A new Indian restaurant is a great excuse to go for a curry
WE went along to check out a new curry house in Burton as it opened for its first weekend to customers.
We sent our spy to the Bengal Village in New Street.
The restaurant has taken over the former Mezbaan Indian restaurant and joins the busy eatery scene in Burton.
Here’s what our reporter had to say when he sampled some of the dishes on the menu:
IPARKED up at the nearby Middleway car park and walked the few minutes to the Bengal Village. I was shown to my table in the middle of the restaurant, giving me a good view of the new dining space.
I was kindly served by Sara Genis, who took my drink order, a Cobra Zero (driving). The staff in the restaurant were very friendly and service was prompt. I started with the standard poppadoms and dips.
It was a standard curry house chutney selection. I really enjoyed the mango chutney and the yoghurt dip, both of which were homemade. I don’t like lime pickle, sadly, so can’t tell you what this one tasted like.
Whilst I was waiting for my curry, I had a good look round the newly decorated restaurant. There are a lot of tasteful plastic flowers on the walls and on the tables and wrapped around the central pillars. One wall near the kitchen door was completely covered with flowers.
“My first dish was the garlic chili chicken. This was down on the menu as being one of the ‘house specialities’ and was a good balance of heat and sweetness with a nice fiery aftertaste.
The chicken was slightly chewy wy but was seasoned well and the other er vegetables in the dish were very tennder and tasted great. Overall a pleassant dish.
Next up was the mixed vegetable bhajee. This was a bowl full of nice veg, including cabbage, carrots and peas, that had been tossed in a fiery sauce. This sauce was seasoned perfectly and the veg g was cooked to a good crunchy texxture.
This also gave me a good chance ce to start tearing into the garlic naan n bread, which was perfectly cooked d with just the right level of doughyness. The garlic butter was generously slathered on top and was seasoned very nicely, and was the perfect vehicle for mopping up any of the curry sauce.
The pilau rice I ordered was also cooked very well with a balanced herby flavour that complimented all the curry sauces. Although I did accidentally swallow a whole cardamom pod – still, it wouldn’t taste the same without those.
I tried the British curry house favourite fav of chicken balti. Alongside the th garlic chili chicken, this was the stand-out sta dish for me. It was very appetizing ap with a good balance of spices and was perfect for those looking for a milder dish with a sweet s aftertaste.
The next dish to sample was the lamb la rogan josh. This is always a great gr test of a curry house as lamb is notoriously no tricky to get just right. This Th was good dish, but much milder than th the balti and for me, I would have ha preferred a bit more spice. The sauce itself was very tasty though.
The meal as a whole was very pleasant with a wide range of good tastes and things to satisfy any curry house fan.
I had a chat with the owner Oli Rahman about the first few days of opening, who said he had had good feedback from customers.
The 27-year-old said: “When we started setting it up around four months ago we decided we wanted to make the place feel like you’re at home. It is a nice relaxed environment. Most of the dishes come from the South Indian and Bengal region.
“It has been really busy this week and a lot of people are saying they will re-book.
“We have an excellent team of about eight staff members but we may be looking to bring more on.
“The chef’s team and I are currently looking to refresh the menu every two-three months with new dishes we like. I am really happy with how it has all turned out.”