Kathmandu Nepalese Restaurant in Bristol review
Posted on: 2015-07-21
Our rating:
Kathmandu stands out a million miles from the crowd. This awesomely delicious and culinary cosmic Nepalese restaurant marks it out as the absolute essential curry destination that should irrefutably be next on your list.
When it comes to Indian restaurants, Kathmandu on Colston Street in Bristol is very special indeed.
Not only because it's directly opposite the estimable entertainment emporium the Colston Hall - making it the ideal place to indulge before taking your place in the stalls - but also because it's now the first fully-fledged Nepalese restaurant in Bristol. What you have, therefore, is an extra dimension and USP when it comes to offering the punter an intriguing and utterly delicious variation on a traditional curry theme.
Ashok Mali and his team have been running Kathmandu since 2003, and the restaurant possesses a quite breathtaking sense of opulence and majesty. There's a light and airy feel to the place and the tables and chairs are comfortably, evenly spaced so you're not banging elbows with your neighbour as you're tucking into your curry. There are plenty of decorative nods and references to its Nepalese heritage, traditional music plays in the background, and there are several photos adorning the walls featuring celebrities who have dined there, among them Phil Jupitus, Billy Connolly, Bill Bailey and Paul McGann.
Enhancing the authenticity and flavours of the dishes is the fact that the spices used are imported from Nepal, so genuine Nepalese dishes such as salmon rani biryani and the charcoal-cooked lamb with garlic and ginger dish chhoyla are as authentic as they come.
Though not on the menu, a complimentary plate of pickles with two huge, thin and crispy poppadoms greets everyone to get them in the mood, with the pickles offering an adrenaline-pumping combination of fiery hot and mouth-calmingly cool, with the silky smooth mango chutney being a particular standout for me.
Starters proper appeared in the form of the Kathmandu platter for two people (£9.95), which consisted of lamb chhoyla, chicken chhoyla, tandoori chicken, dumplings, chicken tikka, rashmi and shish kebabs. It was a truly unforgettable starter, blending textures, flavours and heat to equally effective degrees. The shish kebabs were given an extra, sweat-inducing kick but utterly addictive kick by being laced with mouth-melting habanero chillis.
My chicken Jhal with fresh peppers, spring onions and mushrooms (£10.95) was an intense and flavour-packed amalgam of truly hedonistic proportions, while my partner's Maku Kukura (£10.05)- chicken cooked in a mild and very lightly spiced sauce with fresh cream, coconut cream and powdered almonds - sent her into eye-rolling paroxysms of gastronomic ecstasy. Accompanied by first-class sundries of sag aloo (£7.50) and pilau rice (£3.15), it was a main course of unadulterated, sybaritic magnificence.
Desserts came in the palate-refreshing (and for that matter, palate-cooling) shape of mango sorbet and coconut ice cream (£3.50) and a dreamy chocolate covered ice cream bombe with a core of rich chocolate sauce (£4.50). Both were an exquisite finale to dishes of prepared, cooked and presented food.
Ashok Mali himself is a legend - calm, convivial and a gentlemanly host, while his team are enthusiastic and efficient. Kathmandu stands out a million miles from the crowd and the other similar curry cuisine contenders (or should that be pretenders?). This awesomely delicious and culinary cosmic Nepalese restaurant marks it out as the absolute essential curry destination that should irrefutably be next on your list.
5/5
Jamie Caddick for The Bristol website - where local information matters.
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
