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I was joined by Sean for an evening at Bengal Lounge in the village of Linton. 

Bengal Lounge has only just reopened under new management in December. The team has 12 years experience under their belt, so I was excited to see what they had to offer.

The restaurant is pleasant, spacious, and big enough to host any number of people. I would describe it as a minimalist contemporary Indian style.

I was impressed by the menu. It had all the classics you would expect from a Bangladeshi/Indian restaurant, like chicken tikka masala, biryani, tandoori grill, vindaloo, and korma, etc.

Bengal Lounge also had a strong specials menu, with dishes from across India. There are easily half a dozen items on the menu I have never tried (or even heard of) which only made me want to come back and visit again.

For their full menu, click here.

We started off with some papadums that were presented with the usual four heroes – mixed pickle, yogurt, onion salad, and mango chutney.

These were served in the classic spinning metal container, making it easier to serve but also giving us generous portions (ceramic bowls are also available).

All four sides of the papadums were done well, without a single complaint from either of us. I was particularly fond of the mixed pickle, as it was less salty and had a more subdued sharpness. The pickles were chopped quite fine, rather than in the usual big chunks. This made it easier to spread and distribute onto your papadum. The yoghurt was also a beautiful colour, thick, and creamy.

We washed down our papadums with a large bottle of Kingfisher beer. Cobra was also available. Unfortunately, there were no draft options.

Starters

We were given a sample of their Haji Puri chicken breast as a starter. These were presented with salad and consisted of chicken breast in a spiced bread crumb coating. Both Sean and I thoroughly enjoyed the crispy skin and soft tender chicken but it was the spicy kick that really made it exciting.

Next, we were given a mixed platter for two. This is always a great way of sampling the meat quality of a restaurant without having to order numerous mains. The platter came with two chicken tikka, two lamb chops, two onions bhaji and two blocks of tofu.

The platter was a mixed bag for us. All of it was enjoyable and nothing fell below what we would consider an acceptable standard but there were clear stand out favourites.

The chicken tikka was absolutely sensational. It was soft, smooth to cut, and came with a beautiful buttery flavour. So far, all the chickens from Bengal Lounge has been excellent.

The onion bhajis were rather ordinary but didn’t offend. As they were part of a platter they were significantly smaller than stand alone bhajis, so lacked any meatiness and were essentially brittle flakes of onion.

The lamb divided opinions. Sean loved his lamb chop and enjoyed the fact it was unashamedly fatty (as lamb should be). I myself struggled with the chop. The lamb I had was very nice but I found most of mine to be bone, so it was much smaller than it appeared.

The tofu was served in large blocks. I don’t think I have ever had tofu in a mixed starter before but I think it worked quite well. I was expecting more of a paneer texture but the size of the blocks resulted in a compromised structure, leaving it to be softer in the middle and with an almost egg like texture on the inside.

Either way, it was an unusual and welcome addition to the platter.

Mains

For my mains, I ordered a chicken tikka vindaloo with a saag aloo, a garlic naan, and mushroom rice.

Sean ordered himself a lamb rongila with lime rice. We were also given the “Ali special”to try from the specials menu.

All the dishes were presented on rather stylish blue square plates, which were absolutely genius when I thought about it, as it made everything much easier to fit on the table.

The Ali Special was an absolute belter of a dish. It consisted of spiced king prawns with their shells used to enhance the flavour of the sauce. The dish came presented on a bed of peppers, onions, chillies, carrots, and mushrooms.

The king prawns are always prepared from fresh at Bengal Lounge. This, coupled with the shells being used, really emboldened the flavour of the prawns. Sean described them as “prawny” 😂

The dish was colourful, mostly thanks to the peppers and chillies, and the special spices gave the dish a lovely golden colour. There was a satisfying medium spice that gave the dish a fiery pop. This was balanced enough to tickle hot heads like me but not too hot to scare away average customers. Marvellous!

I had ordered the chicken tikka vindaloo with mushroom rice and a saag aloo side – my all time favourite!

The vindaloo came in a very dark sauce with a rich flavour – even by vindaloo standards. It was a little dry but the flavours were all there. The chicken was tikka’d well and it came with a fiery kick that would put most other Indian restaurants to shame. Anyone who reads this blog frequently will know that one of my pet peeves is a mild vindaloo but the team at Bengal Lounge understand what a vindaloo should be and have shown the iconic dish the respect it deserves.

The saag aloo was also a very dark colour. The portion was generous and the dish complimented the vindaloo perfectly well. The potatoes were well cooked but the spinach was a little flat, giving off a slightly overcooked feel. This may also be a contributing factor to the dark colour.

The dishes combined into a stunning plate of pure joy that set me up perfectly for the evening. It was fiery, the chicken was tender, the potatoes were soft and fluffy, the spinach generous, and the mushroom rice well executed. It was a fine example of what vindaloo can be.

Sean’s rongila is cooked in a garlic tamarind sauce with chopped tomatoes in a thick gravy. It had a mild kick that came accompanied with a slight sour flavour.

The lamb was firm and fatty and delicious, with a complex flavour that came with pockets of different flavours throughout the dining experience.

Dessert

We were both feeling very full, so decided to split a dessert. This was a beautiful ice cream that came with something called soan papdi, a sweet candyfloss like dish served as a cube.

Describing soan papdi is quite hard but essentially has a spun-sugar like texture, like a dense version of candy floss. It dissolves in your mouth, especially when combined with the smooth ice cream. It was delicious and had a satisfying crispy feel, while still being unusual and novel. It is something I would certainly recommend trying.

We ended the evening with a couple of warm wet wipes to freshen up after our evening of spicy indulgence. It’s great to see restaurants still offering something like this as it is becoming quite rare in the mad rush to cut costs.

After my blazing vindaloo, it was certainly welcome! 🥵

Conclusion

Sean and I were both in agreement that we had a lovely and very satisfying meal.

The Bengal Lounge is going to serve the people of Linton really well. It has a great menu with all the classics but enough interesting specials to keep you coming back. The service is impeccable and the prices are competitive. It’s a pleasant place to dine and they respect the fundamentals of the food they are cooking (especially when it comes to spice).

It pains me to have another decent Indian restaurant so far away!

Thanks for reading.