Namploy, Chorley Old Road, Bolton

Date - 23rd August

The good food for indians crew ventured to Namploy for some Thai. First impressions were very good. The decor actually suits the restaurant. The waitresses were actually Thai and not just some school drop outs looking for some quick cash.

First we were shown to the waiting area where we got some drinks and looked at the menu. They have a magician there to keep you entertained, I thought it was a good idea as it never became cheap or annoying. The tricks also amazed me! The only problem here was the time we waited for our table as they thought there were more of us to come. But this was sorted quickly.

Drinks in hand, we were shown to our table. The physical table was amazing, with hand carved scenes under the glass which can keep you (and any children) occupied. Meatys ordered prawns and chicken satay for starters, the verdict is good. Would have them again. The cucumber syrup is very nice indeed, give us more though! The veggies had one issue with their starters when they forgot to give us an accompanying sauce, this got sorted but I don't think the veggies were too impressed with that dish (veg kebabs).

Meat mains were very good, chicken with cashews and some spicy prawns (very spicy!). Rice was good too. I can't fault the mains in any way.

My view on this place is very good indeed, I will be going back as this is now Bolton's Thai place. I would recommend anyone to go. Price wise it was very good, 25 quid a head including 2 bottles of wine!

Very happy to go here again! You should too.

Pakora curry from Dhanak Deira

Dhanak Deira, Bolton

I write this as I sit on the toilet for the third time today, as last nights food manages to break free. Sorry for the graphic detail, but this is the end to a story that started 24 hours ago....as we walked into this restaurant we were greeted by a well dressed chap who was actually quite polite. I looked around and saw that this place was actually quite large with several large round tables. Asking if we could sit on one I was told that they are for bookings only, fair enough, there must be some people en route to enjoy dinner on a table with an inbuilt fountain! We were shown to our table and as the post below states, it had a ridiculous lower table which meant my legs would not fit under, I do not understand why anyone would want these tables anywhere, let alone a restaurant! Decor was very average, I was not offended like my fellow diners but it could have been better, much better. This is one of those places that tried too hard to be an 'interior designed' place, so much so that the finished article is anything but.

On to the food, mixed grill and prawns for starters. All cooked well, no real complaints apart from lack of mango chutney and onions. I hear the veg dishes were ok. But just ok. Mains were chicken karai and chicken palak. Both again were just ok, run of the mill stuff. They reminded me of other food items like bread and butter, they will keep you alive but you will never WANT to eat them, and when you do it's pretty much a non-event. Mains could and should have been much better for the prices we paid.

No hot towels to wipe our hands with either plus we had to get up and go to the counter to pay by card, but a plus point is that they do accept Amex.

I walked out of there not really remembering anything I'd eaten and more importantly not wanting to eat more.

It's very expensive for what it is, the food was mediocre, the service was just ok. They did deal with a problem dish quickly and took it off the bill without us asking.

I don't think I'd go back off my own back, but if someone took me I wouldn't be overly impressed either. One word sums it up for me...OK.

NP

Dhanak Deira, Blackburn Road, Bolton

Dhanak Deira, Blackburn Road, Bolton

Eating at last night's establishment was an experience and a half. On the outside the re-formed church looked stylish, classy and welcoming, as soon as we entered the building we were transported to 1970's Blackpool with lilac walls, flashing lights and an indoor waterfall…lovely.

A very stylish young man approached us, asking where we would like to sit, ooo choices so we asked if we could sit on the round tables on the other side of the restaurant. 'Oh no sorry you have to book them in advance' he replied. Okayyy then…

We sat down on our lovely rectangular table, which had an extremely awkward second table underneath, so if you are over 5' 5 forget about sitting with your knees under the actual table. We were handed our photocopied menus which were spilt into two sections Indian and Chinese, great more choices….we ordered our drinks (non alcoholic as they don't have a licence!), then food (we avoided the Chinese as the dishes did not seem as appetising as the Indian dishes!). For the meat lovers, it was the mixed grill and grilled prawns, for us veggies we ordered Pani Puri, Dhai Vada, Aloo Tikka and Paneer Tikka. The meatys liked their dishes, meat was cooked well and flavours were good overall, however a completely different story for the veggies.

The Pani Puri tasted bland, the Dhai Vada had no flavour, the Aloo Tikka was actually edible but the Paneer Tikka was a huge disappointment, we received 4 cubes, which had obviously been deep fried, placed on chunky peppers and 3 onions, the flavour was only improved with lashings of mint yogurt. So overall marks for starters for the veggies has to be a measly 4/10. The meat eaters slightly generous gave the starters 6/10.

So after disappointing starters we weren't really holding out much hope for the mains…and we were proven right. The veggies ordered, Vegetable Biriyani, Aloo Palak, Pakora Curry and Mash Dal. The meatys ordered Chicken Palak and Chicken Balti. First to arrive was the Mash Dal and the Pakora Curry…after a struggle by the waiter, Brian, who had a huge problem placing food onto the table and passed on the hot bowls to us, to place on the table.

'Interesting' I thought when I lifted the lid on the Pakora Curry 'What the hell is that' shouted my dining companion in disgust…

The sight that was thrust upon us was extremely revolting; the Pakoras were swimming in some sort of mix of water, cream and oil. I bravely picked up a spoon and ladled some into my plate and went in for the taste test…but surprise surprise there was no taste, it was like eating sponge. So awful in fact that I complained and we were brought over Aloo Gobi instead, which was edible only due to the fact that the ginger and garlic were masking any real flavours. Our Aloo Palak never arrived (thankfully) and the Mash Dal and the Biriyani were below average. The naan was ok though.

The meatys found their Chicken Balti tasted better than the Chicken Palak but both dishes were below average. Overall the main dishes were worse than the starters if that is possible. We waited around for our hot towels and when they didn't seem to be appearing, we quickly legged it over to the till, paid the extortionate price (including 8% service charge) and vacated fast.

Overall for Veggie mains 2/10

Overall for Meat mains 5/10

Overall Marks

Ambience 2

Service 5

Food 4

Accessibility 7

Value for money 2

Total 20/50

Verdict: Only go to Dhanak Deira if you want your kids to see the lights and the strange ornaments, as it's probably cheaper than going Blackpool (Just!).