Yellowfingers.co.uk

42 Dudley Road, Stourbridge, DY9 8EA Tel:  013…

This venue was recommended to us as a potential Bengal Fusion beater in the Lye – Its not, but it is rather good.

These days, a lot of the restauranteurs are taking advantage of the sad closure of many of our midland (or is it national?) public houses, and this balti house resides in the converted ‘Swan with Two Necks’ pub on the Dudley Road, on the way from Lye to the Merry Hill Shopping centre.

The food is well presented and the quality is up there. I chose a Nargis Kebab starter which was OK, the mince a little dry but very edible.

I followed this up with a Chicken Tikka Mattar -Chicken and Keema curry -yum!

Its very bright inside, and I suppose as its quite ‘open plan’, its not so suited maybe if you want a romantic meal for two -but I could say the same for Bengal Fusion, and thats great too, so no points docked. I think its more suited for family/friends parties, which is just what we were having.

Of special note, I must mention the popadums -some of the lightest, crispiest I have had in a while -do try.

The fish tank is centre piece in the main dining area -but no, you can’t pick your ‘Tandoori Fish’ from there. Nice tropical fish though, which seemed to attract the attention of the children in the restaurant.

The service was excellent,  not that slow, and neither did we feel at all rushed, considering our visit ocurred on February  Saturday night.

Althought its a converted pub, its unlicensed so take your own alcoholic drinks in if you wish.

Overall, not bad at all.

Unlicensed

Rating:

178-179 High Street, Lye, Stourbridge DY9 8LH

“Don’t be in a hurry, if you come to Harrys” is what I have been advised my lead-off to this review should be by my Cousin, who suggested we try this contemporary restaurant yesterday evening.

The food is superb, and as the restaurant and staff are apparently ex ‘Laxys Of Lye’, this is of no wonder. I chose a Tikka Dansak as below.

Its well presented and cannot be faulted at all for quality. Delicious main courses are completed by nan breads, which come sweet and fluffy.

It was a busy evening straight after Christmas , and on entering I noticed the restaurant was at least three-quaters full. There was a party of at least twenty by the door who were being looked after by the staff and all the time people were calling for take-aways.

Now all this would be fine if seated customers were served within a reasonable time, but these places must decide who they are catering for, because a wait of an hour for a customer to be – not served – but just for their order to be taken, while take -away customers come and go, is dreadful, to be honest.

I truly believe that if you want a take-away, you should go to a take-away and not buy one from a sit-down restaurant. Restaurants , I think should serve seated customers in PREFERENCE to take-away cusomers, or not offer this service at all from the restaurant, because no-one really wants to wait over an hour for food.

We had to chase the restaurant staff just to get them to take our order, so this is something this restaurant need to take on board.

However once we got through this stage, it was served by polite and understanding staff, so its not all bad news.

Its not licenced so bring your own, but bring a lot of it because you could be in it for the long haul.

Website

Menu

174 High Street ,Lye, DY9 8LN Telephone: 01384 89 11 11

In the old days a Balti house used to be like a transport cafe. Glass topped tables, the menu underneath, rubbish wooden chairs and always cheap and cheerful.

These days, when there is so much choice, especially in the Balti capital of the Black Country – Lye – you need something little more to stand out from the old style of restaurant.

Enter ‘Bengal Fusion’.

Not a glass topped table in site, it has posh wooden floors and TV monitors on the wall showing modern ‘Bollywood’ style movies.

This restaurant was recommended to me and we all paid a visit on a busy Saturday night. Unfortunately we changed our booking at the last minute to accomodate a late arrival and the restaurant didn’t change the booking, however they did not give our seats away and with a minimum of fuss we were well looked after.

The food we received at this establishment was simply superb. One of our party had Lamb Chops as a starter. They were huge and looked fantastic. The picture here does not do them justice.

My Chicken Tikka Tawa was something else. Delivered on a flat metal ‘Tawa’ plate, it looked absolutely brilliant and tasted fantastic.

Naan breads and side dishes were also very well prepared with a great deal of effort to make everything look and taste ’special’.

Pricewise it is competitive without being overly expensive at all.

I cannot recommend this restaurant highly enough. It is one of a new breed of restaurant to hit Lye and the ‘old guard’ would be best advised to have a re-think, as the bar has been raised significantly by Bengal Fusion!

Website

Click for Menu

Unlicensed

1a, Pedmore Rd, Lye, Stourbridge, West Midlands DY9 8DJ Tel: 01384 353800

Excellent Balti House which has been redecorated recently. The menu is expansive and well catered for my wifes liking for Duck.

Light and crispy poppadoms, and delicious starters, I chose the Nargis kebab (natch!) why my wifes Mushroom Pakoras looked lovely.

My main course, the Chicken Tikka Nirmola was nice an spicy, not too hot,but with more kick than a standard balti.

Recommended

Take Away Menu

Rating:

53 High St, Lye, Stourbridge, West Midlands, DY9 8LQ Tel: 01384356519

Excellent Balti House and currently one of the better examples to be found in Lye at the moment.

The starters and main courses are delicious, as are the Naan breads and rice. A good varied menu.

Recommended.

Rating: