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!).
4 comments:
how much were you paid mate to create these comments. The atmosphere at Dhanak DeirA IS ASTONISH AND THE FOOD IS ABSOLUTLY BEAUTIFUL, YOU MUST BE PAID A BIG COMMISION TO CREATE THIS CONSPIRICY ! I would rate the food 10 out of 10 becuse it is the most traditional taste unlike the usual curry tastes you get from typical resturants. iAM SORRY TOSAY BUT THE COMPARISON OF DHANAK DEIRA TO BLACKPOOL WHAT A TASTELESS PERSON YOU ARE
went tonight, food brilliant - chicken rolls and chicken tikka starter, lamb saag, roti, egg fried rice and whole lobster in house special sauce, all gorgeous. Recommend to all
Just to let you all know, these so-called, indians or pakistanis had us off.
Me and my cousins called in on : Tuesday, 7th of July about a good thirteen of us. We were given our seats. Starters took about 45 minutes to prepare.
Thereafter, about an hour wait later came our main-course.
(we asked the waiter prior to ordering the dishes how many people would one dish be suitable for?)
The waiter replied "it's fit for, 4 people"
When the dishes arrived we were gob-smacked at the pea-sized portion we were provided with. We spoke to the waiter again who told us that we are lying?!?! After this we avoided any embarasment and ordered another four dishes to serve the thirteen people.
The quality and quantity of the food was appauling, the level of service was hideous! The restraunt is lavish and as for the management they need to buck up their attitudes.
Just like to also let u know that the dish which was only fit for one person was charged at #10 pounds. I'd rather go to my local curry house and pay a fraction of the price for the shit I was given at Dhanak Deira.
Hina, I bet your relatives own this hole on Blackburn Road. Everyone has there opinion and an honest opinion counts please withdraw your comment.
I would like to let you know that the revenue this place generates, is from weddings and parties. To just walk-in and order something, don't even bother.
And dear management, for taking the mickey, with us the internet will hear our voice. We will let everyone know never to visit your restraunt simply because you lot have taken the piss.
What a beautiful restaurant only to be let down by ill mannered staff. Im sure the kitchen staff were laughing at us as the food was so hot(even the mild dishes). The portions were minute and over priced. I was amazed to find a restaurant that doesnt sell acohol, we decided that this was probably a religious thing but why does that mean others cant indulge? all in all a biq fat zero from me and my family
Post a Comment