This is a restaurant that I regularly frequent. The decor may need a little refurbishing, but the…read morefood is great! The prices are very reasonable, and I've been satisfied by most of the dishes I've tried. I especially like the passanda (sweet and mild) and the pashwari nan (also sweet... see a pattern here?). The people there are very nice to us. Maybe it's because we're regulars, but they always make us feel welcome and cared after. Belash does take-away as well for slightly less than dining in. We often opt for this; we go in, order the food, and have a few drinks by their bar while the food is being made and chat with the people around us or with those who work there. Would highly recommend this place.

Nice food but the place is a bit grotty. Clean though.read more

Nice food and owner is a friendly guy. They do an early bird menu but you have to ask for it for…read moresome reason otherwise you'll get the normal menu. Been here a few times and they do take out. Out of all of the Indian restaurants in Southport I'd say this was in the top 3.

I've always thought Kasturi sounds more like a Japanese martial art than an Indian restaurant. As…read moreit is, kasturi apparently means 'musk' in Nepali, although when I think of musky smells they're not particularly positive. Thankfully, when I think of Kasturi the restaurant my memories are a lot more positive. This well-sized restaurant on Southport's Eastbank Street is one of the few places in the area that specialises in Indian cuisine whilst offering a cosy and comfortable environment in which customers can enjoy a meal. Their menu has a wide range of dishes, incorporating everyone's tastes whether you prefer your curries spicy and hot or creamy and mild instead. Their menu also features a selection of specialities and chef's recommendations for those of you feeling adventurous or fancy going for something a bit different. They also have a website which features pictures of some of their meals, so if you're one of those people who decides what's nice by what the dish looks like, this is an especially handy feature.

I visited this restaurant with my mum, step dad and my boyfriend- all avid curry fans!!! This place…read morewas abysmal!!! we ordered starters to be followed by a selection of mains. The starters were bought to us in good time and were quite nice and flavoursome which was promising... Our starters cleared away we now wait 45 mins!(only one other table in the restaurant aswell, this should have started the warning bells!) for our mains 3 curry dishes- (a balti, a karahi and a achari all different tasting curries) They finally arrive, each curry looking rather dry, no sauce and tasting exactly the same! My boyfriend by now had lost all patience and called the waiter over to explain the problem- we waited that long and received food that just wasn't up to standard, the waiter was not very helpful at all, he just couldn't grasp the concept that all of the dishes tasted the same and were not very nice either- 5 mins of bickering and we were still no further so we decided to pay and leave still extremely hungry and left feeling very disappointed. Will never be returning here EVER!!!

My general understanding of the word 'Bengal' is that it is a region in India as well as a type of…read moretiger. Now I'm pretty sure this place doesn't specialise in grilled tiger, so I think it's safe to say their name is a nod to its Indian roots and that there is no need to get on the phone to the RSPCA just yet. Spice of Bengal in Ainsdale specialises in Indian and Bangladeshi dishes available either in a restaurant setting or to order and take away. Their takeaway menu is a bit sparse compared to the restaurant menu which is to be expected, but their eat-in menu is impressively extensive. Helpfully, there is also a section which breaks down what each type of curry contains and how spicy each one is, for all the curry virgins and n00bs amongst you. When I last visited I went for the lamb tikka chilli Bengal curry which, as you can imagine, was rather spicy. Despite how hot it was, it was still delicious as it managed to negotiate the fine line between being too mild and so hot it takes off several layers of your tongue. The restaurant is fairly pleasantly decorated and has a lovely dining atmosphere, with the staff being friendly and attentive at all times. If you're ever in the area, I recommend trying the Spice on offer here.

Wanted to add a bit of spice to my life, so I tried the Spice of Bengal. Being new to indian food,…read moreI found ordering for the first time to be a bit difficult. Fortunately the menu did its best to guide me in the ways of the Spice and helped me to make an excellent choice. The waiter even asked if I wanted my food more, or less, spicy. I was waited on very graciously and I have no complaints at all about the place. Best restaurant I have been to in a few years.

Lal Qila. Like a pleasant fungus (if there can be such a thing), it's spreading all over the north…read morewest and spawning spores Southport as well as the very city that gave us The Beatles, Ken Dodd and a water body full of jellyfish. I kid you not, every time I peer into the Mersey I see one of those see-through little deadly blighters bobbing around. Anyway, thankfully Lal Qila's seafood is one of its strong points and it hasn't attempted to do what would-be serial killer Patrick Bateman did and incorporate jellyfish into a sophisticated menu. Although that's not to say it ain't inventive. Like its Mancunian siblings, Liverpool's Lal Qila is a modern take on the curry phenomenon and has an army of polite staff at the helm waiting to attend to your every need, as well as a chef with a flair for invention and over 29 years experience. Not bad credentials, eh. This one started life in 1984 when I was a dimpled little one year old, and has grown and moved onto Eastbank Street four years ago. Its reputation for fabulous service precedes it, but what of the food? Firstly the ambient lighting, sophisticated demeanour and relaxing music seduces you, then you're treated to some really delicious curry. You've got to remember that real Indian food is supposed to be healthy, wholesome and fresh, not a greasy calorie-laden indulgence, and this restaurant takes that as given. It's all very authentic and you'll find your favourite Indian dishes here plus many more that you might not have thought of. Veggies are well catered for and all the meals are freshly prepared, so nothing will taste like it's been stewing in its own juices for about five hours. Top notch Ruby Murray.

After a run of fairly adequate, but indigestion-inducing indian takeaways from our usual place, we…read morethought we'd try Lal Quila. We had heard good things about the restaurant, and were pleasantly surprised to find that they did free home deliveries from their online menu.The food was delicious, the meat tender and the spices delicate. I WILL be ordering from them again- strongly recommended.

great surroundings. poor service. average food.read more

Contemporary Indian restaurant offering a wide selection of dishes from a varied menu. Good…read moreselection of vegetarian options. Well stocked bar area. Friendly staff who always appear well presented. Good service and very clean surroundings. Plenty of parking available.

Mohshina's is a fantastic little restaurant in the lovely little town of Lytham. It has a friendly…read moreatmosphere and we were made to feel very welcome. The food was fantastic, really high quality, and they were able to give me vegan options with no trouble at all. They don't use butter in any of their dishes apparently. There is an extensive menu for everyone, and lots of choice for veggies. I had Vegetable Samber, a dish I've never heard of before and it was beautiful. The free Amarettos at the end of our meal were a lovely touch, and went down very nicely.

And so we move on to another of Formby's much loved restaurants, the Balti House. One of the…read morethings I love the most about the Balti House is how it's situated inside a small white bungalow, as if a family actually used to live there then decided to open up a restaurant instead and serve a whole load of middle-class Liverpudlian outcasts. Once inside, you are warmly greeted by the helpful staff who clearly know their kormas from their jalfrezis. The food itself is lovely, proving excellent value for money and washed down well by a few pints. We usually stumble here at the end of a 'quiet' night in the pub and find ourselves ordering the really spicy curries, despite the protestations from the staff that it might not be such a good idea (let's just say we always end up regretting it in the morning). Despite this, I would say that the Balti House is easily one of the best restaurants in Formby, offering great food at good prices. This combined with a lovely atmosphere and helpful staff serves to create a charming dining experience.

I'm not a huge fan of Indian food in the first place and I've had quite enough bad curry in…read moreManchester to put me off for life. It was only recently then that I went to Hilal - for a long time Formby's only Indian restaurant, sited inside a small bungalow on the edge of the village. It took a good few strong drinks at a friend's leaving party for me to actual venture inside. I was, I must say, pleasantly surprised. Firstly; the staff were friendly, helpful and even concerned (a friend ordered the extra strength mixed meat dish which he was advised was incredibly hot. When he said that he could handle spicy food, the waiter looked genuinely worried for the lad - a worry that turned out to be founded as he drank off several pints of iced water before he could properly talk afterwards). Secondly I very much enjoyed the dish I picked, a sweet prawn dhansak with delicately flavoured rice, which was a world away from the claggy, creamy versions I had eaten on Manchester's Curry Mile. Hilal has certainly curried favour with me. Sorry.