Newark’s Best restaurant

Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m not a great fan of the town I live in. It has real potential but always seems to fall sadly short, especially when it comes to food. It prides itself on being a market town but the food stalls are so limited…just the same old fruit and veg (although they are very nice). I have to admit that, at least on a Wed, there are a few extra cheese and exotic meat stalls which do make it nice. I just wish they’d be a bit more adventurous in what they sell on a daily basis.

If the market falls short, the restaurant really disappoint. Most of them are chain and have predictable menus, terrible service and bad, uninspired food. Except for a few…

One of the few stars in the food trade is The Thanal, a wonderfully authentic Southern Indian restaurant. Their food is based on the culture and food of a southern region called Kerala which translates into “the land of coconuts”. After eating the same old kormas and jalfrezies, it is so refreshing to get real herbs, real spice and real flavour that has direct links to India, as opposed to direct links to jarred sauces from Morrisons.

Thanal is relatively new to the Newark area and the restaurant itself has a beautiful decor, inspired by the Kerala region, with friendly and personable staff who are happy to help any new diners with the array of menu choices.

Some of our favourites include starting with the ever popular papadoms which are served with an onion, tomato, cumber salad, mango chutney and a hot lemon pickle.

The appetizer selection is large and has several meat and vegetarian choices. We both love the chicken drumsticks, lentil soup and chicken and pea samosas but one of my recent favourites is the cassava bonda which is a delicious mixture of potatoes, peanuts, cassava (a type of root vegetable), all spiced with ginger, cumin, garlic and other Indian spices. It is served with a wonderful split pea curry with pieces of eggplant which is good enough to be served and eaten on it own.

As for mains…it’s really hard to choose from just one item from all of the various catagories (chicken, red meats, vegetables, fish and Dosas (large Indian breads stuffed with potatoes and other fillings). I must say I personally have at least one favourite from each catagory. My current favourite is the lentil stew. No matter what I order, I always include a paratha (a coiled wheat bread which is lovely and chewy).

Other favourites include the chicken tika masala and the beef chaps. I have honestly never had anything there was wasn’t beautiful tasting. The other great thing is that the server always asks just how spicy you want your dish, so it’s customizable.

So if you have a passion for Indian food that comes from an original source and is refreshingly different from the usual “kebab” inspired “Indian” restaurants, give the Thanal a try. You won’t regret it.

For more information, click the links above.

Advertisement