Charcoals — Restaurant in Scotland

I've been here before, but this was my first time back since covid. Incredibly, the owner remembered us and we had a nice chat over a glass of wine. He's friendly and helpful, and very passionate and proud of his food and his restaurant.

In order of what we received:

The reasonably priced house wine was very good.

The poppadoms were fresh and crispy, and the dips were all homemade and delicious. Their lime pickle is possibly the best I've ever tasted. We had another chat about onions. They use three different varieties, but Spanish white ones are best for spiced onions.

The starters were all excellent; my fish pakora was outstanding, again with a homemade dip.

My main was a prawn and cheese curry, which was delicious, and I had a little taste of other people's dishes, any of which I would have been delighted to eat.

The rice, naan and chapatis were all good too.

This might only be because I told the owner it was my birthday, but they kept bringing little free things to the table, starting with an extra dish of the spiced onions we'd admired, some charred poppadoms and a delicious dip. Then there was a dish of spiced new potatoes, a bowl of very tasty daal. Everything was excellent, but we were filling up and couldn't finish it all.

At the end, we had to rush to catch a train, and the owner rushed over and asked us to stay a little longer so he could give us more stuff. We couldn't.

The bill was a very pleasant surprise. We'd ordered the pretheatre menu for £14.95 and that was all they charged us for.

I don't think there's a restaurant anywhere else in the city where you are so well looked after and eat such good quality food at this price.

I also love it when a restaurateur is genuinely proud of his...

I was in the restaurant a few days ago and I swear to you that it is one of the worst restaurants. I asked to go to the bathroom. The manager told me that the bathrooms are for customers only, so I told him that I would eat in the restaurant like any girl who goes to the bathrooms. When I entered the bathrooms, I swear to you, he was banging on the door hard, knocking on it in a very scary way. I was amazed at the bad situation. He did not stop at knocking on the door once, twice, or three times. He was constantly knocking on the door. I told him I was in the bathrooms. He told me that a customer can come in and the bathroom should be available. He was very rude and nasty. Unfortunately, I finished my meal and decided to file a complaint with the manager, but to my surprise, he was the restaurant manager and his name was Sultan. Of course I will not be back no matter what, nor will I recommend this restaurant and its rude manager to anyone I know.

Reply to owner: This is not true. I wasn't in the bathroom for more than two minutes and she started knocking on the door in a scary way? Why, when you came out of the bathrooms, you told me that there was a customer waiting and wanted to use the bathrooms, and there was no customer in the restaurant except me at that time, and I did not find anyone outside except you? Why Lying? I have another question: How do you know that I wear makeup in the bathrooms when the door is closed? Do you put cameras in girls' bathrooms?!!! I'm really surprised. It's really shocking. Girls, be careful. I am really scared and shocked by...

Karen and I recently dined at Charcoal, and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. The food, service, and ambiance were exceptional. Muhammad Sultan, also known as Ali, the manager, provided service that exceeded our expectations.

We ordered the following dishes:

Chicken Pakora Onion Bhaji (On the house from the Charcoal team) Chicken Tikka Tandoori Special Dum Biryani with Medium Curry Sauce Naan Bread Cobra beer

The Chicken Tikka Tandoori was perfectly charred, and the meat was incredibly succulent. The Chicken Pakora stood out as it was not overly battered; instead, it featured a light, crisp homemade batter that was delightful. The Dum Biryani was the star of the show, offering a generous portion that provided excellent value for money.

Karen was particularly impressed with the Naan Bread, declaring it one of the best she has ever tasted and stating she would return just for that! We were pleasantly surprised with a complimentary Onion Bhaji, which was crispy on the outside and wonderfully soft inside—a thoughtful gesture from Ali and the team. To complement our meal, I enjoyed a large bottle of Cobra beer, which was the perfect choice.

Fair warning, the food does pack some heat, so be ready for a spicy treat—haha! Overall, it has been some time since we’ve had such excellent Indian food. We took our time and felt well looked after by the attentive staff. We highly recommend Charcoal to anyone in town craving Indian cuisine. Do stop by and experience this wonderful establishment...