Indiagate/Indian/Penrith

We heard about this restaurant on our Facebook page and thought as it is only a few miles away (about 20) we should give it a go.

Situated in Burrowgate in Penrith, it used to be an old nightclub (Chaplins) and is next door to the Co-Op.  No good for people with poor mobility though as quite a few stairs to climb to reach the restaurant.

We walked into a large open space, very modern looking with comfy looking leather armchairs and low tables. Lovely vinyl decals on the wall for decoration.

We were shown to a table by a waiter with a love bite - nice !! 

The seating was a little odd to be honest, ideal for a drink and nibbles but for a meal you either had to sit back and take the risk of spilling curry down your front, or pearch yourself on the edge of the chair to eat over the table.

We started with the obligatory Poppadums and dips, the tomato & chilli one was particuarly good, the mango sauce needed to be thicker but tasted fine.

For a starter I chose a potato dish in a mild creamy sauce.

It was really rather bland to be honest, I suppose that's potatoes for you, but it was quite unexciting.

Hubby had an onion and lentil bajhi.

He got a few little nuggets of what tasted like fried breadcrumbs. Expected them to be bigger and to actually taste of something.

For a main there was no specialist choices for Vegetarians, simply a list of sauces with "mixed Veg" - the sad thing is not ALL Vegetarians like ALL Vegetables, and we certainly don't want all of them in every meal.  A tiny bit of imagination could offer up some fabulous alternatives.

Anyway, I went for a Vegetable Baree  (Honey and fruit curry)

The sauce was actually very delicious, would have been fabulous with Paneer (Indian Cheese) but they didn't have any) instead the mixed Veg was a lot of potatoes and cabbage, with a tiny, tiny bit of carrot. 

Thank goodness for the lovely bread - stuffed paratha with spicy potatoes.

This was delicious and was perfect dipped in the yummy Baree sauce.

Hubby had chicken tikka, no complaints there, nice moist, tasty chicken.

There was also "home-made" chips on the menu, which you just have to have.  Not entirely convinced they were home-made though when they arrived, weren't very exciting.

I ordered everything without onions, as usual, and also ordered a Lemon Rice, but forgot to ask for no onions in that and sadly it wasn't picked up ( Most places they do realise and leave them out) so I didn't get to try that, but it certainly smelled very good.

This restaurant does not have a dessert menu stranglely. not that we wanted one.

The bill was just over £40, for poppadums, 2 starters, 2 mains, 2 sides and bread, along with a soft drink and large glass of wine.

No website, but here are the details for you:

Indiagate

11-11A Burrowgate

Penrith,

Cumbria

CA11 7TE

01768 210 020

Let us know if you go.

Calcutta Brasserie/Indian/Stony Stratford

We always make a special effort to visit this fabulous restaurant when we are in the Milton Keynes Area.

Situated in a village called Stony Stratford, just a few minutes drive from MK.

The restaurant is actually in an old church building, which makes for a fabulous setting for dinner. It's so ornate and full of characture. 

Parking is on the street outside, we have always found a spot, but always go on an evening so not sure what it would be like during shop hours.

Three of us went on a Saturday night, we didn't book as we knew it was a large restaurant and presumed we would be able to just walk in.  We were, but it very quickly filled up, so might be worth booking if you are planning to visit.

We ordered some poppudums to start while we browsed the menu.  Nice and crisp, with lovely dips, the tomato/chilli one was particularly nice.

My friend and I decided to share a Vegetarian Starter Platter. 

Everything was absolutely delicious.  Especially the Paneer Tikka.  And what a huge portion!  It was a great way to try a little bit of everything.

Hubby had the Onion Bajhi.

He said they were nice and crisp and very tasty.

For a main I went for something I have here everytime I visit, I have never found it in another restaurant ever, which is a shame as it is amazingly tasty.  Tandoori Broccoli & Cauliflower.  Marinated in yoghurt and grilled in the Tandoor.

I had half a portion, as I also wanted to try the Okra dish - Kharari Bhindi - Crisp fried Okra in a spice gram batter.  I had a half portion of that too, served in a cooked poppadum basket.

It was lovely, but a bit dry for a main meal, it would have been great served as a nibbly snack with a drink, but definately needed a sauce or a dipping pot.

Hubby had Chicken Tikka, which he said was moist, tasty and delicious.

Our friend had the Dhal dish of the day, which she enjoyed very much.

We had rices and gorgeous soft naan bread to accompany.

Service was excellent, and the place was spotlessly clean and tidy.

The bill was around £70 for 3 of us, for starters, mains, soft drinks and a bottle of wine.

Will definately return, just wish it was closer to home!

Here are the details for you.

http://www.calcuttabrasserie.co.uk/

Calcutta Brasserie

 7 st pauls court

Stony Stratford,

Milton Keynes,

Buckinghamshire

MK11 1LJ

01908 566 577 

Super Sausage/Cafe/Towcester

If you want a fabulous, fresh cooked breakfast while in the Milton Keynes area, then check out this place.

The Super Sausage Cafeteria is situated on the main road towards Towcester Racecourse. It has a large parking lot out front and is popular with bikers and truck drivers.

Don't let the biker thing put you off, it is very friendly and welcoming.

The tables are american diner style, the only issue is the chairs are fixed to the tables so if you are a biggish person you might want to use the picnic tables outside.  The place looks a little tatty with torn upholster, but it is clean and tidy.  The walls are literally covered with photographs of motorbikes.

Crockery is Asda smart choice style, and tea/coffee is served in simple mugs - but the good prices reflect this.

There is a blackboard with loads of breakfast options on it, full-monty, low-carb, filled baps.  Or you can just pick and choose what items you would like.

The food is perfectly cooked, fresh and good quality ingredients.  The staff are always lovely and friendly.

One tiny downside is that each breakfast is on a different order sheet, so if you go in a group of 4 people, expect to be served one by one as the breakfasts are cooked.

Of course they do other things than breakfasts, but we have only ever been for breakfast, and would always go back when in the area.

Prices are around £5.00 for a full breakfast.

There does seem to be a website, but inacctive at time of posting this.

http://www.supersausagecafe.co.uk/

Here are the details for you:

Super Sausage Cafe

Potterspury

Towcester,

Northamptonshire

NN12 7QX

01908 542 964

First Class/Chinese/Stony Stratford

We always visit this restaurant while in the Milton Keynes area, it is fabulous for the Vegetarian with fake chicken, beef and duck options.

It is actually in the small town of Stony Straford which is just a few miles from Milton Keynes, right bang in the middle of the high street.  There are a few parking spots on the road outside.

It is not great to look at visually from the outside, and the crockery is something else - weird leaf shaped chunky plates made from the thickest glazed pottery - like something you would stand a plant pot on !  But the food has always been excellent.

If you visit the toilets then you get the feeling you are in some grubby teenagers flat with a grubby carpet and peeling deco - but they were clean enough.  The flooring in the main restaurant is fun though, little goldfish on the tiles.

So, onto the food.  We usually go in a group, and the service has always been excellent.  I went for a fake duck starter, served with veg, pancakes and hoi-sin sauce.

The "duck" was fabulous, really really enjoyed it, the hoi-sin was a bit thin though, but when we asked for a second pot it was much thicker, so I guess they water it down.

Check out the plate  :)

Others in the party had Vegetarian Spring Rolls.

Satay chicken, which looked amazing and was served upon a bed of chopped veg & pineapple.

For a main course I went for Crispy Fried "Beef" in chilli sauce.

This was served in a cooked bowl made from the pancakes that are usually served with the duck, they were nice and crispy and the sauce was lovely.  I asked for no onions or peppers, but it came with "no veg", which was a shame as I quite like the other veg and it would have been a nice addition.  Serves me right for being so fussy.

Others in the party had, chicken & cashewnuts (served in the birds nest pancake bowl)

Spicy battered prawns.

Some beef dish, can't remember quite what.

And a Thai chicken curry.

Heard no complaints and everyone seemed to be enjoying their food a lot.

The bill worked out at just £20 a head, the service charge was added to the bill before it was given to us, apparently that't the norm for tables over 6 people.  (There was 7 of us)

We will return to this restaurant again when we are back in the area, it is a must for Vegetarians who would like something other than veggies in sauce for a change.

Here are the details for you.

First Class Restaurant

52 High Street,

Stony Stratford,

Milton Keynes,

MK11 1AQ.

01908 - 307688

The menus are all downloadable from the website.

http://www.firstclassrestaurant.com/

Feel free to comment if you have been.

The Silk Road/Indian/ChineseMilton Keynes

The Silk Road is a gem of a little restaurant we found last year when in Milton Keynes.  It is situated right beside a Travelodge so very handy if you are staying over.

This is the restaurant, tucked behind some trees just off the main road.

It is a fusion style restaurant, serving both Chinese and Indian food, so it is great if you are going out with a load of people.

The deco is very Indian inspired with rich dark wood carving. The tables are nicely set and the staff are lovely and accomodating.

Loads of choice on the menu, as you might expect from a fusion restaurant, with a couple of "all-you-can-eat" options too.

We were given a bowl of poppodum pieces and prawn crackers with dips while we browsed the menu.

I went for the Indian menu, and to start chose Hariyali tawa kebeb - Pan fried spinach and potato cakes lightly spiced with crushed coriander and cracked pepper.

They were delicious, full of flavour and very moreish.

Hubby went for Onion bhajee Onion strands in a spicy batter mix, deep fried until crisp and golden

He says it was very good, nice and crisp.

For a main I chose two side dishes from the Vegetarian list. Paneer makhni - Paneer (cottage cheese) simmered in traditional makhni gravy, which is one of my all time favourites.

It didn't dissapoint, really tasty sauce. I also chose Achari okra - Spicy fried okra cooked with tangy pickling spices.  I love Okra, and it's difficult to get in Carlisle restaurants, and this dish was amazing.  Really enjoyed it.

It was served with some pilau rice and a gorgeous potato stuffed naan which was fabulous.

Hubby had a Chicken Tikka, beautifully marninated.

We would definately return to this restaurant and are more than happy to recommend it to others.

Here are the details for you.

The Silk Road

151 Grafton Gate East

Central Milton Keynes

MK9 1AE

Telephone: 01908 200522

Jinnah/Indian/Flaxton York

While staying in York we fancied an Indian meal.

A quick Google gave us The Jinnah, which was just down the road from where we were staying, so we decided to pop along and try it out. 

Situated on the A64 mid way between York and Malton, it has it's own large car park and is an impressive looking restaurant.

Inside is just as impressive, with the restaurant itself, along with a conservatory section, a lounge and a bar area.

We were greated by a waiter in Indian style dress, he showed us to a table in the conservatory and went through the menus with us.  There was an "all you can eat" buffet for £11.95 per person.  A asked if there was Veggie options on the buffet, and was described three, so we decided we would all go for that.

First of all we were brought Poppadums with dips - and what a wonderful dip selection. Fabulously chunky mango chutney and a beautiful lime pickle.

For starters we were brought a platter of lots of different starters, these were cooked fresh and not taken from the buffet station.  The Veggie starters were brought on a seperate plate, and I got 4 items, all of which were delicious.

I must apologise for the photo, I had eaten all mine and the rest of the group had made a good hole in the meat plate before I remembered I should have taken a photo!

When we all hit the buffet, none of us were actually needing to eat anymore due to the portion sizes of the starters.  I was dismayed however to find the three veggie dishes very very onion based, I should have checked first really, and the onions were way to big for me to be able to ignore.  (See Onion Phobia Blog)

So, the choice was to just eat rice, or order a fresh meal for myself.  I decided to order a meal.  I explained to the waitress about my dislike of onions and barely before I could finish the sentence she stopped me, said "Not a problem" and shouted through to the open-plan kitchen.

Within minutes two vegetarian, no onion, dishes were presented to our table, and still included in the buffet price.  Now that's what I call great service!!

And, wow, they were delicious!!  Not quite sure what I had, but it was really really good.

Here is a photo of some of the buffet curries.

Everyone agreed it was a lovely restaurant.  The food was great, although one said if returning he would order from the menu as the buffet dishes were "too saucey" for his tastes.  The chicken tikka on the starter platter would have been perfect apparently.

They even brought a 'free-of-charge' desert with a candle in for one of the party whose birthday it was, which was nice.

Would definately return if in the area, and would be happy to reccommend too.

They also have other restaurants in Harrogate, Sheffield and York, as well as this one in Flaxton.

Here are the details for you.

http://www.jinnah-restaurants.co.uk/

Jinnah Restaurant,

on the A64,

Malton Road,

Flaxton,

York,

YO60 7SQ

01904 468202

Feel free to comment if you have been.

Oh.... and apparently Jimmy Saville is a friend of the owner  :)