We originally had plans to head to Dishoom, having had a great experience at the Manchester site and wanting something relatively relaxed and easy-going, but it was completely full – and so ending up at Indian Streatery turned out to be the best happy accident of our trip.
Anyway, a quick detour and we landed here, just a short walk from Birmingham’s New Street station, and honestly, it works out pretty well.
The service was spot on from the get-go. Our server took the time to walk us through the menu, offering recommendations to have about five dishes between the two of us. It was about the right amount even though we did have a bit of dahl left over, but given the tapas-style nature it made sense to try a little of a lot, if that makes sense.
Let’s talk about the food.
The menu has both tapas-style and street food takes on Indian cuisine – from a range of chaats to fried chicken and even a hotdog dish – as well as some more traditional curry styles. We went for the more rustic, authentic sounding tapas style stuff and ignored the “Indian take on fast food” elements for this visit – though what we saw looked good.
The lamb kofta was melt-in-your-mouth tender—each bite of those juicy meatballs was packed with flavor. And the sauce. I always think a good Indian lamb sauce is one where the lamb is part of the sauce and has started to melt in to it, rather than having chunks of a lamb IN a sauce. This was the J Robert Oppenheimer of this quality: “I am become lamb, the definer of sauces.”
Then there was the deconstructed samosa chaat. This thing was a revelation. Crunchy, tangy, creamy—basically the Indian street food version of a gourmet surprise party. It was a really good one to order as it provided a bit of cut-through and relief from the rest of the dishes, being topped with yoghurt.
The yellow dahl was as comforting as you’d want it to be, warm and fragrant, with a nice kick. The butter natak paneer was like a creamy, spiced dream—rich and smooth, the kind of dish you just want to dive into headfirst, particularly if you’re Kirsty who has a particular fascination with paneer in Indian food I’ve never quite got.
Finally, the Chole Bhatura? The fried bread was good, and the chickpeas were nice and flavourful – slightly less “cooked” than you sometimes find and the better for it, adding a bit of texture. The little chutneys were the standout. However, in hindsight I’d possibly rather have just ordered some bread and chutneys (as that seemed to be largely what this dish was) and have done with one less pulse-based element. A learning for us I suspect.
For drinks, I had a mango lassi cocktail that was just the right amount of refreshing and indulgent. It was like sipping on sunshine – but with vodka. It was called a “White Indian” which took some getting your head around (it’s a play on White Russian – the milk…obviously). Kirsty, being pregnant, stuck to a Coke. I also had a red wine at the end.
As for the setting, the restaurant has a buzzing vibe that’s really nice without being too loud. The decor is stylish with just the right amount of personality—there’s even a ceiling ‘fresco’ of a map of India. It felt like a kind of Indian cafeteria I’d love to imagine actually exists (in a way similar to Dishoom Manchester but smaller) and hosted a range of different people, including an old boy eating alone next to us, up to a big group of 30 somethings filling up before a night out and father and son who looked like they’d just been to watch Villa.
All in all, Indian Streatery hit all the right notes—great food, good service, and a fun atmosphere. It’s a place we’d definitely return to, and I’d recommend it to anyone in Birmingham looking for a fresh take on Indian food.
If you want a neon-red chicken tikka masala or a stack of poppadoms and ‘two more lamb bhunas’ this probably isn’t for you (though sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that).
It’s always nice to find a hidden gem when the original plan falls apart. The bill included service at 10% and came to £70, which felt reasonable given over £20 of it was drinks (it was a large red).
