One of my favourite places to eat curry is at Grameen Khana on Ladypool Road…read more The food is consistently good and they offer a range of Bangladeshi dishes that I haven't seem in other restaurants. Chot Poti is a great vegetarian starter dish (although you'll be struggling to eat all of your main course after). It's a chick pea dish with plenty of chilli and toped with crispy onions and egg. The Desi roast is excellent too; the chicken just falls off the bone. The selection of main courses is great. The specials offer something a little different Shobji Chicken and the Chicken Sashlick Bhuna are great as is the Grameen Special Chicken Balti. Our favourite lamb dish is the Haleem which is like a stew with really soft slow-cooked lamb. You can bring your own drinks and there is an off-license right next door. The Decor is contemporary and spotlessly clean. There is an indoor waterfall and a TV that is usually showing a Bollywood film but without sound. The staff are generally pleasant and efficient. They have a remote control buzzer contraption on the table so you can request service, drinks (non alcoholic) or your bill.

Grameen Khana stands out as a relatively new addition to the Ladypool and let's face it, if you're…read morea curry house on the Ladypool Road standing out is an important part of distinguishing yourself from the many curry houses on offer. Grameen is distincive with it's brightly lit green livery and super fancy water features, giving it a very modern and luxurious appearance. Turns out the place is Bangladeshi and so searching for a bit of authenticity I ordered from the fish menu. After the waiter corrected me on my Bangladeshi pronounciation and warned that this particular dish contained bones, I had the option of going for a more familair choice but stuck to my guns and went with the fish dish, much to the combined admiration and consternation of my fellow diners. A large TV played on the back wall be it muted and the water feature really was quite a novel touch which did attract our eye whilst waiting for our food. The fish dish arrived and was tasty and well marinated, working through the bones, I enjoyed the fleshy bits and we all traded dishes to compliment or query each others choices. What we did notice was that a large Bangladeshi family had take the table at the rear and this was another endorsement of Grameen Khana along with the tasty grub.

I found this place by looking for Indian restaurants with plenty of vegan options. Indeed, their…read moremenu makes it pretty clear what is or can be vegan. We arrived around 6pm on a Thursday for dinner, and the place was dead. The interior is fancifully set up, and service is very friendly and professional. We ordered: -Vegan tofu curry (£12.50). This was a creamy, mustardy curry, with chunks of firm tofu (seemingly to resemble paneer), drizzled with coconut milk. Rich, creamy, tangy and balanced. Really nicely done. 4.5/5 -Tawa sabzi (£10). This was a drier dish coated with a mustardy curry paste, with cauliflower, potatoes, green beans and peas. The curry has a bit of a sour tang to it but was well-done. 4/5 -Methi aloo gobi (£10). This was also a drier dish, with a fenugreek-driven curry paste coating the cauliflower and potatoes. It was quite similar to the Tawa sabzi, with that sour tang to it. Also well-done but it was too similar to the aforementioned dish. 4/5 We asked for a spiciness level "just above" what they would ordinarily make, and man was it spicy -- not too much for us but bordering that. Overall, tasty food, great service and a pleasant environment. Recommended.

I wish to caution somebody willing to book in an event with Itihaas, Birmingham. I had a terrible…read moreexperience in trying to recover a deposit refund during COVID and eventually ended in losing £ 3,000 in the process. I had booked a Wedding Event for 300 guests to be held in August 2020. We paid £6000 as a deposit for the catering and venue. It was paid by 2 credit cards @3000 each by me and the bride's mother. Unfortunately, the event had to be cancelled with mutual consent due to COVID regulations. As per the prevailing government regulations we were entitled to a full refund barring some expenses incurred by the merchant in the process. We were given a list of expenses incurred amounting to £1494 which were highly manipulated and unreal. We were charged £ 200 for a food tasting event which never happened and charged for the time spend in e-mails, telephone conversation and venue viewing. These, we believed were a part of overhead expenses and were not permissible as expenses incurred by the merchant. We did not receive any services and were entitled to full refund. We still offered a liberal £ 500 to close the dispute but was declined . We were offered a truncated refund of £ 4506 out of £ 6000 as an unconditional offer in April 2020. We had no other option to seek justice and to apply for a charge back from our credit card providers. The process of chargeback was prolonged due to COVID shutdown, and we eventually recovered £ 3000 from one of the credit card providers. Unfortunately, the other credit card providers could not recover our deposit due to delayed and poor representation. We were already frustrated by the ongoing saga and eventually asked Itihaas to honour the initial unconditional offer and pay us the balance of £ 1506 . To our surprise the management refused to pay the balance on the grounds that we used a charge back to seek justice and recover our dues. The management decided to pocket a sum of £ 1506 which was initially offered in the conflict unconditionally. This was extremely appalling, and we felt cheated by the Itihaas management. I will strongly recommend anybody willing to book an event to think twice. You are in for an ordeal and could end up in losing a lot of money.

I'm entertaining a touring Canadian band and we're sat outside The Hare & Hounds having a beer. We…read moretalk about getting some food before the show and we get onto the subject of Asian food. 'We know the best curry restaurant outside of Asia', one of them proclaims, 'Its in Vancouver.' I point at Sylhet Spice cuisine over the road and say 'THAT'S the best curry restaurant outside of Asia'. The gauntlet having been throw down, we cross the road and enter in... Sat inside, the ambiance is nice. Yes, 'nice'. There is high-end dining furniture and a waterfall-down-a-mirror feature. The menu is vast, and detailed. The style of cooking here is from the Sylhet region in the North East of Bangladesh, so its not surprising that at this restaurant the chef performs magic dishes with fish. They have some dishes here that I have never seen before in any restaurant, and I could happily eat the lot. I'm tempted by Salmon Tarkari, but instead I order Lamb Jal-Zala. It is an extremely hot dish, but I'm not eating it as a kind of macho prove-myself exercise. This dish is not only very, very hot, but has some complex tastes in it; after the initial shock of the first hot mouth full, the palate adjusts and the chilli having dilated the taste buds, all the glorious complexities of the carefully blended spices and meat are experienced. I'm sandwiching meat between buttery, fluffy nan bread and mopping the sauce with the same. My face is soaking. I am in ecstasy. My guests are halfway thorough their meal and looking sheepish and satisfied. They agree that its a close call as the whether their Vancouver eatery is the superior one or their newly-found Bangladeshi paradise. When I find myself in Vancouver next, we'll be up for round two...

I have been visiting Sylhet Spice quite a lot over the last year. Especially as I have managed to…read moreconvince the rest of my colleagues in my department, for us to have our end of term meals here! And they have all fallen in love with this curry house too. The menu is vast with many speciality dishes, which I am always a fan of, to be able to try something orginal and special to the restuarant. Food is always of a high standard and always have a great meal, along with my friends, we don't have any complaints. On my last visit, I had the Shobzi Bihari which is a North Indian dish, full of spice and flavour, which I recomend to anyone. To accompany this rich main dish, I had the Saag and Garlic fried rice which was a delight and I have never had this combination in rice before. My only downside is that I find the service a bit lacking every time I have visited..but not enough for me to take off a star. Sylhet Spice would be in my favourite Indians in Birmingham!

Fantastic, friendly place -- and excellent food! They were very busy, and kept apologising, but the…read morewait was minimal in the circumstances. Every member of staff was so polite and pleasant -- and once the rush had subsided, had a long chat with us, recommending local tourist spots. Best curry I have had for ages, too. Highly recommend. Next time we are in the area, we will definitely be back.

This has to be one of my favourite places to eat Indian. If not my favourite can't believe I Havant…read moreyelped about this yet. The staff are always friendly and accommodating if it's a special occasion let the staff know will help celebrate it with you. As for the food it is always on point my fav is the chicken naga is it amazing never had a problem with this place. The food and hospitality always been amazing can't wait to visit again.

I first used this restaurant as a take away because for some reason our usual wasn't available…read more Can't remember why. Came across Radhuni by accident really as I'm usually a creature of habit. The smells coming out of the building always make my stomach rumble, even if I've just eaten. I have to say that in a world stuffed full of similar restaurants, the food from here is really lovely. They do the usual fare, but with lovely subtle twists and the flavours are just gorgeous. I've only ever used it as a take away though so can't comment on the restaurant part. The only thing is that they do take quite a while to deliver. When they say 45 minutes they usually mean that plus a little bit more. It's fine as long as you're aware of this when you order as the food is worth the wait. The first time I used them though we nearly gave up on seeing our food (although they had a new delivery driver apparently) but the owner was very apologetic. Stick with them, they're worth it.

I love Radhuni. Partly because it's 2 minutes walk from my house, but mainly because it's really…read moregood. There is a mind-boggling choice of dishes on the menu and everything I've tried has been great (and believe me, I've tried a few). The dishes I seem to keep coming back to though, are the two fish options, the curiously named Salmon Wait and See, and the slightly hotter Karkri Fish Masala, both of which are excellent, served in thick, delicious and well spiced sauces. Radhuni is also good value, with a meal for two including poppadoms, starters, mains and bread coming in at just under £30. It is also unlicensed so you can bring your own beer. The staff are friendly and happy to accommodate any special requests such as extra chilli etc. and on the odd occasion that we've been too lazy to even drag ourselves off the sofa they have delivered with no issues. The take away food is just as good as that served in the restaurant and if anything the portions are even more generous. In a city full of curry houses, this one is a cut above the rest and definitely worth a visit.

We stumbled across this place due to the big sign above the door stating a 3 course menu and free…read morebubbly. Disappointed the bubbly offer had ended but they let us have the 3course even though stated mom-thurs. Great choices for each course. We opted for lamb chops, chicken tikka stir fry and chicken tikka. Each of us was given a plate with salad and sauce to which we added our starter. Thought this was quite neat as none of us were crossing over each other grabbing food. Mains we had lamb jalfrezi, chicken balti and a tarka dhal- all well presented and tasted good. Dessert standard - cheesecake with ice cream. Think would be better to offer a more authentic dessert. Overall lovely meal. Some decor mishaps (ceiling leak) no AC, was a tad stuffy but other than that lovely. Service was amazing - very attentive and welcoming.

Excellent food and friendly service. Welcoming upstairs restaurant that was clean and inviting.read more

"THE BEST INDIAN FOOD I'VE EVER HAD*" - my husband…read more Yep, that's his quote. I'm a little snobbier by saying "the best Indian food I've had outside India" (*he hasn't been to India). But in all seriousness, it was delicious. While walking down the canals of Birmingham, we smelled something wonderful and turned to each other simultaneously with eyes wide and both instantly knew what the other was thinking: "we need to eat that". There is something wonderful about smelling delicious flavours and then getting to eat those flavours. We had the vindaloo and a biryani. Of course we had naan and samosas (duh). The menu had a lot of options (almost too many!?) but we went with our standard favourites and were not disappointed. As far as service goes, we have no complaints. It was a quiet Sunday night, so we got fast and friendly service from the whole staff. I think they thought we were a coupla boozers cuz they did seem a little judgey when I got to my 3rd glass of wine. But, ya know, after the 3rd glass you don't really care what people think, right? The only regret I have is that we discovered this on our last night in town and couldn't go back for seconds! Oh, forgot to mention the awesome location right above the canal - great views, beautiful scenery.

Absolutely delicious food! We were warmly greeted and had excellent service here…read more There is a large menu on the table so can seem overwhelming but you only need to look for your favorite protein or vegetable and then select the style of dish. We had lamb tikka and complementary poppadoms with chutney to start. Meat was tender and mildly flavorful. For the mains we enjoyed the Hairy Biker chicken special which was super smoky delicious. The okra / ladyfingers Balti style was full of flavor on top pilau rice. The garlic naan was a generous portion but if you have a large group go for the table naan. Gigantic! Prices were reasonable, under £30 for all this food. Enough for 2-3 people. Casual setting and quick service.

friendly staff and excellent food. We were a group of 9 walk in customers and the restaurant…read moreaccommodated us with ease. We'll worth giving this place a go, you won't be disappointe. we will definitely be back!

Since recently moving to the city centre I thought I would try out the local indian restaurants as…read moreIndian is on of my favourite foods. At first sight of walking into this place it looked quite authentic, I'm not sure what I thought of the fake decorative tree in the middle of the restaurant but it certainly was different. First of all, it was 8pm and the place was empty, we were the only ones in all night. But the menu was quite expansive and the food sounded good. My first concerns came when the waiter came and laid a knife and fork on the table even thoguh I had ordered a creamy saucy passanda. And then when the food came, the waiter tried to tip my food onto a plate instead of keeping it in the blalti dishe. The food was very bland and the sauce watery, but what was quite surprising was that me and my partner had ordered 2 completely different dishes and the sauces were a completely different colour but they actually tasted the same. The best thing about my meal was the Naan bread. I'd say this place is only good to visit after you've been out and had quite a few to drink as that is the only time you would appreciate the bland food and shoddy service. One good point though the waiter was very nice and friendly...

Food delicious. Friendly staff. Nice atmosphere. We had the Balti. It was great. Come again.read more

I visited Mela just before Christmas for a Christmas curry with three friends…read more Although I've lived in Harborne for three years now, this was my first visit to Mela *hangs head in shame*. In fact it was my first time out for a sit down curry in as many years. It's something that I used to do a lot as a couple, but being single one heads more to pubs and bars than restaurants. I don't know why, it just works out like that. Mela sits above Haart (I think they're related to the Quagaars), in the centre of Harborne High Street. That's not centre as in the middle of the road, otherwise one would get run over by a bus whist stuffing down a balti. Ok, it's half way along the high street (How's that?). The décor is classic for it's genre; high back leather chairs, strange abstract art on the walls, low lighting and fine white linen on the tables. Mela is a Bangladeshi balti house. I believe it's named after the Boishakhi Mêla), which is East London's celebration of the Bengali New Year and is the largest Bengali celebration outside of Bangladesh. I generally find the level of service is much higher in South Asian restaurants, than in those that're British ran around the same price range, and Mela was no exception. The waiters are attentive, but not pushy. As one would expect at such venues the beer is the (modern) traditional Cobra, priced at £3.95 for a 660ml bottle, which is cheaper than a pint in most of Harborne's pubs. I opted for the 'Chicken Shashlick Bhuna Balti', (which is described as "diced chicken cooked with oil, garlic, ginger and homemade shashlick sauce with diced bell peppers and onions in a medium sauce served in a traditional balti dish"), with a Keema Naan. It was so delicious, I just wanted to put it in my face for ever! Two of associates ordered the Tawa, which arrived at the table sizzling on a traditional tawa dish, adding a touch of theatre to the experience. Needless to say, we were all very pleased with our choices. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos, as I was too busy enjoying myself. None of us had any rice, just a main + naan each, but we were all completely and contentedly stuffed! We paid £75 between the four of us, which included a £10+ tip, so I guess It came to just over £15 each - not bad for a delicious meal & large beer. I'm certainly going to return, and may have to drag some more people along next time!