Emma Indian fine dining in Bath
While in Somerset for a few days, we were invited to visit The Mint Room, which is an Indian fine dining restaurant in Bath. The Mint Room serves both traditional curries alongside dishes such as Tandoori Scottish salmon and Welsh lamb rump with a modern twist. The restaurant is just outside the city centre, but only a short walk from our accommodation at the Griffin Inn and it was a beautiful evening when we visited so the walk across the river, while watching paddle boarders was pleasant.
The outside of the restaurant, with its modern breeze block exterior doesn’t look glamorous, however once you step inside, you are transported to another world.
The elegant surroundings, with no elephants or flock wallpaper, was filled with chatter from guests and servers alike. We were greeted by the friendly front of house team and shown to our comfy booth. It was a Tuesday evening but the restaurant was almost full. The background music was at a level for enjoying and not competing with the chatter, and the temperature perfect, so we settled down for a relaxing evening.
To drink, I just had water but Mark ordered a Roman Spice Old Fashioned, a boozy concoction of Bourbon Whiskey Infused with Figs, Amaro Montenegro and Bitters.
Whilst we perused the menu, a couple of pani puri were delivered to the table. We adore these crispy little puff bowls which are stuffed with chickpeas, diced potatoes and tamarind sauce. Into the mouth in one go, we could happily have eaten at least ten more!
Menu at The Mint Room, Bath
What a menu it is, there is a wide array of dishes on offer with sections for vegetarian and non-vegetarian, traditional favourites such as onion bhaji and chicken tikka masala to the more unusual tandoori broccoli and Kerelan ox cheeks. A tasting menu is available, as well as a High Tea menu at weekends.
What we ate
Mark chose the Tandoori Malai Broccoli – tandoor cooked broccoli with Parmesan, green cardamom and fig compote. Just crisp broccoli charred and topped with melting, creamy Parmesan and served with a compote which adds sweetness to the tangy Parmesan. I couldn’t help but keep stealing bits off his plate, it was so moreish.
Panjim Crab – lightly fried soft shell crab, flavoured with fresh curry leaves and spices, and served with celeriac, carrot and apple coleslaw plus plum chutney and carrot pickle. Now, we love a soft shell crab, however they are often small, sometimes theres more batter than meat, but not here. The crab was of a larger size than expected and covered in a crisp coating which encased the juicy crab. Again, we could both have been happy snacking on these all night, however there was more delicious dishes to dine on.
Sarso Ka Jhinga – which is tandoori king prawns marinated with yellow chill powder, kasuni mustard and dill served with korma sauce and fried lemon rice and beans. The char on these tandoori prawns, I really can’t describe how good it was. Massive, moist and meaty prawns ideal for scooping up the creamy and fragrant korma sauce.
Lamb Rarrah Ghost – Pan seared, glazed, tandoori spiced Welsh lamb rump, keema masala, wilted spinach, pickled carrot and rogan jus. Full of lamb flavour with a prominent spice profile.
We also ordered some sides, firstly Saag Paneer – Indian cheese cooked in a spinach puree with garlic and ginger – creamy and soft paneer coated in an aromatic sauce. The prawns dipped into this sauce was *chefs kiss.
For rice, we opted for the Saffron and Peas Pilau Rice, which added some more colour to a kaleidoscope of colour on the table.
And we can’t miss out a naan, so had something a bit different a cherry peshwari naan, A fluffy naan filled with sweetness, this was quickly devoured.
By now we were getting full, however, there was space in our dessert stomach, so a look at the menu, just a look…
Assorted kulfi for me, smooth, creamy and flavoursome. I almost, almost didn’t want to mess up that presentation.
Blood orange and cardamom chocolate brownie for Mark. Served with candied blood orange and vanilla ice cream. Sweet and aromatic with a refreshing bitterness.
Verdict
Thumbs up and happy bellies all round the table here. We had a relaxing and delicious meal. The staff were attentive, knowledgable and helpful, the ambience was just right – not too stuffy and not too relaxed. We liked the fine dining touches (e.g. Robert Welch cutlery) with the chilled out vibe. The Mint Room served an exquisite array of textured, flavoured and perfectly spiced food so we would love to return – if only we lived nearby to visit again!
Book a table at The Mint Room, Bath here
Click the website link here for The Mint Room to book a table.
Where
The Mint Room Longmead Gospel Hall, Lower Bristol Road, Bath, BA2 3EB
