Review:-Mughli

Having given them a day to get back to me after my email all I can do is post my email they clearly have no idea of customer service...

I hope never to encounter a review as bad as this one sadly the bad points way out weigh the good. I stand by my initial tweet if you want good Indian here is not the place....! People raving about this people have no concept of good food and are nothing more than sheep. My email which as stands is my review..

To Whom it may concern

Firstly I admire the damage limitation after the night shame it was barely addressed on the night...

I really don't know where to start there was a catalogue of errors.

1)2 of the chutneys were little more than components mixed with cheap ketchup(Red Onions, Chili imli a quick look suggests I should of encountered some kind of tamarind chutney, red onion chutney would imply paste not ketchup(But I can forgive this as this the standard British fare)).
2)The indian salad was tired

So already not looking good...

3)The greasy onion bhajias come out first, with a bit of a delay waiting for the Samosa Chaat one of the 2 staff hovering uncomfortably right next to our table says you can start Mmmm! yeah I know but we're waiting for the other one.
4)I straight away notice the chickpeas on the chaat are souring/off
5)The yoghurt dip accompanying the Bhajia clearly was also off had the souring of milk taste, not the yoghurt sour.

I'm still wondering about the chickpeas then it's confirmed...

6)Whilst still eating our starters one of the servers asked could he take the serving dishes as we'd cleared them to our plates. Certainly gave the impression you didn't have enough dishes in the kitchen. Still standing right next our table uncomfortably!
7)Now I'm not an impatient man I work in the trade, but a lot longer than I tolerate, to the point where I break for a cigarette whilst waiting for the main. I actually finally make a comment and ask.

8)So main arrives the vegetable sindhi I don't even know what to say, I straight away notice this is very wrong. I know what's wrong the prepared sauce has been left festering on the side in the kitchen souring, as had the chickpeas this was now confirmed in the chickpea tamarind side, my initial feeling correct on the starter.
9)For the first time in my life I actually send something back. I call over whom I presume is the manager and ask him to smell the sindhi and would he serve it to his family? This shouldn't of even made the pan let alone a customers table had the chef given a shit.

10)So reluctantly I guess the sindhi was removed from the meal I should bloody hope so I didn't even eat it.
11)I muttered about the chickpeas to the server when he was clearing and asked if I enjoyed it to which I said "NO" but to be honest these where tolerable and by this point I'd reach lets just finish and get out of here.

12)So really there was nothing to done to appease me except the removal of an item from the bill which I didn't even eat.

I have never in my life sent anything back to the kitchen, as a chef I do my damn hardest to clear my plate alas last night I not only left food, sent something back, and said No I didn't enjoy it neither did I leave a tip(Had I had 30p I wouldn't of even left the 20p). I have never done any of the preceding as I work in the trade and do know the warts and all of the industry. Up till this meal my worst comment to did you enjoy your meal was "It was OK". Sadly not only did I encounter bad service but also a bad meal. If you're going to make a customer wait for a main course(A sin in my book better to make sure once you start some ones order that it flows naturally) then make sure it's the bloody best you can produce. If a customer complains of course he expects it to be taken off his bill but true customer service would of been to exceed their expectations.

Honestly I can forgive the 2 waiters hovering right next to my table, and the ketchup driven chutney tray and even the bhajias but some of the rest, simply put was dismal! I would of expected this down the road at Punjab Tandoori I suspect your kitchen has a higher scores on the doors rating than them. I have never have encountered what I encountered last night and as for comparing you to Sanskruti! I suggest you take the time to eat there and learn in how to exceed a customers expectations and produce authentic food rather than generic food fit only for the masses who want a trendy restaurant to eat in.

A very dissapointed
PCD_Blogs

Never ever again will I visit again...

Service 2 out of 5
Food 2 out of 5

Feel welcome to follow food bloggers that rate this restaurant but they are nothing more than sheep who like the in thing and have little value on the industry!

Review:-Sanskruti

www.sanskrutirestaurant.co.uk

Having eaten and found a fair few Indians I'm getting at quite good at distinguishing the generic vs authentic. Now for some reason at the moment Mughli is the in place honestly unless it's changed(2-3 years ago I thought it was best) it's nice but I'd still go to Punjab Tandoori over it. I suspect many are sheep following the trend rather than actually reviewing on merit. Personally food wise I'd say there is little to split Akbar and Mughli. Now Punjab Tandoori certainly doesn't look like a place you'd want to visit if food isn't your first concern move on head towards Mughli. Any way that's Rusholme and trendy vs authentic and tasty.

Sanskruti Restaurant beats them all hands down. I'm even throwing Bradfords Prashad into the mix here. For sure they all have some strengths and weaknesses.

Now onto the review poppadums stumbled across a lovely date and tamarind chutney for which I just had to ask about, others pretty standard with the exception of the green one. Now normaly this is coriander and mint firstly I didn't detect mint but a little kick of chilli. So let's start with the weakness the Dudhi na Muthiya now this had a lovely flavour but being a bitter gourd dumpling was very dense and doughy. Having nothing to judge it against not sure if that's how it's supposed to be! Pattra, I love Pattra don't know why we don't see this more often on menus having only eaten this a couple of times it certainly was the best one I've had. The other one was a safe one Aloo Tikki nice now having eaten a variety of potato fritters I've had more interesting ones but they where fine.

Onto mains and sides now a little weakness again I struggle not having anything to compare to but the Methi Thepla I just felt was a little doughy. I suspect it should of had the texture of a good chappati. As for the Jeera rice this stood up through the meal the cumin offering a lovely little note every now and again. The main course dishes all where great everyone of us having a favourite for me the saffron, cashew and paneer was fantastic. The aubergine, potato and tomato stepping up in the heat scale yet still relatively mild reaching a crescendo with the supposedly safe one. The vegetable harabhara a mixture of vegetables bound in a green gravy putting the heat on the table. As for the garlic Naan this was probably the best one I've had a little bit of crispy surrounded by a fluffy pillow of naan.

Onto dessert boy did I go off piste. The gajjar halwa was a warm dish of slightly sweetened carrot scented with cardamom topped with nuts. Honestly I've not been quite surprised by a dish for a while but that did(glad I shared it though). Sharing with gulab jambu these where lovely and delicate and hands down beat Prashads. The mango passion was the safe one more or less mango lassi with fruit.

With the bill came some Indian mouth cleansers wow a diverse mix. The slightly twisted side of me loved the flowery ones, even though it felt like I'd eaten pot pourri.

Would I go again:- Absolutely yes
For sure I've had some better elements else where i.e. A form of potato fritter at Prashad. I've probably had one that's felt a little more homemade(I'll eventually review that one). Honestly though I hate reviewing this one for you make this one popular. So just ignore this carry on visiting Mughli so I can just walk in and keep it as a hidden gem. I suppose I may have to revisit Mughli soon but honestly I'm not expecting that much of a change.

Starter:-

Poppadums
Aloo Tikki
Pattra
Dudhi na Muthiya

Mains:-
Vegetable Harabhara
Ringan Bateta
Zaffrani Paneer Korma

Sides:-

Jeera Rice
Methi Thepla
Garlic Naan

Desserts:-

Mango Passion
Gajjar Halwa
Gulab Jambu

Review:- Maharaja

So after a day in Liverpool I've been to this restaurant before. Whilst I'm not a vegetarian with dish menus I'd rather share so as I eat with vegetarians a lot I tend to join them.
So to start we had the poppadums with chutney tray unusually no hot one. Mango, onion, coriander and mint with a yoghurt one. Not a lot to say standard Indian fare. So onto starters I'm constantly trying to steer my mum away from safe and fail. So vegetable soup was vegetable soup not a lot to say. Idli were exactly what I aspire to didn't notice any leavening agent and detected a lovely slight sourness to them. This came with coconut chutney and a rather chunky sambar. Whilst they were not heavy they could of been lighter but certainly what I aspire to(my latest project is to make idli's and dosa's I suspect a post when I crack them). With these we shared Kerala Bonda a lovely ball shaped potato fritter a little soggy.

For mains one had a Kaya curry which seemed pretty generic not too spicy. The Onion Dosa came out as 2 gigantic rectangles with something similar to a potato Masala and another big bowl of sambar. The Chana Masala side, nice again surprisingly mild in fact most of the meal was one little gripe I suspected tinned chickpeas seemed too tender(may of been pressured cooked I see an experiment in the future). The Palak Paneer pretty standard, one of our defaults to put protein in the meal nice to see it correctly called rather than saag paneer. Aloo Jeera nice dry potato curry heavily scented with cumin. The pilau rice was really nice with the odd nut and sultana scented with aromatics. As for breads crispy naans I actually really like them like this, even though they always surprise me, I've got use to the tear drop standard fare. Peshwari had a nice sweetness and just the right amount of fruit and nut. Though to be fair I tend to like the sweetness with the fiery hot which wasn't encountered! The other was a lovely ghee enriched one slightly doughy. This meal was all washed down with 2 jugs of mango lassi which was lovely and fruity.

Pretty sure I'll never order dosa and idli at the same time, finishing this meal was an heroic effort.

Customer scores:-
3.5 for food
3 for service

Harsh critic:-
3 for food
3 for service

Would I be back:- Yes
Whilst it seems I've been a little harsh it was lovely and tasty and gave 2 vegetarians plenty of options. The negatives, some of it felt a little muted, a little toned down, less authentic than last time I came.

http://www.maharajaliverpool.co.uk/

Starters:-
Poppadum
Idli
Vegetable Soup
Kerala Bonda

Mains:-
Kaya Curry
Onion Rava Dosa
Palak Paneer

Sides:-
Chana Masala
Aloo Jeera
Pilau Rice
Peshwari Naan
Garlic Naan
Malabar Paratha

Review:-Ramsbottom, The Eagle and Child

So having had a busy weekend, with 2 places eaten at thought I'd share my insights. Now my reviews aren't going to be for everyone. So heard some good things about The Eagle and Child. So thought a day spent on the steam train with a few beers(I'm sure if I liked real ales I could recommend either end of the line) and breaking with lunch here would be a good day out.

So to the details one of our party was a tad awkward ordering starters as main. So we ordered a selection of breads which came with oil/treacle vinegar, a pea hummus and a smoked butter. Now do I become the heavy critic or the customers critic I always struggle. So firstly I may be in the minority but I'm not a big fan of 'English bread' it's just fluffy(not to say I don't eat it). The pea hummus a little bland and the smoked butter over powering but I loved the treacle vinegar. I can't even remember the description of my sausage on peas... So whilst I wasn't quite expecting what I got, what I've got to say it was a winning dish a lovely meaty sausage with chunks of blackpudding through it. Though sure I seem to recall ham hock mentioned in the description. This was sat on some lovely black pearls of peas. Now having found the treacle vinegar with the bread I'm sure some had found its way here, this dish had a lovely complex flavour.
My brother had some goats cheese bonbons I suspect they where more than fine as they didn't touch the sides on the way down. So this finishes with the other 2 starters which came as a main. Praise goes to the execution having worked kitchens I have to admit a tad off trepidation in trying to get these for main. A bowl of cauliflower and stilton soup with a side of cauliflower fritters with curry mayo. As my brother said the soup is as it says personally I'm just not sure cauliflower can stand up to Stilton. The fritters were fine, again really a dish that held no surprises a little mention on fried things next.

Now the guts of the meal seeing a rump burger I had to order it. So looking forward to this a little bit of me dies when I'm not asked how I want it cooked, I take it as it comes rather than braving it. So it arrives I see this lovely burger it sides hanging out... hold on... its a bloody muffin yes an english muffin. Am I the only person that wants a slightly sweet sesame seeded bun? It came with a bucket of fries and a tomato relish though home made was a tad to tinned tomato for me.The other main was squash pithivier with a chunky tomato sauce again slightly to tinny. Generally well received with it's side of bubble and squeak. My gripe a bit of a mish mash French(pithivier), Portuguese(refogado) and Italian(parmesan) also personally I don't feel squash and tomato have an affinity. Back to fried things I also had onion rings generally they where fine but had a slight taste of an old fryer.

Customer critic;-
4 stars for food
3 stars for service

Hard critic:-
3 stars for food
3 stars for service

Some may think I'm not keen or unfairly harsh. Firstly I'm not I'll be back I enjoyed it yet as a harsh critic it does miss a little. Service whilst not poor neither was it sharp, friendly it was and I never felt like anything was too much..

Menu bits we had...

http://eagle-and-child.com/

Freshly baked breads, black pea houmous, smoked butter, treacle vinegar
‘Fine fettle’ goats cheese bonbons, tomato, shallot + tarragon (v)
‘Lancaster Bomber’ battered cauliflower, curried mayo (v)
Seasonal soup, freshly baked bread
Lancashire sausage, black pudding, ham hock, Lancashire cheese, devilled black peas
8oz char-grilled coarse ground rump burger, Lancashire cheese, fries + onion rings

Squash pithivier, tomato refogado, parmesan foam (v)

Bubble + squeak