Bengal Cottage

Bengal Cottage in Horwich has pretty much taken the Bolton restaurant scene by storm. In the unit which was formerly 'The Red Onion' and then 'HaLay', when the signs first went up for Bengal Cottage - opening soon, the residents of Horwich pretty much thought "oh great, another Indian restaurant", but never have we been so happily wrong!

Welcome to flavour country, folks.

The first thing I must comment on is by far the food. If you've been to an Indian Restaurant in recent years and been underwhelmed, go to this place to have your passion re-ignited! The chef (pictured below) knows his cooking and service, and quite rightly has been voted Curry Chef of the Year 2012-2013!

The food quality alone is superb! It's fresh, tasty, and jam packed with flavour! Even though they also Tweet about contenders of their "hottest curry" challenge over on their Twitter, the focus generally with their offerings is definitely on delicious flavours and high quality ingredients rather than trying to blow your head off with spice. Even the simple naan bread pictured above was deliciously fresh and warm.

It's no surprise they won Curry Chef of the Year 2012-2013!

The chef and the other staff are superb when it comes to customer service! Friendly, warm and engaging, they are happy to help you choose what may be to your taste, or what they may recommend. The chef himself is often on the floor speaking to customers and making sure everything is okay. He even came over to our table to personally wish my mother a happy birthday and wish us a pleasant evening, as he remembered that I had booked a few months before to bring my mum to Bengal Cottage for her birthday.

About that though, I'd booked a few months ago for "5pm", and was told it was fine, but the restaurant actually opens at 5:30pm, which we didn't know. However, when we went there at 5, although the restaurant wasn't 'open', we were able to enter and sit in a comfy seating area by the bar, until a friendly staff member came over to assess the situation, and even though we would've been happy to go for a wander for half an hour, they were happy to seat us, put the music on, and effectively open up early... just for us! That's service, folks!

The venue is small but not cramped, and is modern and stylish in its décor and furnishings. Pleasant Indian music plays in the background, or the flat-screen TV shows big glitzy Bollywood musical numbers, which I loved.

The menu is large but not over the top. Each section is clearly explained and displayed, and all terminology is elaborated upon. They also have some amazing offers. We went on a Wednesday night for my mum's birthday, which was 'banquet night' ... 5 courses for £9.99 each!  Sorry, let me just repeat that... FIVE COURSES OF FRESH INDIAN CUISINE BY THE CURRY CHEF OF THE YEAR, FOR LESS THAN A TENNER!! Got that? Good!

It's easy to miss Bengal Cottage on Horwich's busy Lee Lane high street, especially as both Lee Lane and Winter Hey Lane are packed full of take-aways as it is, so you might see the small outside of the restaurant and mistakenly think it's another take-away, but even though they offer a take-away service, this is no run-of-the-mill Horwich take-away. It's one of the best Indian restaurants I've been to in years, and I highly recommend you visit soon!

(Mum had a fantastic birthday meal there, and has made it clear she
wants us to take her back there on her next birthday!)

Go. Just go. You'll see :)

Bengal Cottage

80A Lee Lane

Horwich

Bolton

BL6 7AE

(01204) 771 393

www.facebook.com/BengalCottage.Restaurant.Bar