Food review: Eurasia Tandoori, Bridgnorth – 4.5/5

The words of my wife after finishing her meal at the Eurasia Tandoori in Bridgnorth, which summed up our wonderful evening at the award-winning restaurant.

We’d the rumours. We’d looked up the reviews to check what we’d heard was correct. But of course, the proof is in the eating – or curry in this instance – and we certainly didn’t leave disappointed.

It was a triple celebration as it happens; my mother-in-law Lorraine’s birthday, her husband Don had just landed a new job, and my wife and I were also celebrating our eighth wedding anniversary.

So it’s fair to say we were all in good spirits heading to the restaurant, in West Castle Street, following a quick drink in the White Lion down the road.

Looks can be deceiving, and that’s certainly the case with Eurasia. There’s nothing wrong with exterior but it’s a bit like the Tardis. When we walked in it opened out and kept going, and going, and going.

The decor was simple but nicely done and there was plenty of space between each table, which meant it had a lively atmosphere but we could still hear our own conversation too.

My four-year-old daughter, Annabelle, 14-year-old nephew Jonathan and his friend, Kyle, were also with us, so there was quite mix of ages and tastes.

Immediately we were seated at the back of the restaurant and the friendly staff, who really looked after us all night, put two tables together for us to make sure we had plenty of space. We’d booked a table for as soon as the place opened at 6pm and we probably left more than two hours later but nothing was too much trouble, despite the fact it was soon packed out with hungry guests.

Poppadoms and pickles were the first order of the evening. They arrived with the usual mango chutney, lime pickle, onion garnish and a jug – and I mean jug – of mint yoghurt dressing. Is there any better way to start a meal – other than obligatory pint of Cobra, of course!

Anyway, with two poppadoms each, we decided to share two starters between us and went for the onion bhaji, which came with a green salad and sauces.

They were crispy on the outside, soft in the middle and quite flat rather than round or stodgy like some. It was an ideal sharing dish that didn’t leave us too full before the main event.

There are plenty of places that now have a ‘chef’s specials’ section as part of the menu. Sometimes you take notice of it, sometimes you don’t. As Eurasia’s Amjad Ali won accolades at the Curry Chef of the Year Awards in both 2015 and 2016, I thought on this occasion it would wise to give one of his specialities a go.

The restaurant has been in Bridgnorth since 1974 but Chef Ali and his partners, Shamim Haque and Shahid Ahad, came into ownership of the business in 2001.

From that moment the trio dedicated their focus to taking Eurasia to new heights, which has included Chef Ali adding his own recommendations and personal creations.

Meanwhile, the tawa dishes are a semi-dry and cooked with peppers, onions, fresh herbs and garnished with cheddar cheese, served on a sizzling platter. It sounded delicious and the phrase ‘fresh herbs’ was very apt; we all agreed that was one of the main reasons our meals tasted so good – everything was so fresh.

The machli biran – a fillet of seabass lightly spiced with onion, turmeric, cumin, coriander and pan-fried – seemed a lovely lighter option, and mili-juli just ticked all the boxes as it included tandoori chicken, king prawn, lamb and chicken tikka cooked with fresh spinach, chickpeas, garlic and herbs and spices, all served with a double omelette.

However, if it’s not fish it tends to be lamb for me. So when I spotted the lamb sherpuri – a semi-saucy dish, cooked with fenugreek, ginger and crunchy garlic pickle, best known in the Nawabs region – it was a no brainer.

I don’t think I could have picked a nicer dish either. The lamb was beautifully tender and melted in the mouth.

I wouldn’t pretend to know all the spices in the dish but if I see fenugreek listed as an ingredient in a meal again I’ll probably go for it because the rich sauce was just packed with flavour. And yet it was far from overbearing.

Then, you had the occasional blast of sour and spice, courtesy of the garlic pickles. That might not for everyone but I really liked it. The sauce was flavoursome but not overly spicy at all. I love spicy food but I can safely say most palates would have enjoyed the lamb sherpuri.

Kelly, as well as loving her meal, also commented on how friendly and attentive the staff were, how comfortable and relaxing the surroundings were, and how the noise stayed at a nice level despite how busy it got as the evening progressed.

Her tandoori cocktail ‘was amazing’, with all the succulent meats marinated and cooked beautifully.

And, although served as quite a dry meal, the mint raita was a nice accompaniment, and she was given the option to have onions added to the dish, along with a side salad. All the tandoori dishes are spiced according to the tenderness of the meat, marinated then barbecued on the skewers. It’s also labelled as ‘a must for all of our health conscious clients’, so you can devour the meal almost guilt free – bonus.

The cheese and garlic naans we shared were moist and tasty, with the flavour not to overpowering, especially where the garlic was concerned. Presentation was perfect and a nice touch was the staff serving all the food hot from a trolley with heaters.

The rest of our table went a little more ‘traditional’ and ordered either the chicken tikka masala or the chicken korma.

Lorraine said hers was one of the best she had tasted, with not too much coconut overpowering the meal – as had happened in the past – while Annabelle clearly enjoyed her korma, as we didn’t hear a peep from her while she was eating (always a good sign).

The rest had clean plates too so we all shared a few ice creams and a tarta fantastica – vanilla and caramel ice cream topped with chocolate balls and caramel ripple – for dessert.

Eurasia is, quite simply, a really nice place to eat; the food is outstanding. You are perhaps charged a little more than some other venues, but you certainly get what you pay for. We really couldn’t have chosen a much better place for our triple celebration.