"GREAT new Indian opened, Bollywood Lounge," said a chum. I grimaced, sounded tacky to me. And talk about location, location - downtown Birkenhead didn't inspire me with enthusiasm. But I went along anyway - and how wrong can assumptions be!
The posh brown leather seats and beautifully-laundered tablecloths and napkins instantly indicated this was a restaurant worth its salt.
The premises used to be a repair workshop, but clearly a lot of money and thought has been invested to transform it into one of the best Indian restaurants on Merseyside, never mind just the Wirral. And handily there's a car park at the rear.
The staff were instantly welcoming and we were ushered straight to a table by the window. OK, the view outside is not inspiring but we were there for the grub, not the scenery. We had chosen a midweek visit rather than the weekend, when we would doubtless have initially had to wait in the bar area till a table came free, but it's a relaxing place to work up an appetite.
The extensive menu gave us plenty of food for thought and after much indecision we finally opted for three poppadoms to keep us going! And very fresh they were and with a suitable mix of burn-your-mouth and soothe-your-mouth relishes and yoghurt (£2.40).
I chose the most expensive starter on the menu, Tandoori King Prawn (£4.95) and my discerning daughter went for Chicken Pakora - pieces of tikka chicken, deep fried in spicy batter (£2.50).
I'd never had my chosen starter before and felt a bit miffed when just four prawns turned up, albeit accompanied with the most tasty fried rice I've ever eaten. However, they turned out to be wonderfully delicately flavoured and were just the right amount for me, though I don't have the biggest appetite in the world.
It should have come with a salad garnish and our waiter was mortified when he realised it was minus the greenery. In a flurry of embarrassment he was about to whizz my plate away until my carnivorous daughter, Beth, generously tipped her salad onto my dish!
She found her starter just to her liking and her main course, King Prawn Balti (£7.75) was also everything she had hoped. The medium-strength sauce with a variety of spices and herbs was just right. It comes with the option of the addition of spinach, mushrooms, potatoes or okra for just 50p and she went for the spinach.
On the side she had a huge garlic naan bread and Saag Paneer,(£2.90) a mixture of spinach and cheese - (she was always a Popeye fan) and happily dipped into my cucumber Raitha - yoghurt for the uninitiated - which I always order just in case things get too hot for my taste buds.
I had decided to venture away from the usual dishes we are all familiar with on Indian menus. And Bollywood certainly has a good range of different meals to try. I went for Monkfish Malabar (£8.95), chunks of monkfish with sundried tomatoes and coriander, cooked in a tangy, spicy sauce.
