Have an Award Winning Curry Experience at Asha’s Birmingham

Asha’s prides itself on providing an “award- winning” curry experience for diners in Birmingham, which they consider to be the “UK capital of curry”. It also has restaurants in Solihull, Manchester, and even international ones in countries such as Kuwait. When I came to Birmingham last year with some friends, we were looking for top quality Indian food. After a quick search on Google Maps, they suggested Asha’s.

Birmingham is the UK’s second largest city, which is famous for its industrial heritage. In recent years, there has been lots of regeneration work taking place here, which has completely transformed parts of the city centre. For instance, the Bullring and Birmingham New Street Station. Plus, new offices for PwC and HSBC were being constructed too, which have now been completed.

As well as being one of the largest cities in the UK, it is also one of the most diverse. According to the 2011 census, Birmingham has one of the largest Indian populations in the UK. So, it comes as no surprise that there are many restaurants here that serve authentic Indian food.

First Impressions of Asha’s

Asha’s was really posh, and modern too. I loved the teak furniture and the glass flowerpots with the lights underneath. The instrumental music in the background was a nice touch too… When we arrived, we were greeted by the waiters, who seated us and took our orders shortly after. I was very impressed with the service here, as they were friendly and approachable.

We were quite lucky to be seated by the window, as there was more natural light, and I could see views outside. When a bus went past the window, I noticed that bus fare in Birmingham was a bit pricey (approximately £4 for all day). It surprised me as I was expecting public transport to be cheaper like in Manchester and London.

The menu is quite expensive…

The menu had a wide selection of Indian dishes including curries, meat dishes, and seafood dishes. They also cater for vegetarians too. In my opinion, the menu here was quite pricey, with most of the mains being over £10. You could easily spend £20 here just by ordering a main and side dish. Therefore, I’d recommend taking your time when ordering.

Review of my meal

After debating between ordering a seafood dish or a vegetarian dish, I chose the Aloo Matar Gobi (£12.95) and plain Naan (£3.25). As the name suggests, the main ingredients in Aloo Matar Gobi are potatoes (aloo), cauliflower (gobi), and peas (matar). It was cooked in a curry with cumin, ginger, and chilli to add loads of flavour and spice to this dish.

This dish came presented in a ceramic bowl, with a large red chilli on top. Yoghurt was also drizzled on the top, with some fresh green coriander for the finishing touch. Meanwhile, the Naan bread came presented in a black wired basket, wrapped in a white fabric sheet. I was not prepared to do the chilli eating contest, so I left the chilli on the side and avoided consuming it…

The best way to enjoy this dish is to have it with the naan bread, so you can really savour the taste of it with each bite. The cauliflower and potatoes were perfectly cooked, as they were really tender. The curry was the perfect thickness, so there were no complaints here. I personally like the curry to be slightly thicker. Overall, this dish definitely met my expectations.

Despite being a fantastic meal, I don’t think it was worth the prices stated on the menu. I feel the Naan bread was not worth £3.25, considering you could eat at other restaurants and get same quality naan for less than £1. Plus, for the portion of the Aloo Mata Gobi, it was certainly not worth over £10. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable lunch…

Verdict- award winning (and expensive)

Overall, while Asha’s prides itself on providing an “award- winning” curry experience, it is also an expensive one. Though the Aloo Matar Gobi and Naan bread met all my expectations in terms of quality and taste, it didn’t in terms of price…

Instead of coming to Asha’s, I would recommend trying some of the other restaurants around here. Many of which have halal options and better value for money.

Directions to Asha’s Birmingham: