The Lodge, Shenstone Wood End

There are so many balti houses in the Midlands it is puzzling how so many of them survive, let alone make a profit,

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The Lodge, situated near Shenstone Wood End, is literally in the middle of nowhere, so its success and popularity is even more baffling.

Situated off the A5127, on the road linking Sutton Coldfield to Lichfield, The Lodge is almost inaccessible by foot, so diners have to rely on taxis or a designated driver to get there.

With this in mind, I thought it was about time to find out why people go out of their way for an Indian in a time when it feels like there is one on every street corner.

On arrival, during a busy Friday night, a smartly dressed attendant waved our taxi driver in to the car park, so we felt suitably greeted before we had even stepped out of the vehicle.

Stepping through the door, it was immediately apparent why friends who posses prior knowledge of The Lodge said "you must book".

My only moan was that we had to sit and wait for our 8pm booking for around 15 minutes, along with about 10 other hungry diners, who were all eyeballing the rather sad and depleted looking Bombay-mix.

Having time to cast our eyes around the restaurant, we got our first clue as to why The Lodge does so well.

On the wall of the waiting area are several pictures of The Lodge's owner, or manager, posing with an eclectic mix of celebs that have also gone out of their way for some fine Indian cuisine.

Giving the restaurant their seal of approval were business tycoon and former Dragon's Den star James Khan, celebrity chef turned cheese and wine shoplifter Antony Worrall Thompson and West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson.

Once shown to our seats, my partner and I began to realise why food fans, including the rich and famous, make the effort.

The poppadoms and condiments were on the table before we even had chance to sit down, and despite not having a liquor-licence we were promptly handed glasses for our drinks which were clanging together in our plastic carrier bags.

There is so much choice, that even the most experienced Indian food connoisseur would find something they haven't tried before. After much deliberation, I decided to go for the £4.95 mixed kebab and my other half decided to go for the king prawn puree which cost the same.

My meat dish was just right, with enough to keep me going before the main dish arrived, but not too much to have put me off round two.

I had a mix of shish kebab, tandoori chicken and lamb, served with a generous helping of salad.

Apart from groans of appreciation, my girlfriend said little as she tucked in to her prawn starter and even went as far to say: "That's one of the nicest things I have ever had."

So, on to the mains. I really struggled to decide what to go for, so I took advantage of The Lodge's combination dish option and had half a king prawn bhuna, juxtaposed with a chicken jalfrezi.

After spending what felt like an eternity deciding what to have, my partner decided to be really adventurous and have a chicken tikka masala.

We both really enjoyed the main event, although we ordered far too much as the majority of the chips, naan bread and pilau rice we asked for was still there at the end of the meal.

Despite our waistlines beginning to feel the strain, we were brave and had desserts, which neither of us could finish off.

I had a coconut ice cream cake, which was a lot nicer than it sounds and my partner had a caramel ice cream cake, which was also tasty. So, after feeling unable to move, we decided, it was worth going out of the way for.

ADDRESS

The Lodge, Shenstone Wood End; Lichfield; WS14 0LQ

Tel: 01543 483334