Food Foddy: Dabbawal

Dabbawal prides itself on Indian Street Food. Their website boasts (rather unsubtly) that they are the proud winners of the British Curry Awards 2015 but, to be honest, they deserve it. They have a restaurant both in Jesmond and in town, which are both really easy to get to. In terms of décor, the Jesmond branch is a little more quirky, with a large outside seating area adorned with fairy lights and bicycles (unfortunately not for customer use, I should point out!). The restaurant inside is spacious and bright, whereas I found the branch in town a little more crowded. I took my mum here and, bless her, I had to pretty much shout to get her to understand me – it was so loud! Don’t let this put you off though; there’s a reason both restaurants are packed. My mum and I went out to eat on a Thursday evening and we wouldn’t have gotten a table at either restaurant had we not booked ahead. 

"My mum isn’t very decisive at the best of times, but it took her a good half an hour to choose a main course despite my desperate pleas to hurry up"

The menu is extensive. My mum isn’t very decisive at the best of times, but it took her a good half an hour to choose a main course despite my desperate pleas to hurry up. To start we both went for Poppadoms, served with the chef’s homemade chutney selection. It was possibly not the most adventurous choice when alternatives include Lentil and Curry Leaf Soup, Citrus Super Fruit Salad and Chaats, which are types of authentic Indian Streetfood. However, it was the perfect starter to line our stomachs for the rather huge main course selection that followed. I went for the ‘Big Eat’ Dabbawal Grill. To be honest it was just a way to try loads of things off the menu at once, but I’m so glad I went for it. It included chicken tikka, lamb chops, citrus prawns, seekh kebab and salmon tikka. My word, it was mind-blowing. Every element of the mixed grill had its own distinct taste, yet combined to form a taste nothing short of Heaven. The meat was unbelievably tender and fell apart at the touch of the fork. It was outstanding quality.

My mum opted for the Lamb Rogan Josh, which was cooked in Kashmiri chillies and ginger. Again, it was beautiful. We ordered fragrant pulao rice as a side as well as a garlic naan bread served warm, with that soft sponginess only fresh bread can offer, oozing with garlic. As a side note – I’d gone off Indian food a while ago and just haven’t fancied it since, but Dabbawal rescued me and has got me back to craving curry. I couldn’t recommend it more highly. For those of you who recoil at the thought of spice – you needn’t. Dabbawal caters for all tastes and meals range from mild to the super-spicy.

"As a side note – I’d gone off Indian food a while ago and just haven’t fancied it since, but Dabbawal rescued me and has got me back to craving curry"

I’m just going to end with another reminder to book ahead to avoid disappointment. However, if you’re booking over the phone, make sure that you’ve phoned the right restaurant! I made the mistake of accidently phoning the branch in town and turned up at the Jesmond branch, getting my sass on when I was told they hadn’t had a booking under my name. They then sent me to the right restaurant. Oops. Other than that it was the perfect dining experience – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

1 Brentwood Mews,

Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne 

NE2 3DG