Out For Dinner At Undal Restaurant In Ripley
Published On Wednesday 30 Aug 2023 by Sticky Beak
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I can’t deny it anymore, I’m a bad influence. There, Man Bird, I said it; now you can do your little gloat dance! In mitigation though, it wasn’t me who started the slide to naughtiness, it was His Nibs – let me explain. Scrolling through Facebook, he’d spotted Undal’s banquet offer: £13.95 per person for Poppadom’s and Pickles, any starter, any main, any rice OR naan, and tea OR coffee to finish. This is available Sunday-Tuesday, and it weas a Tuesday evening, so I cheekily said “get a table booked, then”! Next thing you know, I was being told to get changed as we were off out…result, I’d say, wouldn’t you?
Just across the road and down a bit, there’s a car park that’s free of charge after 6pm, so we parked there and walked down to Undal. As we stepped inside, one of the team warmly greeted us and escorted us down to our table. In common with a lot of other Indian restaurants, the décor at Undal is colourful and warm-toned, and there are striking prints on the wall. I liked the fact that you aren’t crammed in like Sardines in a can; there’s a nice enough space between each table to keep conversation private…unless you like the sound of your own voice and want the whole venue to hear you!
The banquet is a CASH ONLY offer, so be aware of this when you visit. Undal is also unlicensed so you need to take your own alcohol to consume, though they do sell soft drinks and obviously there’s tap water always available. Throughout the evening we had a trio of great young gents serving us, and they were all so polite and friendly (as well as being good at their job!) that they deserve mentioning: Raihan, Emon, and Mustak; you were all fantastic, thank you.
A platter with the poppadom’s in and a pair of pickle trays – one mild, one fiery – were placed before us to enjoy whilst we decided on our starters, mains and sundries. The mild pickle tray had the onion salad, Mango Chutney, Sweet Red Dip, and Raita on, and the hotter one had Green Chilli Pickle, Mixed Pickle, and sour, hot lime Pickle – plenty for our taste buds to be occupied with.
I decided to have the Vegetable Stuffed Peppers to start and His Nibs went for the Lamb Lazeez, a concoction of BBQ’d Lamb Tikka, Peppers, Onions and Tomatoes that are stir-fried with home-made Chilli Pickles. It wasn’t long before they were set down for us to tuck into, and jolly tasty they were, too!
The Man Birds’ Lamb Lazeez was certainly deserving of the chilli marker at the side of its description; by the last mouthful, His Nibs’ lips were tingling nicely. Chef uses Lamb that is flavoursome in its own right, but when the spices are added there are several more layers of taste to appreciate. The plentiful vegetables in this dish make it lovely and filling, and it certainly whetted The Man’s appetite and got him enthused about what was to follow.
Many of you are perhaps thinking that my choice of Stuffed Pepper wasn’t about to set the world on fire, excitement-wise, but it certainly delivered on the palate. The large Green Pepper had had its top cut off and in its centre was a medley of spiced, finely-chopped veggies. For a pleasing presentation, the top was replaced and, when I removed it to tuck in, a tantalising aroma drifted up to my nostrils, carried on tendrils of steam. This was a surprisingly filling starter (also available as a main course, should you fancy it), and I was very happy with the choice I’d made. Both starters came with a side salad garnish and a bowl of cooling yoghurt dip.
Undal offer their banquet diners a wide choice of dishes to select from; the only dishes not routinely included in the offer price are the seafood ones, which I think is fair enough, given the prices of these items. You can have seafood dishes though, if you wish; any extra charge will just be added to your bill.
As it was, the Goan Red Murgh (Chicken) Curry had caught my fancy, and The Man opted for the North Indian Garlic Chilli Chicken…he was going to be creating some interesting ‘aromas’ of his own that night, lucky me, eh?! To go with our mains, we went for Lemon and Chilli Rice and a Shabzi Naan (Naan stuffed with spicy mixed vegetables), doing our usual thing of sharing both between us. There were some dishes on the menu at Undal that I haven’t seen before, including one with Pumpkin in, so we’ll definitely be returning to try some more of the meals on offer here.
By now, the restaurant was really busy and the time between courses had slowed a little; this seemed to bother the staff more than it bothered us (we hadn’t even noticed!) and they came over to apologise for the wait. In all honesty, it allowed us to digest our starters before contending with the mains – no bad thing – and we don’t particularly want to rush when we’re dining out, especially when we’re having a good time.
Raihan brought out the food on a tray, wiping the warmed plates before putting them in front of us, and double-checking the order as he placed the cast iron pots on the table. The Shabzi Naan had been ready-quartered for convenience, and the rice was piled up in an oval shape on a platter – Chef sure is a feeder at Undal!
Both of us could see the meat in our curries, so plentiful was it, and the chicken was moist and tender. The curry bases were wonderfully thick and well spiced, though mine was more complex, I would say; His Nibs’ Garlic Chilli Chicken was exactly that, whereas mine had more layers of spice and depth to it. Any Naan (whether stuffed or not) should still be nice and soft, in my opinion, and the one at Undal was just perfect; best of all, it provided the means with which to scoop up the last vestiges of sauce in the bowls.
Throughout both courses of our meal, check-backs had been done, and the team were very happy to see clean plates as we set our cutlery down. It always makes me chuckle when His Nibs gets his Nikon camera out; without fail, curiosity builds from a venue’s staff and you can see them itching to ask what it’s for!
When our black coffees were brought over, it was the moment where inquisitiveness couldn’t be quelled any longer and we were asked if we were food reviewers. The cat was finally out of the bag, as they say! Evidently, Undal’s owner (Raihan’s dad!) had known who we were but hadn’t told his team until they were clearing our main courses away; the young lads didn’t know whether to believe him or not, so that’s why they’d asked… brilliant bit of brinkmanship by daddy #parentingwin.
I forgot to ask what blend they use, but the filter coffee was really nice; so much so that they refilled our cups for us as we said how much we were enjoying it. We’d been at Undal for about 1 hour 45 minutes which, for the food we’d had and the fact we had two coffees, was just about spot-on I’d say.
Both of us left this Ripley eaterie with huge smiles on our faces and a determination to re-visit in the very near future. Hot Wings happily awarded here . To book your table ring 01773 741525 or visit the website www.undal.co.uk. You can view the menu online too, in case you’re in the market for a take-away. Undal is open 7 days-a-week from 5.30-10.30pm – Bank Holiday opening times may differ though, so double check!
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