lasan restaurant

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 vegetarian dishes should 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 firstexperiencewas 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.

now this was one fabulousexperiencefrom the word go. i chanced upon lasan rather randomly, when i was in a last minute fix to reserve a table for a birthday and everything else in birmingham seemed full or unaccommodating. although the name seemed questionable (garlic?), i did not have many alternatives and made a quick reservation for lasan online. i was called back within minutes to confirm and inform me that kitchens would close 30 minutes after my reservation so i should feel free to arrive early. this was a pleasant change after a slew of rude restaurateurs earlier that day.

when i arrived, i was taken in by the sheer elegance of the decor. understated and minimalistic, yet classy, the ambience is very very inviting. an offer to put my coat in a 'cloakroom' bowled me over and evidenced what i was to expect during the next hour.

this is no ordinary indian quick bite restaurant. it is a sit-down at ease, several course fine dining experience. we were served pre-starters in the form of papad and pani puri, both delicious to begin with. our starters arrived shortly after, and i was immediately sold on the marvellous presentation of dishes. the dahi kebab i had were delicious and yet not too filling to leave me unexcited about the mains.

for mains, the nilgiri paneer was a seemingly small portion, but rich and filling. it was a wonderful culmination of spinach gravy and tandoori paneer, nothing like i have ever eaten before. the pahadi dal was a great combination of 3 lentils, again quite filling. we chose the bread basket, with assorted rotis and also a garlic and coriander naan, which was the best i have ever tasted. soft and full of flavour, it complemented my meal beautifully.

to add more value to this meal, the service here is outstanding. no complaints whatsoever on this count. whilst i was leaving, i was asked if i wanted to call for a taxi. while these may seem like insignificant details, i have grown accustomed to the lack of adherence to the spirit of hospitality in the uk dining industry and things like these really make up for an overall incompetence.

i wouldn't call the meal cheap but with the entire experience, i was expecting a larger dent in my wallet.

all in all, i am more than pleased that i stumbled upon lasan and i am only too convinced that gordon ramsay did well by recommending it.

walking in makes one feel immediately relaxed. the food was an experience, down to a good house merlot. theexperiencewas that of the tongue reawakening, from the immense flavour. this only complemented the same phenomenon that had occurred to the eyes only moments before. the food was satisfying, and the service was attentive, and warm. there was no pressure to buy more than one could eat, reinforced by a message at the end of the dessert menu, not to overindulge.

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 theexperiencefelt 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 of dishes from various cuisines and regions, and much better value for money.

lasan: didnt live up to the hype - average food. hello, i wanted to provide some feedback on our recent visit to lasan to share with people who think just because its been on tv that its great. we went there on sunday 27th nov for our anniversary. the first thing i noticed was the lack of atmosphere, the music was on then off. the place was 3quarters full so that's no excuse. staff were friendly & service on the whole was prompt. the amuse bouche was lovely & set our expectations for a lovely meal. the starters (pakora mix & afgani lamb) these good. for mains we had a kerala prawn curry & a punjabi chicken curry, both had very small amounts of meat & the curry (sauce) they were in seemed processed to the point were they tasted & looked like baby food. i didn't have a pudding as my meal was spoilt. my fiancee did and it was nice but nothing you couldn't get in any curry house in leicester. the bill was as we expected for a place with such accolades. we mainly eat in leicester & birmingham and come from a gujrati family so definitely know "indian" food. as it stands ourexperienceof lasan has been poor to average and we would not come back or recommend it to our friends or family. it's a shame as we watched the tv show they won & really wanted it all to be great.