The East Bengal — Restaurant in Belfast

The East Bengal

We had seen good reviews for this Indian restaurant and as it’s new in the area we wanted to give it a try.

As we walked through Ballyhackamore, many of the other restaurants seemed busy on this particular day (possibly due to it being the last Sunday before people return to the normal work routine after the Christmas festivities) - but The East Bengal was empty - we wondered why?

We had a warm welcome from the guys in the restaurant and offered a choice of seat. The decor was really well thought out - but please, East Bengal, do away with the modern chart music in the background. We’d much rather have some Indian music playing (which they did play towards the end of our meal- perhaps they overheard us!)

The menu was clearly laid out and there was a traditionally familiar choice of Indian food. So what did we order?

Starters Poppadoms Mixed veg starter Garlic prawns

Mains Mas Bangla Roshoi - (salmon) Paneer Shaslick Lentil Dhal Coriander garlic naan (this wasn’t on the menu but they made one for us ) and a pilau rice.

We didn’t order poppadoms, but were asked if we wanted some (knowing this was most likely to be an up-sell, we still said yes). When the bill came we were, as we expected, charged for the poppadoms which is fair enough but many other Indian restaurants just offer these for free which is always a nice idea, and a gesture which The East Bengal should consider.

The Garlic Prawns were amazing, with subtle spicing and a good hit of garlic. The mixed vegetarian starter included samosa, onion bhaji and vegetable pakora, which were all freshly made.

Surprisingly, the ubiquitous quarter of tomato, lettuce and lemon were conspicuous by their absence, and this starter was all the better for it.

Both mains were superb - the salmon was cooked brilliantly with a gorgeous coating of spices. The Paneer was chunky and generously portioned-charred to perfection in a tandoori oven and accompanied by a tangy sauce.

In conclusion, all the food was really great: one of the best Indian meals we have had in Belfast in quite some time. The restaurant is BYOB, which of course helps keep costs down, especially appreciated in the bleak post- Christmas months. However, the restaurant had little atmosphere, probably due to the puzzling lack of customers. This is a great addition to the East Belfast restaurant scene and we hope that, as word gets around, people will support this excellent restaurant.

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Beautiful Cuisine and Warm Friendly Atmosphere We had initially visited a very nearby restaurant beforehand and left very unsatisfied... Walked across to the East Bengal and we're thrilled that we did! We hadn't booked but staff found us a table quickly. We had poppadoms and dips brought to us within a minute, and on looking at the menu were delighted with the amount of variety and different dishes we had never seen in other Indian restaurants. We live in South Belfast and eat in many different Indian restaurants, but this has to be the best! We had Tandoori Mixed Platter to start, then for main , East Bengal King Special with Pilau Rice. I noticed it was only marked as medium heat, and I asked for it to be prepared as hotter and this was not a problem at all. Absolutely delicious. The Peshawari nan to accompany was perfect. We Will be driving over from my home on the Lisburn Road to dine here again asap, I want to try out lots more of the menu! Thank you for your hospitality, can't...

I was exhausted all day looking for a late night dinner cause i haven’t eaten all day, searched in google and said it is open until 12mn. Ate and food was good but one of the kitchen staff came and practically told me to go because he “needs to go home too” I felt so bad and like a nuisance, it was 1115pm and even if i wasn’t finished with my food yet stood up and paid and went said i thought they close at 12, but they said google was wrong as they close at 11. They could have handled it better, like told me 10minutes before 11 it’s last order as they are closing (like what most restaurants do) I am not one to write a review, but I really felt bad after, like i was kicked off a restaurant. I had better indian food with the same price so their dish is...