Regards Restaurant, Walsall

Where is it?

It is situated in Anchor Road, across the road from Aldridge shopping centre and not far from The Crown pub. The Indian restaurant is housed in a large detached building and its name is displayed in large red writing on a black background, making it hard to miss. There is plenty of parking outside near to a couple of bus shelters.

How about inside?

It was smaller than I was expecting inside, although there was seating for more than 50 diners. Almost all the tables were full on a Saturday night so I was glad that we had booked in advance.

A party of around 12 people were sat around the largest table when we arrived, but many of the tables had seating for four people. There were also a number of booths but they did appear slightly dated compared to the other tables. There were a few pictures on the walls, including one of a large Buddha head. It seemed to be very family friendly, with a number of youngsters occupying seats in one area of the restaurant.

One of the waiters also brought down a high chair for a couple who arrived with a baby shortly after we sat down. The restaurant is licensed but you are also allowed to bring your own alcohol.

So, what's the food like?

We were brought some poppadoms on arrival, with four pickles and dips, as we browsed the menu. There were all the usual curries you would expect to find in an Indian restaurant, but there were also the tawa specials which were served on the flat disc-shaped griddle. To start, we ordered the Regards platter which consisted of tandoori chicken, a lamb chop, chicken tikka, sheek kebab and fish, with a side salad. The chicken tikka was tasty but the lamb was overcooked and the fish tasted a little soggy.

Was the main course any better?

Luckily, it was much nicer and we were not waiting long before the main meals were brought out.

I had ordered the tawa chicken tikka jalfrezi, whilst my partner ordered the ordinary chicken jalfrezi. Both were brought out with fluffy pilau rice served in individual dishes.

They both also came with a warning that they were hot, and the menu didn't lie. Hidden in the nicely spiced sauce, and amongst huge chunks of chicken, were little chillies cut in half.

The portion sizes were just right and the flavour was delicious – once you got over the heat. We shared a generous portion of strawberry cheesecake and pistachio ice-cream for dessert.

Unfortunately, the cheesecake was almost as frozen as the ice-cream.

The bill came with individual orange chocolates and a complimentary shot glass filled with brandy or baileys over ice – a nice touch.

Was it good value?

The bill came to £46.10, including a bottle of the Cuvée Rousson dry white wine and glass of Pepsi.

Everything was reasonably priced and there was plenty of variety on the menu. The waiters were attentive and friendly and they also seemed to be doing quite a good trade with takeaway orders.

The quality of the food we tried was mixed, but there were a few nice touches such as the complimentary liqueurs at the end of the meal and the fact that you could bring your own alcohol if you fancied a meal out but wanted to keep the cost down.

It also catered well for parents with young children and the atmosphere was still relaxing. There was no screaming and it wasn't like walking into a children's birthday party.

ADDRESS:

Regards Restaurant,

47 Anchor Road,

Aldridge,

Walsall,

WS9 8PT

Telephone: 01922 744500