Wednesday 17th July 2013
It was the hottest day of the year so far as we made the journey to Belash Tandoori in Penge. First impressions were that this a proper old-school place.
The front looks pretty worn and shows the restaurant’s phone number as starting with ‘0181’, a prefix that hasn’t been valid since the late ‘90’s.
Inside, its bright and colourful décor is modern enough but it still has the feeling of a real old fashioned curry house, which is no bad thing. Unfortunately the ambience wasn’t helped by the restaurant being completely empty. On such a hot day, this was possibly to be expected though.
Popadam’s came with the basic carousel of mango chutney, onion salad, lime pickle and yoghurt. Nothing wrong here but nothing especially interesting either.
We were soon brought some rather cheap looking cardboard menu’s, complete with blobs of sticky mango chutney. As I said, this is a down-to-earth sort of place. The dishes on offer were curry house standards as you would expect but with some unusually named variations. I wondered if dishes were dedicated to some of Belash’s regulars as we had, ‘Graham Shahi Chicken’, ‘Roy Agne Karahi’ and ‘Sid Special Lamb’, amongst the choices.
For starters, I went for spring lamb chops. They had a nice smokeyness to them but were perhaps a little dry I thought. One curry clubber told me that the Duck Tikka was very moist and tender though and described it as ‘excellent’.
For main course, I went for Naga Special Jalfrazi; lamb tikka cooked with lots of onions, peppers and hot chilli. This was very satisfying. It was well spiced with a good chilli kick and I would definitely recommend it. Less satisfying was the Chicken Tikka Ceylon. It seemed to lack some substance, perhaps some onion, rather than just cubes of chicken with sauce and could’ve done with more spice. It was still pleasant enough though.
All side dishes seemed to go down well. I ordered a paratha which was good although very filling. Onion bhaji’s were enjoyable. Not too crispy or greasy.
This place won’t be winning any Michelin stars but if you’re in the mood for a good old fashioned ruby, it won’t disappoint.
MENU
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BELASH TANDOORI
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MAIN:
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Naga Special Jalfrazi was a winner. The Belash Special came with rice and naan and was a really nice dish.
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15/20
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STARTERS/
SIDES: |
Duck Tikka was excellent. Pork chops were decent. Brinjal Bhaji (Aubergine) could have been softer.
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7/10
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VARIETY:
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Fairly good variety of dishes on the menu but it was a shame that most of the more interesting chicken special dishes were mild ones or were mixed with lamb. Could have done with a garlic chilli chicken dish or something similar!
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8/10
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HEAT:
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All the dishes that promised spice delivered.
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4/5
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DRINKS:
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Bottled Cobra and Kingfisher
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3/5
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VENUE
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ATMOS:
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Clearly Belash’s weakest area. We were the only ones in the restaurant for most of the meal and, while the bright decor was okay, I could've done without the Tragic FM background music! In all fairness though, it was a very hot day, which could explain how quiet it was.
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11/20
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SERVICE:
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Not the most attentive considering there was no-one else there but they didn't seem to make any mistakes
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7/10
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VALUE:
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Fairly average value for money, all things considered - £27 per head including service charge and no banquet menu in sight.
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8/10
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LOCATION:
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Good location with plenty of transport links and a pub just opposite.
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5/5
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BONUS:
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No complimentary drinks were offered.
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0/5
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FINAL SCORE
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68%
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Booking Name: Ruud Van Beast
Pubs: The Moon & Stars Weatherspoons over the road
Highlight: The unapologetically old-school curry house style - & dishes named Graham, Roy & Sid
Lowlight: The lack of other diners but we’ll make allowances!
Verdict: Not what you call sophisticated but a good after the pub curry house.
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