Tamatanga

[gallery ids="3179,3180,3181"]

Enter Tamatanga and, despite being founded here and a Nottingham exclusive, you’d be forgiven for assuming it must be a franchise. But chain restaurant normality this is not…

Until fairly recently, the downstairs was laid out canteen-style and while this may appeal to some who enjoy the more social style, I’m all for a bit of privacy when eating curry – it has a tendency to get in my beard, and nobody needs to see that. Upstairs is set out with huge round tables ready for large parties to share, perfect for celebrating, and should be high up on your list for any work outings.

We were looked after exceedingly well throughout our marathon eating experience. We started by sampling three dishes from the ‘tapas’ menu. As pointed out by our resident office food pedant, tapas is from Spain and tasty small Indian dishes are not, but no matter. We tried the prawn tempura (£5.95), lamb tikka (£5.45) and papdi chaat (£4.75) at three for £13 or five for £20. They were nicely spiced, well-flavoured and had that authentic homemade style. The papdi chaat – a sweet, light dish made from chickpeas, wheat crisp, sweet yogurt, blueberries and a tamarind chutney is very unusual, enjoyed greatly by us, but it probably isn’t for everyone.

We complemented the starters with a cocktail. The raspberry mojito (£6.95) didn’t disappoint – double measures but you wouldn’t know it – fruity and refreshing, it went very well with the food.

If you visit before 6pm you can’t go wrong with the £7.95 deal, which includes a main and drink. I upgraded, and went for the Tamatanga Thali (+£4) and a pistachio lassi (+£1). The thali is comprised of salad, poppadoms, chutney, two vegetable dishes of the day, daal, raita, rice, naan and then a choice of any two curries from the menu. I opted for chicken tikka masala and palak ghosht – extremely tender and succulent lamb in spinach and garlic sauce. The whole dish was well balanced and not drenched in oil like so much ‘English Indian’ food. And the lassi, a sweet pistachio yogurt drink, would put out any spice-induced mouth fire if you’ve gone for anything particularly hot. We managed to squeeze in a scoop of raspberry and passionfruit sorbet (£3.95) to share at the end, a great way to finish off what was a truly excellent meal. They rightfully pride themselves on using local fresh produce, and it shows. Well done Tamatanga. Nottingham can be proud to be your birthplace, now go take on the rest of the country. Alan Gilby

Tamatanga, Trinity Square, NG1 4DB. 0115 9584 848