can confirm that the England v Sweden game in the 2012 Euro's was, indeed, being shown on the TV screen.
Review by Tom
