Bengal Spices, Llanymynech
Rating **** When Meryl Hughes wrote to the Shropshire Star asking us to try the Bengal Spices at Llanymynech, near Oswestry, she suggested we visit on a Wednesday night, writes Sue Austin.
She wrote: "They have a banquet night on a Wednesday, six courses for £9.95, we went there last week and had a brilliant time."
Sadly our weekdays are just so busy that trying to fit in a restaurant meal on a Wednesday was just not happening.
Instead we booked a table for a Saturday night, pleased that when we rang the night before, staff said they were able to re-arrange the tables to accommodate us.
Without Meryl's recommendation we probably would never have ventured as far as Llanymynech as there are curry houses much closer to home.
But we were very glad that we did.
The restaurant is just off the main A485 trunk road handily placed next to a village public car park.
Our first impressions were two fold – what a lovely, cosy interior and how proud the owner must be of his customers.
For, lining one wall opposite the bar were literally hundreds of photographs of people enjoying their meals in the restaurant.
We next noticed a plaque – or rather a large plate – on the wall, proclaiming that Bengal Spices had been named winner of The Welsh Curry House of the Year 2012 for Mid and West Wales.
That is praise indeed, as there are apparently 280 Indian restaurants in Wales.
Bengal Spices was described by judges as "small and cosy with some nice touches. The menu included all the usual dishes but the tastiness of each dish was exceptional".
We were shown to our seats and what a pleasant surprise to find that one of the waiters used to go to school with daughter Sophie and, although they hadn't really known each other well, he remembered us – including me as the mum that went on school trips in primary school.
As the Curry of the Year judges had remarked, the menu did indeed have all the usual dishes but also some more unusual additions.
Fear of ordering too much had Sophie and Richard deciding to share an onion bhaji starter – four huge, crispy balls of deep fried onion, more than enough for the pair of them.
But I wasn't going to an award-winning Indian Restaurant and sharing Melvyn's – yes you have guessed it – garlic mushrooms.
Instead I opted for Prawn Puree, again a large offering, prawns and onions in a thick sauce on a pancake with plenty of salad on the side.
The full name for the restaurant is the Bengal Spice tandoori and balti restaurant and there are plenty of tandoori and balti dishes as well as everything else you would expect.
Sophie chose her favourite, Korma, but rang the changes with prawns. She said it was exceedingly creamy with plenty of coconut.
Richard decided to go for something completely different. He chose Lamb Methi, a dish made with fenugreek. The spice gave a tangy taste to the already rich dish.
My choice was Chicken Pathia a great combination of hot and sour tastes and plenty of kick to it All our mains arrived in huge serving dishes.
But we all wondered whether we should have gone for Mel's choice when it arrived, sizzling on its own skillet.
The Bengal special curry boasted chicken, meat, prawns, mushrooms and onions. It was the restaurant's very own version of one of Mel's favourites – mixed grill – and looked absolutely wonderful. Mel tucked in with gusto. He has always struggled to choose a dish from an Indian restaurant and this was his perfect choice.
To go with our main courses we chose a couple of different rice dishes, two nan bread and a Sag Bhaji, spinach with garlic.
And it was the vegetable choice that made me realise why I was enjoying our night out.
For when it arrived the waiter revealed that because there were four of us he has asked for a large dish.
It was that personal touch that shone through. The staff at the Bengal Spices went out of their way to enure that not only we but all the customer were having a great evening.
Whether it was the large birthday party at the back of the restaurant, complete with birthday banner and, later on, a cake, or the couples, young and old, enjoying a quite night out, the busy staff were attentive without being obtrusive. They were happy to bring me, the driver, iced water and allow us to share dishes.
They were also incredibly busy serving the many who called in to collect their takeaway meals, manning the bar and keeping restaurant customers happy.
The nice touch was when chef emerged from his kitchen to check that the dishes had gone down well. And we couldn't fault them!
We were so full we weren't able to try a dessert. Instead, again a nice touch, we were brought a segmented orange to cleanse our palate before a coffee.
The evening had passed all too quickly. We had thoroughly enjoyed our evening in the relaxed restaurant, enjoyed a meal that was not rushed and where, thank goodness, we had had our table for the entire night.
ADDRESS
Bengal Spices, Ashfield House Llanymynech Powys SY22 6ER
Tel: 01691 830170
MENU SAMPLE
STARTERS
Chicken Or Lamb Tikka £2.95
Rupchanda – Fish Tandoori, £4.95
Vegetable Samosa £2.95
MAINS
Chicken Biriyani £6.95
Lamb Aloo Balti £6.95
Prawn Bhoona £5.95
Chicken Tikka Samber £6.95
Vegetable Kashmir £5.50
SIDES
Balti Mixed Vegetable. Caulflower Ghaji, Tarka Dall
Aloo Sag - all £2.95
Nan £1.75
Special Pilau Rice £2.25
Chips, £1.50.
Set Meal For 1: £11.95, For 2: £22.95.
ATMOSPHERE
Homely and cosy
SERVICE
Excellent, friendly and professional. Staff make everyone feel special.
