Simla Restaurant — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

A little indian oasis on a dreary wet Newcastle Friday evening . The restaurant is a small place . Beautiful pieces of art with soft lighting adorn the walls . It's what you call an intimate eating establishment, in fact the waiter told us it seats 35 people at anyone time , so you know you will get looked after . The menu is what an Indian menu should be . Not too many dishes but enough regulars and new dishes that make you curious and subsequently I found that the resteraunts interpretation of some of the dishes was outstanding . For starters the sev puri and a dish of lamb chops. The sev puri was super fresh . All the tastes , textures dancing in your mouth in one glorious party , good start . The lamb chops , simply wow. Charred on the outside but the inside soft and tender . The masala coating subtle but packed a punch and then little pomegranate jewels explode in your mouth to temper the fire that begins to increase with every bite. Brilliant. Then came the chicken jalferezi and garlic naan . I am from the north west of England and I have to say that we are spoilt for choice and quality when it comes to indian food but Simlas was one of the best . Dark rich sauce dressed the succulent moist chicken with slivers of peppers giving depth to the colour and a warning that this was gonna be hot . We always ask for "apna style" when ordering food in an Indian restaurant, basically means make it home style hot and this didn't disappoint. The dish was hot but hot in a pleasant way. It didn't leave your lips or mouth numb but it set fire to the perimeter of your tongue and you got the heat subtly at the back of the throat . The garlic naan , a lively accompaniment to the dish which tempered the spice perfectly. Everything was polished off dutifully. Then the crowning glory . They only do 3 desserts and the one that caught my eye was a rice pudding infused with saffron cream topped with pistachios , served cold . Fragrant , nice subtle cardamon and moreish , just what was needed to round off a tour de force of an exceptional meal. The bill came to a very reasonable amount and I would have happily paid more . We then departed into the wet , dreary Newcastle night glowing in the aftermath of an culinary...

Visited for the first time last night with two colleagues, after finishing our work shift. With it being relatively late at night we were not sure the restaurant would be open and we contemplated going home. However, as we were looking at the menu outside, we were greeted by Abdul, who reassured us that they were still accepting customers and invited us to go in. Boy am I glad he did!

First of all, the inside is spotlessly clean, with very nice interiors and a pleasant, cosy atmosphere. From the moment we had our first interaction with Abdul at the table we all realised how skilled a waiter he is, as he went on to provide fantastic service throughout the full length of our meal. He was very attentive to our requests, exhaustively answered all our queries about the menu and had some great suggestions too!

Now, I am not very well acquainted with Indian cuisine as I only occasionally order takeaways, but this meal was an eye-opener. Everything was just delicious, as I am sure my colleagues would agree. I had the lamb biryani, which came with the most tender of meats and a perfect combination of spices, plus two superb sauces. As a side, we ordered a garlic and a keema naan which, as suggested by Abdul, married perfectly with my biryani sauces.

Surely such an excellent meal must set you back a fair bit, right? On the contrary, and to some surprise I must say, the pricing was very reasonable. The final bill, which came up to under £30 per person, included a bottle of wine, a beer, a couple of soft drinks, poppadoms, 3 main courses and 3 sides. Needless to say, we were stuffed!

This experience completely changed my perception of Indian cuisine as I now know how good it can get in restaurants such as Simla. I cannot recommend this place enough, and I will surely be treating myself again to this absolute gem...

Third rate. Giving one star is to get an opportunity to let you all know the bad experience we all had. First it's Shimla and not Simla -use brains! Food was pathetic in taste, just 3 bhajis for £ 5 !! Portion was too small for a money they charge, loed when asked about flour used for Roti, AirCon was switched off to save money causing discomfort to guests, lied again saying it's On. All the dishes were rubbish. Row chicken in butter chicken, tried explaining me saying it's Polish chicken!! You knew the type of chicken and still you were serving un-cooked a dish by spraying with curry to qualify as Butter Chicken costing over 10? Not my problem to know origin of chicken, pay you a bomb and suffer. Could not eat this and left in fuming as did not find owners profesional, apologetic and bothered. You knew before serving dishes, isn't it? . waste of time and money, no chilled beer,serving 3 small pieces as chicken tikka masal la for over £7... - again saving money. Frustrating and disgusting moment when asked me to consider paying gratuity on top of a huge bill- bomb!! Disgusting as a Chef and as a customer as well. Will never visit this place again. Despite of these complaints, chef did not step out to meet an another chef !! I know can't make eye to eye contact with me.

Sharing with you my personal experience and professional advice for you to decide before visiting-leave it with you.

Would suggest 'My Delhi' and 'Maithili' restaurants instead. There are many authentic Indian Indian restaurants in Newcastle for sure.

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