Anarkali dinner review
excellent food and great vegan options
47 The Tything, Worcester, WR1 1JT
the restaurant
As you pass the Anarkali on The Tything you will see it has a bright, modern facade. Inside the restaurant Billy, Cerys and I found that the modern feel continued. It is laid out simply with tables along each wall and a bar at the far end. For our Anarkali dinner review we asked to be seated by the window – I do like to people watch. However, the frosted glass in the window which gives the diners privacy from the street also prevents you getting a view outside. I had to resort to talking with my children!
When searching online, it was a struggle to find their website. And once on their website, I went to the contact page, but couldn’t see a phone number on there. A bit of work needed with the website and search engine optimisation.
We were seated and soon asked if we wanted drinks. J2O for Cerys and a Malaba beer each (I think that’s what it was called) for Billy and me. We ordered poppadoms and settled down to read the menu.
the menu
It is unusual for me to devote a section to the menu, but I think the Anarkali menu is excellent. What first struck me was the vegetarian starters (which included a number of vegan options). The first three options caught my eye – and of these it was the hara kebab that I chose. Next was the plant based kitchen section – vegetarian and vegan dishes. This section has some really interesting dishes and I spent some time making up my mind.
Indian meat is often cooked on the bone. It is for western tastes that many Indian restaurants serve all their meat dishes off the bone. The Anarkali’s railway curry is cooked on the bone. The menu states that it is the “most authentic curry you can have”. Not sure if it is true, or just good marketing, but they go on to say that it is also known as the staff curry. Rarely do I see a menu that excites me as much as this one did. And included in the non-meat dishes is one of my favourites, lamb karahi.
dinner
poppadoms
One of the best poppadoms and pickle & chutney trays I have had. The mango chutney and the yogurt were excelllent. The mango chutney quite light and fresh. The onions must have just been cut as they were zingy and fresh. We weren’t sure what was in the bowl with the red contents, but it was beautiful. Slightly sweet with a lovely taste. All three of us enjoyed it. We asked the waiter what it was and he said red onion in a sauce. I would not have guessed. The poppadoms were warm and fresh.
starters
My vegan dish of hara kebab was enjoyable. Stir fried chick pea, lentils, spinach and potato wrapped in batwa bread. I enjoyed this dish. It was different, healthy, and accompanied by a small side salad with a little sauce. I would have liked more sauce with it. I am sure had I asked, they would have brought more. The photograph does not do this dish justice – it’s just some things don’t photograph well.
Billy’s chicken tikka puri was very well presented. It coinsisted of dried chicken tikka, sweet and sour flavour, served on a pancake (puri). I tried some and it was lovely. Very similar in taste to the prawn puri I often choose at other restaurants.
main course
Mixed Tandoori – Tandoori chicken, sheek kebab, chicken tikka and lamb tikka, served with peshwari naan. Cerys’ request to replace the peshwari naan with chips was met with a confused look by the guy I thought appeared to be the owner or manager. He said it was much better with naan than chips. I said “kids” and shrugged my shoulders. He smiled and gave me a knowing look. Chips it was. It was cooked well, but the stand-out feature of this dish was the presentation. It looked great.
Billy’s paneer tawa also looked great. The very simple addition of a slice of orange really added to the presentation. He found this dish to have a variety of interesting flavours. Paneer isn’t Billy’s favourite option, but he tries it now and then and really enjoyed this dish.
I decided to go vegan and struggled to choose between the jackfruit karahi and the achari. I opted for the achari and did not regret it. Fresh courgette, mushroom and spinach bhuna, with fresh mango and home made pickle made this a wonderful dish of interesting flavours. Biting into the pockets of mango gave a refreshingly sweet change from the other flavours and the whole dish worked well for me. Both Billy and I had pilau rice as an accompaniment.
around and about the Anarkali
As the restaurant doesn’t open for lunch, it is evening activies which are most relevant. Anarkali is five minutes from both Foregate Street railway station and the Odeon cinema.
Pubs along The Tything include the Lamb & Flag, The Dragon Inn, and the Saracen’s Head.
facilities
parking
The restaurant does not have its own car park. There is, however, on-street parking. On our visit at 7.30 p.m. on a Saturday we were able to get a space about 200 yards further along The Tything. Alternatively, it is probably a five to ten minute walk from the city centre car parks.
disabled access
This restaurant is not suitable for wheelchairs.
toilets
The toilet was modern and clean. If you are tall, watch your head on the way as there is a low ceiling in the corridor.
take-aways
Take-away food is available.
Anarkali dinner review
We really enjoyed this meal. For more ideas check out my other Indian restaurant reviews.
Visit: Saturday 4 September 2021
Visit the Anarkali website.