Dining Out at the Paprika Club, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire

As a travel writer, I get invited to review many top restaurants, hotels and pubs. Fine dining is not something that I would usually associate with a visit to the local curry house. As a student, many years ago, a visit to a curry house restaurant was usually at the end of a long, drawn-out evening, trawling the local pubs and clubs, with several friends in tow.

Fortunately, I have grown older and wiser and now prefer to visit food outlets that can offer something new, a dining experience that offers an exciting menu of new dishes, food choices that I am unfamiliar with, in smart, bright & comfortable surroundings. A long-established curry house restaurant, Paprika Club, 31 years in Leamington Spa, offers a fine dining experience with that very important,  Asian vibe!

Paprika Club restaurant has been named one of the Top 100 Asian Restaurants in the UK, having been chosen from over 10,000 curry houses for the second year running, from across the whole of the country, as well as winning many regional and national curry awards. It has established a long held reputation as a fine dining restaurant and I was very much looking forward to spending an evening in their company, exploring the menu and tasting some of their Award winning, culinary offerings.

Naz Bappi, Jad Hussain and Shamin Uddin, display their award.

My wife and I were greeted warmly by co-owner and host, Shamim Uddin, when we entered the restaurant, located on Regent Street, a prime contender as Leamington’s foodie capital, with both Thai & Japanese eateries nearby.

Paprika is a spice made from dried and sweet red peppers ground to a fine powder.

The diners already seated represented a wide mix of the restaurant’s patrons, family groups with young children, couples out for a special evening, young and older groups, work colleagues or friends catching up, to visitors new to the town. Straight away I noticed several people coming into the restaurant to collect pre ordered food as a take away, many of them clearly regulars as they were all greeted warmly by the restaurant staff.

The interior is very smart, with deep blue and crème seating and golden backrests, soft lighting and muted music. Traditional curry house meets the modern world! My wife & I were seated at a table by a wall covered in dozens of picture frames showing some very interesting photographs from the management’s homeland, Bangla Desh. We were told that, every picture tells a story, the one-legged rickshaw driver, various Bollywood stars of some note, pictures of family groups, and children working on pieces of scrap metal to create their own toys. The photographs certainly create some discussion amongst the diners.

The dishes presented to table represented a small fraction of the wide-ranging menu. The Dine In Menu included Vegetarian & Seafood, European Dishes, Mildly Spiced, Signature Dishes, Balti & Biryani Dishes, Chef`s Recommendations, Tandoori Special and Loved by generations. A menu that clearly offers something for everyone! There is as I have already referred to, a very popular Take Away Menu, very reasonably priced!

Throughout the evening, a number of dishes were presented to our table. All of them, from the starters through to the dessert, delivered an exceptional level of culinary expertise & a delicate use of spices to create some very rich sauces & some melt in the mouth meat textures. There were some side dishes too, including a delicious bowl of Bombay potatoes, which my wife & I simply loved. I have always said that we eat with our eyes, and the dishes presented at Paprika Club, only confirmed what I believe. Our food not only tasted fantastic, but it also looked great, with plenty of vibrant colours decorating our plates.

Starters:

Tandoori Salmon Tikka Kebab with green peppers, tomatoes & onions, marinated in lemon juice, and a touch of ground spices, roasted on skewers in a tandoor.

Pani Puri or Golgappa. Small crispy hollow, fried wheat shells, bowls or cups, filled with spiced mashed potato, chickpeas, red onions, pomegranate and sev, which are small pieces of crunchy noodles, made from chickpea flour paste, then served with a shot of Tamarind pouring sauce. It was a fine way to start the meal, by pouring the tamarind sauce into the small hollow shell, containing the small pieces of vegetables. I even managed to eat it, without pouring it down my front!

Mains:

Rear: Delicious Tandoori King Prawns, marinated in special paprika spices & herbs, full of flavour.

Left Centre: Saag Paneer. Pure vegetarian speciality. Fresh Spinach cooked with Indian Cottage Cheese.

Front: Special Naan Bread with peppers, onions & coriander.

Signature Dishes:

Foreground: Hot & Spicy with Potato Straws Meat prepared in a hot spicy sauce & garnished with potato straws. Served with Vegetable Pilau Rice. A fiery dish with tender chunks of meat. I loved the little potato straws!

Background: Lasani: Aromatic Eastern Chicken Curry, cooked with a subtle blend of sweet & sour flavours of tomato pulp, yogurt & mint, garnished with coriander, pineapple & cucumber slices. My wife`s favourite dish, she loved the taste of the chicken and said that the yogurt gave the dish a beautiful creaminess.

Vegetarian Side Dish: Samosa Chaat: A spicy potato samosa, crushed, laced with sweetened yogurt, tamarind, coriander, chillies, red onion rings, chickpeas and chaat masala or powdered spice mix.

Tandoori Special: Tandoori Lamb Chop. Marinated in ginger, garlic, spicy chilli, olive oil & served with the special Naan Bread. A couple of lightly spiced, incredibly tender lamb chops sitting on some sweetly fried onions.

We had eaten so much food, my wife opted out of the sweet trolley options, but I carried on and tucked in to a Dairy Mango Kulfi. A stunning end to a stunning meal. What we failed to eat was kindly boxed up for us to take home and finish on another day. After wiping up our fingers and lips with the conveniently provided, steam towels, we finished the evening with a hot cup of coffee and a small glass of Port for my wife.

The staff and management at Paprika Club go out of their way to make all customers feel welcome, whether you have come in for a sit down meal or simply collecting a takeaway order. Everyone is made to feel special.

What makes a good restaurant? Obviously, the quality of the food and ingredients used, but also the interactions with the restaurant staff. The management team, serving staff at Paprika Club could not have made us feel any more welcome. Attentive but never overbearing, at table to talk us through the dishes but then leaving us to enjoy the food at our leisure.

I love to hear the staff displaying a real passion for the food they are presenting to our table. The knowledge and understanding of their menu was first rate, I don’t think there was any question I put them, that wasn’t answered clearly.

I would fully recommend a visit to Paprika Club, if you are in the Leamington Spa area or slightly further away, my wife and I had travelled over from Northamptonshire, this restaurant is absolutely worth a visit.

If you love Asian cuisine, I would definitely put it down on your, must visit very soon, check list!

Have you thought about visiting a new restaurant, for that special dining experience?

It certainly comes highly recommended from me!

THE PAPRIKA CLUB

22 Regent St

Leamington Spa

CV32 5EH

Tel: 01926 428272

Disclosure: My visit to Paprika Club was courtesy of Shamim Uddin & Amanda Chalmers at www.chalmersnewspr.co.uk

The views and comments expressed are as usual my own.

Photography credit: Some of the photographs were provided by Paprika Club, except for the food and exterior shots of the pub, which are mine.