2:43pm Thursday 8th October 2009
By David Magilton
THE choice of restaurant for Eating Out is usually a random affair, but when I was contacted by Marlene Morgan, of Hindley Green, urging me to visit Sunar Gaw, I decided to try it out.
In her letter she claimed: “I have been visiting an excellent Balti house in Bolton for the past 10 years.
“It is small but extremely comfortable and there is a warm inviting atmosphere about the place and the staff and service are excellent.
“The overriding factor is the food, which is extensive in choice and excellent in quality.”
The restaurant, which won The Bolton News Readers’ Restaurant of the Year three times in the 1990s, is situated opposite Burnden Park and there is ample parking available nearby.
My wife and I went on a Thursday night to be met by a near full house of around 50 people.
There was a party of more than 20 and I thought we were in for a long wait, but all credit to the staff who dealt with us calmly and efficiently and the food was served without any apparent delay.
The restaurant is small and intimate but the rickety chairs which you sank down into, leaving the table top level with your chest, were a little disconcerting. Eating Out for me is not just about the food but the overall experience and unfortunately I felt Sunar Gaw let itself down on that score as I did with the dated decor which could do with a makeover.
And that is a pity because the service and the food were excellent and superb value for money.
Thursday night is special banquet evening with a starter, main course, rice or nan for a reasonable £8.95. The usual popadoms were followed by my starter of stuffed pepper, which was delicious. There are different options for the filling but I went for the chicken. My wife chose sizzling chicken tikka which was also tasty and flavoursome.
The menu is extensive and selection is always a problem, but we decided to share two meals from the new dishes range.
They were good choices and came with delicious sauces. We went for the Keralah special, which comprised chicken cooked in garlic, onion, green pepper, tomato, green chilli and spices, served with rogan josh sauce. It proved a pleasant contrast to the sweeter Aghra special of lamb cooked in sauce with almond, garlic, ginger, onion, tomatoes, ghee, mango and tamarind.
With one portion of rice and a nan between us it was more than enough.
The meal was washed down with the excellent Cobra Indian beer and the bill came to a reasonable £25.65.
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