Lasan Restaurant
3-4 Dakota Buildings,
James Street
St Paul’s Square
Birmingham
B3 1SD
The choice of venue for this month’s review was recommended by Future Member, Husne Begum of Autism West Midlands. Husne very kindly arranged for Rob Langley and I to join her for lunch at Lasan with Managing Director Jabbar Khan, soon to be featured in Future Focus.
Tucked away at the edge of the elegant and desirable St Paul’s Square, Lasan is a modern Indian restaurant offering authentic dishes cooked to the exacting standards of development chef Aktar Islam.
The lunch menu features a selection of 5 dishes ranging from Tandoori Salmon to a Paneer Shashlik Salad with the main menu offering traditional dishes with an imaginative twist such as the Dum Ki Biryani, a goat and basmaiti rice dish.
Once we had ordered our mains, Husne and Jabbar opting for the Nilgiri Seabass, Rob going for the Paneer Shashlik Salad and my choice of Shorba – E – Dal Palak (a light lentil and Spinach Soup) we were shown to our table by the highly attentive staff, to enjoy a selection of the varied starters available.
We were presented with a platter of mouth watering tasters including, Chok Ki Tikki, a lightly spiced potato cake, and Kumbh Palak Tikki, Spinach, paneer & potato cake stuffed with sauté mushrooms and served with mint and tamarind sauces. We also tucked into a plate of light and crispy poppadoms with and onion and tomato garnish.
I simply cannot say enough about the standard of service during our visit, our waiter carefully explained each dish to us in turn with quite reserve and charm, and never were our glasses left empty.
So the food I hear you cry…. Well the starters alone were a tour de force of flavour and texture, the vegetable patties were packed with refreshing yet satisfying flavours of tumeric and coriander, further enhanced with the sour yet subtle tamarind sauce. Despite ordering the paneer main, Rob thoroughly enjoyed a preview with the Paneer Dil Khush Tikka slices of paneer sandwiched together with a herb puree.
Once we had demolished out platter the table was quickly cleared to make room for the main event. The Seabass arrived, presented in a vibrant green herb sauce the colour of which struck and impressive contrast to the clean white dome of its accompanying rice. The Paneer was beautifully presented with peppers and onions alternating the delicately cooked slices. Finally another colour explosion arrived in the form of my lentil soup, a bowl of deep rich green with a swirl of cream to garnish.
Just when we thought we had all we needed another round of tasters were delivered to the table, including light and fluffy nan breads, spiced chunky chips and Rattan Manjosha Spinach, “paneer and potato balls stuffed with chopped sauté mushrooms in light tangy tomato and cashew nut makhni sauce. A speciality of Punjab”
The mains were every bit as good as the starters, fresh clean flavours that provided a true taste of India without the usual heaviness featured in many a local takeaway, indeed Jabbar and his team pride themselves on their healthy approach to Indian cuisine, favouring the use of healthy oils over the heavier ghee more commonly used for Indian cooking. The spices were subtle yet warming, and the fish cooked to utter perfection.
I was sadly called away before dessert but from what I hear from my fellow diners they are too good to miss a second time, so the blackberry will be officially switched off next visit!!
To conclude, I would strongly urge you all to make the journey up to the leafy surroundings of St Paul’s and enjoy what I can only describe as an Indian meal unlike any you’ll have tried in the city before, not least for the excellent food but also the outstanding service and attention to detail that has justifiably earned this place a wealth of awards.
I warn you this may change your expectations for good!!
