Keep Calm and Curry on – Bengal Brasserie Review

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A few weeks ago during another busy weekend, we went out for a wonderful meal at a newly opened curry house in Leeds, called Bengal Brasserie.
Below I will write about our experience here, and what the place has to offer. I guess you could call this a restaurant review.

Front Entrance of Restaurant – Picture was taken from Tripadvisor


There are three Bengal Brasseries around Leeds, one in Wetherby and one in York. We visited the fairly newly opened restaurant on Merrion Way in Leeds.
We have been here several times now and cannot fault the place. The food quality is amazing, the restaurant decor is beautiful and the staff are very friendly and personable.

You are greeted with a glass fronted entrance to the restaurant, which is situated at the back of the Merrion Centre, opposite the Wetherspoon pub ‘Stick and Twist’, and transported into a luxurious interior. Near the entrance are two pristine white sofas, which I am assuming would be for guests at the bar, or when waiting to be seated at a table.
The decor is a dark mahogany colour, with colour changing lights which add to the ambience of the place. Beautiful high-backed chairs are situated at every table and complement the overall decor, with more private type booths available around the outside edge of the restaurant. Lighting is low but not so low that you cannot see what you are eating, and everything feels like it has a sophisticated edge to it.

We decided to book a table prior to visiting the restaurant, however, there was no need to, as there were tables a plenty when we arrived. I don’t know why the place was not busier, as it is one of the best curry houses I have visited in a while.

We opted to have one of the pickle trays with popadoms to start whilst we studied the menu, with six pickles being provided.

There is a lot to choose from on the menu, with it offering a variety of dishes to suit your palate. It was noted that there were quite a few offerings for mild dishes, which one of our party was very happy about. 

 

Now I prefer a bit more spice and decided to have a look through the specialities on the menu. To start I opted for Chicken Chat Puree, with others in the group choosing; fish pakoras, onion bhajis and Murg-E-Dilruba (chicken breast wrapped in cheese). All were delicious and our group were all very pleased with the choices.

 

Pickle Tray & Popadoms

 

For mains, I chose Chicken Achar, which was chicken braised with Mango, chutney and pickles which gave it a bit of a sweet and sour taste. This is advertised as a speciality dish at Bengal Brasserie. It was delicious, and as I am fond of mango chutney, this was the best dish for me, as there were actual pieces of mango in the sauce. Others chose; Mach Multani which was fish in a lightly spiced sauce with fresh herbs and spices, Lamb Special Patil Curry, which was lamb cooked in a mixture of spices prepared from the chef’s own special recipe. From the mild options on the menu others chose; Chicken Tikka Masalla, and Makani Chicken, which was chicken cooked in a mild creamy and cheese sauce.

 

Again all parties were very happy with their choices, with the main dishes being accompanied by pilau rice, garlic naan and Peshwari naan.

 All dishes were served in beautiful modern type bowls and dishes, with not a metal Balti dish in sight. This all added to the luxurious feel of the restaurant.

 

Chicken Achar


Now it is safe to say we were pretty stuffed after the meal and could not fit anymore in! We were offered the dessert menu but respectively declined this. This was followed by the offer of a complimentary drink each, which we did accept, choosing the same round of drinks we had with the meal.

We decided to take our times with the complimentary drink as we were so full from the food when to our surprise, we were offered to try a dessert that was not on the menu which had just been made by the chef. I am not sure what the dessert was called, but it tasted like a ground rice type pudding with hints of nutmeg. We were informed that it was made from ground vermicelli. It was delicious and if we hadn’t have felt so full of the other food I am sure we would have finished the bowl! 
 

 
 
 

All in all, it was a great night with fantastic food, made all the better by the staff at Bengal Brasserie. They made us feel very welcome, and like VIPs to the restaurant (something they have stated they want all guests to feel like when visiting the restaurant). They were always happy to help, and offer advice on the various dishes available on the menu, without being constantly at your side during your meal. The food and staff definitely make the restaurant.

 We will definitely be visiting, again and again, to sample more from the delicious menu. It is one of Leeds’ hidden little gems, and a fab place for a decent curry…and if more people knew about the place then I am sure their business would continue to boom.

I cannot recommend this place enough!

 Let me know if you have tried this restaurant and your thoughts on it.

 Thanks for reading,

 

 

0 thoughts on “Keep Calm and Curry on – Bengal Brasserie Review”

  2. Thank you for your lovely comment!
    Just getting started in the blogging world…lets see how it goes!

    Followed back on GFC and instagram…not on bloglovin yet

    Aimsy xoxo

    Reply

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