Bokhara Brasserie

Location
At the Court Coleman Manor House and hotel near Penyfai in Bridgend.

Ambience
Spacious, nicely decorated with decent furniture. Great setting. Kitchen is open plan and you can watch your food being cooked.

Service
Excellent service, staff are very friendly and keen to please.

Menu Choice
The menu on offer is authentic Indian cuisine – so if you’re a big fan of Western curry tastes such as baltis and vindaloos you might be disappointed. The menu on offer is varied if not extensive.

Food Quality
The quality of meat and ingredients used was superb, and all the dishes were full of flavour, however for our tastes they were a little on the creamy side and not spicy enough. The supplied puppadoms, rice and nan breads were all first class.

Value for Money
Average, not too expensive but not the cheapest, the quality of the food makes it good value.

Overall Rating
4/5 – This restaurant has won many awards and gets some great reviews. For our tastes the dishes were perhaps too biased towards traditional southern Indian (rather than Bhangladeshi) cuisine, but they cannot be faulted on quality.

Telephone: (029) 2022 6687 / (029) 2022 6715

Location
On the main road in Canton, very limited parking available outside.

Ambience
New décor and very pleasant surroundings – warm and well-lit.

Service
Plenty of staff who are keen to please. Service was by the proprietor himself on this occasion,and was excellent.

Menu Choice
A good choice of dishes are available to suit all tastes, with Chef’s specials. We sampled 6 different main courses in all.

Food Quality
Overall the food quality was excellent. The quality of the sauces was also excellent – rich and tasty. Both prawn and chicken dishes were good.

Value for Money
Prices generally good and represent value for money.

Overall Rating

We visited this restaurant on a few occasions some time ago but did not review it. Overall it was a very pleasant eating experience and we would recommend it.
Overall rating 4/5

Location
On a popular side street in Canton, very limited parking available outside.

Ambience
Busy, but slightly canteen style with all the tables arranged in rows.

Service
Plenty of staff who seemed keen to please and overall good service.

Menu Choice
An abundance of tempting sounding dishes to choose from, with more exotic duck, ostrich and venison.

Food Quality
Below average – all the sauces of the dishes tasted the same apart from the amount of curry powder used to make them spicy. (A variety of dishes were ordered.) Chicken was slightly chewy and gave the impression of being reheated. Considering the choice available on the menu and the fact that the prices are on the high side, this was bitterly disappointing.

Value for Money
Prices generally high, around £8 for a main course without rice.

Overall Rating
2/5 – a good menu let down by the quality of the actual dishes and the fact that they all look and taste the same apart from the strength. There are many better restaurants around.

Location
On the main road in Canton, very limited parking available outside.

Ambience
Normally a busy restaurant, an slight smell of disinfectant.

Service
Plenty of staff who are keen to please.

Menu Choice
One major point – this restaurant does not serve alcohol. You can bring your own though. A good choice of dishes are available to suit all tastes.

Food Quality
The quality of the sauces are excellent – rich and tasty. However the prawns we tasted were dry and shrivelled up. Chicken was good although the tikka has a slightly tangy taste.

Value for Money
Prices generally good.

Overall Rating
3/5 – a good menu let down by the quality of the prawns and the fact that you cannot buy alcohol with your meal.

Town: Birchgrove, Cardiff

Date Visited: August 2009

Location
On the main road from Cardiff to Caerphilly, near Birchgrove pub. Parking tricky at times.

Ambience
Décor somewhat like a transport café, with no tablecloths. Lack of cleaniness in some places. Door to toilets open for all to see from nearby tables. Generally poor hygiene in the gents’ toilet.

Service
Very polite waiters and quick service but poor presentation at table.

Menu Choice
A reasonable choice of chef’s specialties together with the standard Indian dishes. A range of prawn and vegetable options.

Food Quality
Puppadoms slightly old and sweaty. Good rice (plain and pulao) ,fluffy, if a little tepid. The sauces of the main dishes were lacking in depth and tangy taste. The chicken, particularly, was very chewy.

Value for Money
Average.

Overall Rating
1/5 – disappointing. The food was adequate, but the surroundings, presentation and questionable cleanliness standards let this rsetaurant down badly.

Location
Situated on the road to Llandaff Cathedral  (turn off the A4119)

Ambience
Somewhat small and tables rather close together but pleasant atmosphere.

Service
We have visited this restaurant on a few occasions previously and have not         been disappointed. On our review visit however the staff seemed quite detached and not particularly welcoming. Service speed was average. It was a moderately busy Friday evening

Menu Choice
Excellent choice to suit all tastes with some interesting and unusual chef’s specialties.

Food Quality
Again we were disappointed with this particular meal. The Prawn Balti lacked onions and peppers and was almost indistinguishable from a prawn curry.  Chicken Tikka Jalfrezi  did not live up to its usual chilli pepper strength. Real and delicious  lime pickle though.

Value for Money
Prices average for Cardiff and therefore reasonable.

Overall Rating
No more than 3/5 for this visit, but we plan to return.

http://www.therajtalbotgreen.co.uk/

Location
On the main street in Talbot Green, limited parking available outside.

Ambience
In need of decoration, an overriding smell of disinfectant.

Service
Staff keen to please if a little non-engaging.

Menu Choice
A fairly standard menu, perhaps lacking in Chef’s specialities. The usual range of bhunas, baltis and so on.

Food Quality
Very average – the prawn balti was watery and lacking in any real substance. Jalfrezi was a good strength but did not contain too many fresh ingredients.

Value for Money
Prices generally good, although king prawn dishes are quite expensive. There is a Sunday and Monday evening buffet for £8.50.

Overall Rating
2/5 – if you are in Talbot Green you might as well pop to Indiaah in Pontyclun. However if you are slightly tipsy after drinking in the Talbot Arms you may not notice the lack of quality.

http://www.restaurantsinpontyclun.com/

Location
On the small industrial estate to the north of Llantrisant, near the Royal Mint. The restaurant is contained in what used to be the Black Prince nightclub and hotel.

Ambience
Somewhat café-like, and the karaoke from the bar could be heard clearly. Clientele were limited in number for a weekend.

Service
Slow. Only one waiter who seemed stressed despite only having to serve 3 tables.

Menu Choice
Very limited menu. No chef’s specialties. Some classic Indian dishes such as Balti not available. Very limited choice for non meat-eaters.

Food Quality
Superb rice, second to none. Main dishes very tasty and full of substance, particularly Prawn Kolhapuri. The taste of the chicken was rather processed.

Value for Money
Prices generally good.

Overall Rating
3/5 – although the food was decent enough, you cannot forgive the total lack of atmosphere, the slightly odd clientele, and the fact that there is a noisy bar in the adjoining room.

Location
On the main street in Tonypandy, an old converted chapel, parking available on the main road.

Ambience
Spacious and airy, plenty of room, good decor and a couple of TV screens that show Indian pop music and various Indian channels.

Service
Excellent service, the staff are very attentive and keen. A buzzer system is used if you need to call them to your table.

Menu Choice
A great selection, one of the best around, many many dishes and various strengths of curry are available. Lots of specialty dishes as well as the standard curries. Good choice of starters and most dishes available with mixed vegetables or mushrooms as well as the standard chicken, lamb or prawns. A good range of beef curries which is unusual.

Food Quality
Superb – the quality of meat and the richness of the sauce is a reminder of curries from years ago. The beef dishes are very tempting. Chicken Bahar was spicy and rich. Prawn Balti has a depth of taste and strength that is unusual.

Value for Money
Excellent, cheap prices and quality food.

Overall Rating
5/5 – well worth a trip to the Rhondda.

Ambience
Spacious, tasteful modern décor, well-lit and comfortable furniture.

Service
Excellent service overall. The staff are all extremely pleasant, courteous and responsive to any request. There may be some waiting time in busy periods.

Menu Choice
Excellent menu with chef’s specialities virtually cooked to order. Agni Karahi ( chicken flamed with brandy ) is superb. Something for all tastes. Special offer menu  ( 4 courses for £9.50) on Sundays and Monday evening.

Food Quality
Superb –  the quality of food and presentation is consistently good

Value for Money
Excellent, modest prices for quality food. Special offer menu is tremendous value

Overall Rating
5/5 – probably the best to date in the local area and would rival the best elsewhere.

Highly recommended.