Topic: Some great BIR's in the Aldershot, Farnham & Fleet area

[solarsplace]

Hi

These are some of my favorite BIR's in the Aldershot, Farnham & Fleet area. I have been to these establishments many times and had consistently excellent food and can thoroughly recommend them.

The only special case I would say is the Shomraat. I always found their curry to be too mild.  Just ask them to make you a chicken tinadaloo and they will know who you have been speaking to

TA:

India Raj
181 North Lane, Aldershot, Hampshire, GU12 4SY
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=181+North+Lane+aldershot&sll=51.479726,-0.292339&sspn=0.019484,0.045576&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=181+North+Ln,+Aldershot+GU12+4,+United+Kingdom&t=h&layer=c&cbll=51.250035,-0.742869&panoid=y-GtZ997ziGNVWPCZHoXDQ&cbp=12,279.55,,0,11.31&ll=51.250903,-0.739818&spn=0.003559,0.010278&z=16

BIR's:

Mahaan
The Mahaan, 13 East Street, Farnham, Surrey, GU9 7RX, 01252 71 81 71
www.themahaan.co.uk

Gulshan
53 Farnborough Road, Farnham GU9 9AJ, 01252 322 822
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF8&q=gulshan+upper+hale&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=gulshan&hnear=Upper+Hale,+Farnham,+Surrey&cid=0,0,13458768219294721943&ei=QQYqTJuEJsK5jAe59qCtDQ&ved=0CBYQnwIwAA&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=51.234817,-0.78489&panoid=2wDiQ3Gc2hRkk5NyljHq6w&cbp=12,245.68,,0,6.4

Gulshan Indian Cuisine & Takeaway
Oatsheaf Parade, 264-266 Fleet Road, Town Centre, Fleet, GU51 4BX, 01252 615910
http://www.fleettown.co.uk/Gulshan-Indian-Cuisine-&-Takeaway-Fleet-Indian-Restaurants-75.html

Shomraat
133 Upper Hale Road, Farnham, GU9 0JF, 01252 735 175
www.shomraat.com

[chriswg]

Shomraat is my favourite although they don't deliver. If I can be bothered going to collect I'll always go there. their bhajis are very strange but really good. they are wafer thin but crispy and tasty.

If I'm getting delivery I'll usually go for Chutneys in Fleet. I used to be a Dhanshiri fan but it has changed owners again and the new chef isn't up to much. I ordered a vindaloo from Chutneys yesterday breaking the golden rule of never ordering on a Monday or Tuesday as the head chef will have his days off, but this was still excellent. Tell them you have a voucher for a free side dish and they will include it but never check at the door. You usually get one attached to the menu when the delivery arrives anyway.

I agree Gulshan in Fleet is usually pretty good too. They were my regular haunt until I switched allegiance to Chutneys.

I'll have to give those other 3 a try. Would you say any were better than Shomraat? Thats a pretty high bar!

[solarsplace]

Hi Chris

Thanks for the tips. Must try Chutneys too, never been there. I'm always nervous to try new places for fear of disappointment so recommendations are much appreciated.

With regard to the Shomratt, I could not agree more, it is an excellent restaurant with very high quality food. It does take some beating! plus all the staff and the owner are very, very hospitable.

However; and this is a bold statement to make! - I have personally never in 20 years of actively loving BIR curries, had any curry, anywhere, ever, at any time, that I found to be nicer than the Mahaan in Farnham. (I am not affiliated with them in any way).

Make the journey - try the place. You don't need to go complicated to appreciate the quality - Just Vindaloo or Madras + Special rice and Saag Aloo.... Heaven.

The rest on my list should not disappoint either!, but the one above is number 1 on the list for a reason. Accepting the TA only at the top with is my local and fantastic to boot.

[gazman1976]

@ Solarsplace you need to get upto glasgow and try the BIR's if you think that one is good , they are the best in the uk up here !

[Ghoulie]

wish I could remember the name of the curry house in Aldershot - went there with my wife, daughter her friend & boyfriend @ 10 years ago.

Food was indifferent, prices 'highish', service abysmal - so I didn't bother leaving a tip as i paid on my Access card - ?102 for 5.

Stupid idiots in the curry house thought it would be ok to add ?12 to the bill AFTER it was paid and somehow clearly forged what was forwarded to Access by them - thinking no doubt I wouldn't remember what I had paid when i received my Access bill weeks later - let alone keep a copy of my card payment receipt - with a clear line through the gratuity bit showing total as ?102.

So, I wrote to Natwest Access re the incident with a copy of my receipt and pointing out the obvious forgery attempt and I was rewarded with a complete refund of ALL the payment.  Serves the gits right !

Next problem I had with my Access card and asians (Bangladeshi) was the cloning of my card by them at a SAVE petrol station in Sunbury on Thames.  Natwest duly informed me NEVER to use a credit / debit card in a SAVE petrol station - they were inundated with card cloning problems at them  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I understand it, SAVE eventually went bust - thank god

[vinotinto]

Well I went to the Mahaan last night, and it was really good, up there with the best I have been too.  Look forward to trying the others at some point!

[solarsplace]

Not really sure if anyone ever looks at this post, however:

With great sadness I must revoke my recommendation of India Raj TA as mentioned in the first post.

It appears that the more experienced senior chef no longer works there and the curry has unfortunately descended into the territory of generally bland and disappointing.

Another good one bites the dust....