The two of us arrived at the Nepalese restaurant, Gurkha Thali, on Half Moon Street Huddersfield, at about 7pm on a Monday night. The town centre location meant that there was plenty of on street parking across the road at the Cherry Tree Centre and also parking above the bus station 2 minutes up the road.

The restaurants neighbouring competition is the Nawaab, however I would point out that they offer very different experiences. For those who would use the trains, it is only a short distance to the left of the station and round the back of Sainsbury’s. It is also handy for people using the buses as the station is just a two minute walk.

Excellent first impressions as we were greeted by a doorman who then despite not having made a reservation showed us straight to our table. There is a comfy waiting/reception area with low brown leather sofas. Not really suitable for people with mobility difficulties as the sofas are really too low in our opinion.

We were impressed as the waiter pulled out both of our chairs (we usually find only the ladies are seated this way and not the men!) and brought the menus over without delay. The warm and quiet atmosphere was perfect for a relaxed Monday evening and the traditional Nepalese music was soothing. Although there was only two other medium sized tables, the restaurant didn’t feel empty as it’s not overly spacious.

Our drinks order was taken after quite a delay and boring as we may sound, we decided to opt for a bottle of still mineral water (bearing in mind it was a Monday!) however that’s not to say there wasn’t the choice of extensive wines, beers, soft drinks and hot drinks. Whilst we pondered over the menus, the friendly waiters brought over complimentary freshly cooked poppadoms with chutneys. These were delicious and still warm. Perfect to wet our appetite! No complimentary water was offered.

The menu was clearly presented with starters, chicken dishes, lamb dishes, beef dishes, vegetable sides (with option to have as a main), Indian curries, side dishes, wine list and soft drinks list. Although we were tempted to order an Indian curry, we were feeling adventurous and open minded, so we chose traditional Lebanese.

We decided to order a shared starter of King Prawns, marinated in eggs and fried with sesame seeds and served with salad. This was reasonably priced at £4.25.For our main courses, my partner chose the medium spiced Kukhura Chana which was chicken with chickpeas, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and a concoction of Nepalese spices. This too was reasonably priced at £5.95.

I liked the sound of what my partner had ordered but decided to go for something different on the grounds that we would share. I ordered the medium spiced Bhutuwa which was pieces of lamb with garlic, ginger, onions, tomatoes, green chillies and capsicum. Priced at £6.95 we both agreed the pricing on the menu was spot on. Reasonable enough for students and costly enough to know you are going to get quality. We asked our waiter what side dish would best compliment our main courses and he didn’t seem to understand, perhaps it was an obvious question, however he didn’t seem to have much product knowledge. We ordered plain boiled rice to share in the end which was £1.95.

The starter didn’t take long to come and I would recommend this to everybody. It was absolutely exquisite. So delicious! And like nothing I’ve ever had before as it was encased in light, bubbly, chapatti-like bread. The salad was simple and had a tasty vinaigrette dressing. One thing we felt let our experience down was that the traditional Nepalese music stopped after about ten minutes of being there. It was as if the CD had finished and nobody noticed to change it. This then equalled in a lack of atmosphere for the rest of our visit. Also, when a party of ten came in, it felt as if they were being intruding, even though they were only making a reasonable amount of noise. We found ourselves having to lower our voices a lot so that other diners couldn’t hear our conversation.

It didn’t take long for our main courses to come. My partner’s main course was delectable and I found myself wishing I had chosen it! My main course was also tasty but I would recommend the Kukhura Chana as the best out of the two.

The desert menu was offered and after choosing a coconut ice cream and a ‘fantastica’ which was vanilla and caramel ice cream with chocolate balls, Toffee pieces and caramel sauce, we were very disappointed to be told that out of the twelve deserts on the menu, they only had five to offer us. These five didn’t include the ones we had chosen so we decided to just get the bill.

The lighting contributed to the calm atmosphere, however we did notice there were eight bulbs missing so this could have been by accident!

The toilets are nicely decorated with a light and airy feel. The ladies also have a water fountain. However as the toilet facilities are up a steep flight of stairs, it would be problematic for people with disabilities and mobility difficulties. There are no smoking facilities outside this restaurant which as a smoker my partner didn’t appreciate.

 The restaurant doesn’t really cater for children as there were no children’s meals; however there were mild Indian curries which would perhaps be suitable.
We both agreed the food was fabulous and based on that we would go again. However we would chose to go on a Friday or Saturday night with the hope of more of an atmosphere.

Altogether, our meal came to a very reasonable £22.05 which included a bottle of still water, one starter, and two main courses.

To sum up our experience, it was relaxed and pleasing.

Visit their website: www.gurkhathali.co.uk

To see this restaurant on Virtual Huddersfield click here > Gurkha Thali

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