Shimla Spice, Shipley

69 Otley Rd., Shipley, BD18 2BJ | 01274599800 | shimlaspice.co.uk | @shimlaspice

Type of Food: Indian

Price:  Platter Starter + Another Dish + 4 x main courses + sundries = Less than £60
Occasion: Catch up with my parents
Date Visited: April 2014

Overall Rating: ***** Amazing

I must apologise for not blogging recently. I've just moved house so eating out is a bit of an extravagance at the moment. My parents came up from Merseyside to visit this weekend and to help out with some odd jobs so I thought there was no better opportunity to treat them to THE BEST CURRY HOUSE IN BRADFORD. No other restaurant I've ever been to has ever been so keen to show off the awards it's won like Shimla. And why not? There are a lot and each one is deserved.

Atmosphere:

When you walk in, the first thing you notice is that the decor at Shimla is something else. Opulent to the point of gawdy and yet it works. Above the purple wallpaper with velvet pattern and the silver mirror frames there is a sunken ceiling lit with hundreds of LEDs.

Shimla is nearly always busy. Not too busy mind, always just right. There is a large waiting area where you can either wait for your party to arrive, wait for a table (I've never waited more than 10 mins) or even wait for a take-away. 

Service:
Service in Indian Restaurants can always be touch and go. Especially in Bradford. Shimla really stands apart from the others here with it's excellent service. You are always greeted by a waiter when you walk in and while you're waiting for your seat the manager always acknowledges you. Working in the service industry, I know this is a big deal now apparently but in a restaurant I am still taken aback by it (especially given how busy they are). On this visit the wait was a bit longer than normal and he came over to apologise (not only to us but the party before us as well). Once seated, our order was taken quickly and the starters were out within 10 min or so. 
While eating our starter, I noticed that the lady at the table next to us was having issue with her food (not sure what but I've never seen that before at Shimla) and the manager and the waiters really went above and beyond fussing over her

Food:
When I first moved to Yorkshire I used to exclusively order Korma when I went for a curry. I like creamy mild currys and Korma largely seems like a safe bet. The menu at Shimla is exhaustive and there are about 4 or 5 different currys that fall into the category I would usually be drawn to and in the time I've been going I've had them all. I have two favourites; Mirpuri and Jaipuri. Luckily for me, my dad likes similar currys so I was able to get both tonight and share with him. 
To start however we had a grill platter and I ordered a dish of Chana Chaat (a spicy chick dish) to accompany it. The platter had everything you would expect, Lamb Chops, Chicken Tikka, Kebabs, Lamb Tikka and Fish Masala and all cooked and spiced perfectly. I'd never had the Chaat before so was quite looking forward to it and it was lovely. Not too spicy and not too much yoghurt. 
The currys are always the star of the show though. My Chicken Tikka Jaipuri was delicious. The Jaipuri is a tangy but creamy curry and one of their many 'award winning dishes'. My dad had the Chicken Mirpuri. The two currys are fairly similar with the Mirpuri being less tangy and less spicy than the Jaipuri. There is also more of a taste of cardamom and cloves in the Jaipuri, two flavours which I usually avoid but they compliment the creamy tangy sauce excellently. My mum went for something a bit different "Lamb Dansak" - a curry shop favourite albeit one I had avoided in the past due to the presence of pineapple, I did sneak a quick bite though and the lamb was cooked beautifully and the sauce with the lentils was not overpowered by the strong taste of pineapple. My partner had Lamb Garlic which I also had a bite of and again the lamb was cooked beautifully.

Overall:
There is a reason Shimla has it's reputation. It is consistently amazing and it is just one of those places that everyone who loves curry should go. After an amazing night of food, I usually dread the bill but for all of that, the bill came out at less than £60.

I would go as far to say that Shimla is the definitive Bradford Curry House. 

Creative Breads, Shipley

@ Shipley Health Food Shop, 40 Westgate, Shipley BD18 3QX | 01274 80 90 79 | www.creativebreads.co.uk

Type of Food: Bakery

I just wanted to quickly blog about the best bacon sandwich I have ever had. 

I love bacon sandwiches. I used to have them every Wednesday during our team meeting at work. But the sandwich I had from Creative Breads was by far the best. 

Countless pieces of bacon (possibly four but then again I didn't count I was too busy eating), home made bread. Cooked perfectly. Ideal

Anyone in the Shipley area needs to try it. In fact, anyone not in the Shipley area needs to make the effort to try it.

don't tell Titus ..., Saltaire

6 Victoria Rd, Saltaire Village BD18 3LA | 01274 595633 | donttelltitus.co.uk

Type of Food: Bar Grub

Price:  2 mains + 3 pints = £35
Occasion: Sunday Lunch with friends
Date Visited: January 2013
Overall Rating: *** Good

Eating out twice in two weeks ... how extravagant! don't tell Titus ... is a place I've not been to for a good five years despite living within walking distance of where I live. Right in the heart of beautiful Saltaire Village it's very popular locally. 

Atmosphere:
The first time I came here, the atmosphere put me off. I thought it felt a bit to pretentious and stuffy. Not sure if that was because I was a student and anywhere were 'normals' went was too stuffy but that was the impression I had had before we went. On our visit on Sunday it was busy, not too busy but busy enough to have to wait 10 min for a table. To be fair, it does feel like a trendy bar, mainly because it is, but it actually felt welcoming today. I went with a large party so there wasn't anywhere suitable in the bar but luckily there was a restaurant upstairs with a table. We were taken upstairs after a short wait and were greeted to an empty room full of messy tables with a single exception, ours. Felt a bit odd ...

Service:
Can't really complain. We didn't wait long for service or food. The barman looked made sure we had a drink while we waited and they made us feel welcome.

Food:
The first thing I would point out, it is expensive so I expected high standard not just standard bar grub (which to be honest I expected)..It was a difficult choice as the menu sounded delicious. There were few things I couldn't have had. With it being a Sunday I went a bit traditional and ordered Leek & Chicken Pie and most of the others had a Sunday Roast (only one on offer, Pork). It was delicious. It came with 'fresh vegtables' (just carrots and turnip in the end) and my choice of potato (mash). Beautifully presented and filling. Couldn't have asked for more. It was so good I actually can't recall what everyone else's food was like.

Overall:
Expensive bar grub. But very very good expensive bar grub. Would go again.