Review of 'Mumtaz'
On another day trip to York we again took a detour to sample in the Indian delights on offer in Bedford (2025 UK City of Culture, don't you know?). Last year we were pleasantly surprised by Prashad with their highly recommended and delightful high-end vegetarian cuisine so this time we tried another Indian restaurant that has similar credentials but closer to the centre of the city on a busy road in a slightly dodgy area of town.
Arriving in busy early Saturday night traffic, Google maps had some difficulty navigating but eventually we came across the enormous, modern, Mumtaz restaurant on Great Horton Road, turning into their car rear, loose stone, car park surrounded by decaying concrete buildings and walls. Not a promising start but walking around to the front entrance our reluctance disappeared with a cool, glass modern exterior extending pretty much the length of a city block.
After passing through the front door you are immediately faced with a memorial to the owners' mother who started the restaurant in 1979 in a space only 3 by 4 meters, in fact, the exact area the memorial is now located in. Now, the restaurant stretches out over two floors with many, many tables. The front of the restaurant has large coolers containing their food that you can purchase for takeaway.
Stepping up to the front desk we apologized for being early (about an hour) but were offered a table for two anyway in the front window near the entrance. Despite traffic passing by only feet away from the window we could not hear it and had a wonderful meal. There were a few tables occupied but it was generally quite quiet as it was still early in the evening. It is a pleasant, modern, interior and without the typical white linen tablecloths it felt a lot more contemporary and relaxed despite the rather high prices.
On having a seat we were immediately brought a bottle of water (£2.50) despite not being asked, but I let this pass. We were also asked if we wanted some pappadums so I ordered four (“2 and 2” namely, two normal, two spicy but they brought 4 normal; £0.99 each) and it was accompanied by an amazing “pickle tray” (£4.99) of eight accompaniments: Pickled onion with mint, tomato sauce, (strong) lime pickle, mango chutney, tamarind, two yoghurt dips, and black seedless olives. The tamarind dip was a favourite of mine though my companion found it too strong while the lime pickle I TRIED to eat but found it just too hard to take - Extremely sour. The tomato dip was a bit of a surprise but also a bit of a relief from some of the strong flavours of the others.
The menu was on rather beaten looking paper placemats divided into rather unusual sections: “Appetisers Mean & Poultry”, “Appetisers - Seafood” (one option “Masala Fish”), “Appetisers - Vegetarian”, “Main Dishes - Meat” (lamb), “Main Dishes - Poultry”, “Main Dishes - Vegetarian”, “Main Dishes - Seafood”, “Mumtaz Differently” (generally, non-Indian dishes), “Biryani Dishes”, “Kids Meal”, and “Sundries” then drinks “Mocktails”, “Water”, “Soft Drinks”, “J20”, “Lemonade”, “Lassi” and “Fresh Juices”. The prices are a bit more than you would see in an average Indian restaurant so it remained to be seen as to whether it would be worth it.
Immediately we ordered one of our favourites: Mango Lassi (£12.95 a litre, £7.95 a glass). In online reviews this had been specifically highlighted for good reason - A wonderful, extraordinarily thick, lassi that balanced the mango with the tang of the yoghurt beautifully - Not too sweet, not too sour.
Ordering was a bit confusing but we managed to get some recommendations from our server on what to eat. Suggesting a starter, we picked the “Onion Bhaji/Pakora” (£6.95) and were presented with a serving of two rather large fried bhaji/pakora with a side salad of cucumber slices, pickled onion, and a couple of small lettuce leaves with a wonderful yoghurt mint dip. The rather large, flat bhaji/pakora (which were they? hard to tell) were quite tasty and not terribly greasy. The onion flavour was quite muted and they worked very well with the cool yoghurt dip.
For our mains, the server suggested the “Karahi Lamb” (“Lamb cooked with fresh onions, tomatoes, garlic and a blend of Mumtaz spices”; £15.95) and the “Murgh Makhani” (“Chicken Tikka Masala”; “Marinated chicken breast, tomato, onions, garlic, ginger, mumtaz spices”; £13.95). It might be obvious but the dishes here are quite different from most Indian restaurants. Talking to the owner on the way out of the restaurant he explained that the focus here is NOT on banquet or formal dining but on the food they would normally eat at home so, quite different than what you would normally see. These two dishes both featured the family's own “Mumtaz spice” mix and were quite simple with a subtly and mild spicing that was quite pleasant but not packed with flavour that hit you about the tastebuds. Both were served in small metal bowls perched above a tea light for heat that went out shortly after being served so that it was at the correct temperature for eating. The table ended up being very crowded.
On the side we had an order of pilau rice (£3.99) which was quite nice and a good sized portion.
The small bowl of the dark lamb curry was deliciously rich with echoes of cardamom and other spices.
The chicken was similarly spiced with large pieces of chicken enveloped by the spices.
On the side we had an order of one of our favourites: “Peshwari Naan” (£4.99). It was just as well we only ordered one as the massive naan was bigger than the plate! This has to be one of the best “Peshwari Naan” we have ever had, eschewing the normal almond paste, this offering had a wonderful selection of nuts, honey and raisons arranged on the top as a crunchy topping. The naan itself was wonderfully chewy and perfectly crispy on the bottom.
We were absolutely stuffed and could not finish all of our mains with the staff helpfully packing up all our leftovers into plastic containers to take home. At £71.23 (including a £1 “Mind In Bradford” donation but without service charge, though the credit card machine asked if we wanted to add) it was an expensive meal but quite worth it to try a different style of Indian food that is likely closer to what an average Indian family would eat at home. I was a bit annoyed at some of the behaviours of the servers in regards to not asking whether we wanted the bottle water or not and confusion over the starters, but generally they were very polite and efficient.
An interesting, if expensive, meal. It would be interesting to explore more of the menu. The flavours of our mains were slightly disappointing but everything was cooked to perfectly and served wonderfully. There seemed to be some slight communication problems with the staff but they were quite friendly.
Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2025-01-18
Cuisine: Indian
Address: 386-410 Great Horton Rd, Bradford BD7 3HS ENGLAND
Location: West Yorkshire (England) - Brandford
Map:
Show in Google Maps Get Directions
Telephone: +44 (0) 1274 571861
URL: https://www.mumtaz.org.uk/