Balaka

3 Reviews on “Balaka”

• Food 2 Run

  Such a great place and so grand loved the food service and staff super well worth th trip to Saint Andrews..could not fault this place……

  January 10, 2016, 5:34 pm

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• Andy Jackson

  Magnificent food and service – interesting menu with oddities such as Mas Bangla and Keema Begum to add to the excellent staples. Sister to dundee’s Dil Se with a largely similar menu, this is rightly acclaimed as one of the uk’s best Indians.

  April 9, 2011, 11:20 am

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• Outnumbered

  Great Food, Informative Menu. Did you know that until the turn of the millennium 85% of ‘Indian’ restaurants in Britain were actually Bangladeshi? That a Bangladeshi chef in Glasgow created Britain’s most popular dish? That you can grow almost all the herbs needed for Bangladeshi cuisine on the east coast of Scotland as long as you’ve got a greenhouse and a bunch of determination? Well I learned all these things and more in St Andrews at the wonderful Balaka restaurant.I spent 5 years in St Andrews as a university student and the Balaka was always THE blow out treat. On a recent trip back I found it still on top form. The decor is still firmly rooted in the 70’s and they have branded so many items from the napkins to the carpet that you are never unsure about where you are, but a good curry is about what is on the plate, not the wallpaper. Billing itself as Bangladeshi well before such regional subtlety was popular, the Balaka has the feel of a labour of love. The photos on the wall show an owner proud of his restaurant and his place in the community. The menu is full of the little nuggets of information I mentioned above. I always find these touches encouraging since they hint at a pride which is likely to come through in the food. There is no Tony Singh style attempts to reinvent the wheel, just perfectly executed traditional curries, rice and breads (although Mas Bangla was a dish I discovered here and ordered at almost every subsequent visit). Every dish pops with flavour and colour, with all the chili highs & cumin slow burns you would hope for. The quite enormous herb garden out the back is evidentially regularly plundered since the coriander & other fresh herbs stand out in a way you seldom encounter.The Balaka easily makes my top five ‘Indian’ restaurants in Scotland.

  November 16, 2009, 11:06 am

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