lasan restaurant

every so often i visit a restaurant that totally blows my mind. lasan in birmingham is such a restaurant. having been obsessed with the great british menu last year during the olympics in london it has been my goal to visit the restaurants of certain chefs from that show, which i particularly like. daniel clifford's restaurant is next week and lasan was my most recent. aktar islam is a very talented young chef. perhaps a little too talented. what i mean by this is that his cooking is perhaps a little confusing and stylized for some people and perhaps doesn't fit into any category. lasan is like a brilliant high end french bistro, but with indian flavors. so those looking for classical indiandisheswill be disappointed. you won't find a chicken madras or vindaloo anywhere on this menu. anddishesare not served up in piles of saucy, lumpiness like every other indian restaurant i've ever been to. it is delicately and meticulously placed on the plate. when i booked lasan i expected to se

bad bad service. i have been to lasan twice in the past month. to sum up the first time, the food was good but the service was poor. the restaurant only offered a time of 6.30pm, even though they were almost empty the entire time of our stay. the waiter could barely speak english - in fact, i had to ask him to repeat himself numerous times. he also wouldn't leave us in private - he was at the table pouring out water every few minutes, or rearranging chairs or something on the table - he was very invasive of our space. we both left feeling very irritated by the service but happy with the food, particularly the paneer starter.

the second time was different - this time the service was very odd and the food was average. the restaurant only offered times of 6.30pm and 9pm. however, i managed to change the time to 8pm and the restaurant was half empty the entire time we were there. after ordering my paneer starter and paneer main, the waiter tried to convince me to order an alternative starter containing meat (the fact that i was ordering two vegetariandishesshould have been a clue that i'm a vegetarian!). my partner ordered the same starter but the waiter told him to order another dish - no explanation whatsoever. considering the main reason we went back after the first experience was for this starter, to be told we couldn't both have it was extremely disappointing and frustrating.

when the food came, my starter was cold. the main contained far too many chillies for a dish which wasn't meant to be hot, and the sauce didn't have much taste to it. one of the waiters who brought the food was also very abrupt - rude even, and something i don't expect in any restaurant, particularly an expensive one.

we won't be going back there - both of these visits have been for special occasions which have been marred by celebrating at lasan.

perhaps the most famous indian restaurant in birmingham, lasan sits tucked in a quiet street around the corner from st paul’s square. it was the winner of tv’s prestigious great british menu in 2011. and it was also designated best local restaurant by gordon ramsay’s the f word. suffice it to say that the venue, led by head chef aktar islam, has become a bit of a culinary institution. we went along to try the new menu.

the interior somehow manages to combine old-world glamour and contemporary style, with a distinctly indian infusion. ornate, gilt-framed mirrors add to the feeling of space, while elegant statues of hindu gods cast their eyes over the simple dining room. we were sat beneath a wooden sitar, that stringed instrument whose haunting notes make indian music sound so, well, indian.

food

the new sunday summer banquet menu is designed for sharing. although we were presented with the menu for reference, this is a try-and-taste rather than a pick-and-choose experience. all thedisheslisted are prepared and brought to the table for guests to enjoy.

our starters were wonderfully soft potato cakes, pakoras and onion bhajis, served with a trio of chutneys including tomato and mint coriander.

then the main courses, a selection of six dishes, accompanied by a basket of assorted naan breads. we ate keema mutter, minced lamb with green peas, dhaba murgh, a spicy chicken curry inspired by indian street food, and subzi jalfrezi, made with marinated vegetables and free of meat.

tarkari biryani, a delicately seasoned preparation of saffron-coloured rice, made the perfect accompaniment to these rich sauces. we were familiar with tarkewali dal, a lentil curry, but found salmon khatta a new experience. the fish imparted its flavours assertively, giving the curry a very distinctive character.

dessert was a vermicelli khmeer, that classic indian pudding of delicate sweet noodles in a creamy milk bath, flavoured with aromatic spices, almonds and dried fruits.

drink

for us, a chilean cabernet sauvignon was the smooth yet spicy accompaniment to this generous indian spread. only a few of the wines are available by the glass, including this one. look for valdivieso.

pricing

three courses, totalling twelve differentdishesto sample altogether, costs £19.98 per person. children under 10 eat for £9.98.

updated:

2 course - £30.95
3 course - £35.95
4 course - £38.95

unfortunately i found lasan to be a case of style over substance. the surroundings are lovely and cosy and food was tasty and well presented, but in the buffet meal we had there was certainly nothing unusual to try, and the experience felt pretty rushed.

i'd heard good things about lasan, but honestly for the money, there are several indian restaurants nearby that offer a wider range ofdishesfrom various cuisines and regions, and much better value for money.

it has changed - but not bad still. i went here last week, i must say the food has changed a little. it was very bland this time. but some of thedisheswe ordered were ok. the service was cool

will visit again and write another review

a must try. my husband and i visited this restaurant on saturday after the f word hype. its a great restaurant, excellent service, out table was booked for 9 and we were seated promptly. the manager took our order and we received complimentary poppadoms and dips. there was a nice gap between courses and we didn' feel rushed as you sometimes do in indian restaurants. for starters, i had the panner dil khush which was incredibly flavoursome and very well presented, my husband had the salmon starter and again was impressed with the flavours. the only gripe i had with my starter was although it was packed with flavours, it didnt come with quite enough sauce, after i had finished one and half of three peices there was no sauce left and the dish was very dry on its own. however, to be fair, i requested some dip and it was delivered to the table promptly. main courses were lovely but bothdisheswere luke warm when they came to the table - i guess i could have sent them back but we didnt! my husband had the chocolate desert and again it was very well presented. this is a really nice restaurant, a bit tired in terms of the decor and they really could make more effort in tarting it up. it was unfortunate that on the day we visited we were seated behing a table of 10 who were arguing, apparetly one of the party did not like his dish and even though the manager bought out a replacement dish and was doing his best to placate him he was just being incredibly rude which resulted in insults flying around the table - these people really should stay at home and allow other diners to take in the incredible choice and flavours this resturant provides.