The Spice Lounge, Atlantic Pavillion, Albert Dock

Mar 28 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

An Albert Dock eaterie was inspired by a temple. Emma Pinch reports

LAST year, restaurateur Ali Noor was considering shutting the huge glass doors of his new concept Indian restaurant, for good.

After making a success of two popular but rather run-of-the-mill restaurants in Woolton village and Hunts Cross, and years of thinking about it, he had finally taken the plunge and opened a restaurant to reignite his gastronomic passion in the Albert Dock, The Spice Lounge.

No chicken korma, no tikka massala, no madras. Just “proper Indian dishes” the food that people were really eating on the hot streets of Delhi and Rajasthan and the beaches of Goa.

For authenticity, he imports spices every two months direct from India, which he grinds and roasts every day. His four chefs were also imported, direct from the kitchens of the sub-continent, to cook over authentic charcoal-fired Tandoori ovens. If customers asked where the tikka masala was, they were politely told it wasn’t being served.

It didn’t really catch on and Noor was ready to cut his losses, close up, and start a new venture somewhere different.

A steady trickle of mainly business types from London striking out for the Albert Dock for the evening’s entertainment kept him going. Now thanks to the magic of the adjacent Arena business is brisk.

Noor’s got a reservations book bulging with bookings for corporate functions over the summer and cutting-it-fine concert-goers find it handy as the closest restaurant to the Arena.

Initially, we too plumped for Spice Lounge mainly because of its proximity to our target destination and its imposing doors.

The interior is utterly sumptuous. It was inspired, according to Ali Noor, by a 1938 temple just outside the city of Delhi.

He wanted to replicate the opulent airy feel of it, with dark wood and rich crimson swags decorating the brick and long windows of the former dock building, massive vases of lilies mixing their perfume with the sizzle of onions, and huge glowing chandeliers drawing the eye towards the lofty ceiling. The glass tables in the holding area are actually fish tanks with goldfish darting round.

We started with poppadums, which came with the usual mint and yoghurt dip, lime pickle and chilli.

They were crispy and light and everything you would wish for a poppadum, but I felt, couldn’t really justify a £3.50 price tag.

My dining pal chose lamb jasalmare, described on the menu as a dish famous in Rajasthan, with pieces of spring lamb, cooked with mixed peppers, black pepper and ground coconut and garnished with mustard seed and curry leaves. Presentation is painstakingly attended to at the Spice Lounge.

Plates and linen are sparkling white, heavy and luxurious and pieces of meat uniform and little piles of pungent greenery are arranged on top. Noor employs chefs who will perfect the appearance of a starter, say, then another chef will master the main course’s presentation.

The lamb had a slow cooked, casseroley taste and was, as promised, very tender. The yellowy sauce was smooth, non-greasy and only very lightly spiced.

You’re preconditioned to expect a coconutty dish to be sweet, used as we are to korma, but this had the savoury flavour of green vegetables. A lamb fan, she loved it. Delicately flavoured lemon rice, with chopped nuts, was chosen as an accompaniment.

I had chicken chengizi, which was a curious dish. Curry dishes on Chinese menus are nothing out of the ordinary, but I’d never seen the former served up in an Indian restaurant.

But apparently it is a fusion. The Cantonese style dish is served on every street corner in Old Delhi, presumably a legacy of Chinese settlers. Chicken is shallow fried with a hint of chilli, tomato, lemon juice, soy sauce and coriander.