 Kababish 
The Posher Side of Indian Cooking
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Recommendation added: 01/03/2007 23:47
By: dewberry (YSUK rating +817)dewberry has been thanked 4 times for this contribution
"The other night we were celebrating the end (and payment!) of a rather large and rather long winded job which Mark had undertaken, so we decided to try an Indian restaurant in Sutton Coldfield which we'd been thinking about using for a while.
Kababish has been around for donkey's years, I remember visiting their restaurant in the Moseley area of Birmingham a long time ago (ie. before the kids were born) but hadn't really made the connection between that one and the restaurant with the same name in Sutton Coldfield.
The first thing I noticed when we arrived was how large the interior of Kababish was; from the outside the restaurant has the appearance of simply being a large house but the size of this place is really deceptive. The ceilings are very high which makes it seem even bigger but the clever way in which the tables and chairs have been laid out makes the most of the space inside, and while it appears that diners are crammed in there's actually plenty of room between tables.
We were shown to our table and offered a drink while we looked at the menu and decided what to eat, and the guy who brought our drinks over also gave the kids' a plate of popadoms and a pot of raita to munch on while we were waiting for our food.
The menu is really extensive. Kababish advertise themselves as being specialists in Balti and Tandoori cuisine but they are pretty damned good at everything else too. Before we visited we'd decided we were going to have a 'money is no object' night, which basically means that instead of ordering a selection of food that we can all pick at we'll order whatever we want and let the kids order their own meal too – usually knowing full well that there's zero chance of them actually eating it all.
The menu in here is so large that it took a while to decide what we were going to eat; one thing I was particularly grateful for was the fact that each and every dish includes a description of the meal as well as mentioning the key ingredients and giving me an idea of the strength of the food. This is ultra handy when visiting with children as they'll without fail want to order the dish which has the nicest name, but if it arrives and is the strength of a vindaloo then that's one meal wasted.
We ordered a Chefs Platter for Four to start with which arrived on one huge plate and consisted of a pile of BBQ chicken wings, onion bhajees, samosas and 'Kababish Kebabs'. This starter cost £15 and there was more than enough for us four; it appealed to all of us as we each had a nice selection of excellent quality food, and the amount of food on the platter meant we didn't have the expense of ordering other dishes at a higher cost. Finger food such as this is always nice to eat when we're dining with the kids' as they find it much more fun that ordering a meal which has to be eaten with a traditional knife and fork!
Nine times out of ten I'll opt for the old favourite chicken balti when we go to an Indian restaurant, but in Kababish I fancied something a bit different. I asked for a recommendation when the guy came to take our order and was assured that the Seafood Balti was definitely worth a try. I took his word for it and was absolutely amazed with the meal when it arrived. Chunks of hake and monkfish are beautifully combined with massive king prawns and scallops and this is then cooked in a delicate balti sauce in order to bring out the flavours of the seafood. The sauce is much lighter than that used for chicken or meat balti and I'd already asked for it to be cooked to a mild flavour so it was perfect. The meal was quite possibly the best balti I've eaten; the seafood was cooked to perfection, melting in my mouth as I took each mouthful, and the sauce was rich and creamy with a lightly spiced aftertaste. Gorgeous, especially when mopped up with a garlic naan bread!
Mark (being a bloke) ate possibly the hottest dish on the menu, the intriguingly named Dhesi Karai Murgh. His eyes were literally watering by the time he'd finished his plate, but he commented on how delicious and authentic the meal was. The Dhesi was basically chicken pieces infused with a glorious smelling concoction of spices and drenched in a hot creamy sauce. I'm much too much of a wimp to have tried any of this so I took his word for how good his food was, it certainly smelled delicious.
The kids' played it safe with a plate of Chicken Tikka Masalla each and when the waiter knew it was for children he said he'd ask the chef to make it especially mild for them. I tried a bit of this and it really was delicious – I almost wished I'd ordered this instead of my balti! The chicken was perfectly cooked, tender and moist, while the masalla sauce was extremely mild yet still managed to retain its spiciness and flavours. Both of my children finished everything which was on their plates, which is a minor miracle in itself considering my seven year old usually eats very little spicy food.
We shared a portion of each boiled and Pilau rice; they were both perfectly cooked with the boiled rice being fluffy and deliciously rice, while the Pilau was wonderfully spiced with the perfect 'gritty' texture which I love about this rice. The two portions did us four perfectly as none of us really like too much rice with a curry, but if you like lots of rice then order yourself a full portion as it really is cooked to an excellent standard. We also had a couple of naan breads; the garlic one was amazing, I've never tasted such a wonderful garlic naan bread in my life – the plain naan was also brilliant, but kinda paled in insignificance against the garlic one!
For dessert I chose a delicious, but odd, dish. I can't for the life of me remember the name of it but it was like a trifle / treacle pudding hybrid, honestly it was odd. There was a hot sponge cake at the bottom of the dish which was saturated in syrup and topped with ice cream, cream and nuts. It was absolutely wonderful; the ice cream melted into the sponge but the cream stayed deliciously cold, tasting gorgeous in contrast to the chopped nuts. I wanted to lick the bowl and I noticed my seven year old actually did!
My other daughter and Mark ate home made Kulfi (pistachio ice cream) with a fruity sauce and cream; I pinched a bit of Marks and it was divine, rich and creamy ice cream which started to melt under the warm rich berry sauce. I adored it and will definitely eat this next time.
Kababish is fully licensed with a very good wine list and decent selection of lagers both on draught and bottled. The prices were very reasonable in comparison with other Indian restaurants in the area, with spirits in particularly being very fairly priced – even a glass of pop is pretty cheap, no rip off bar prices here! Personally I had a Latte coffee which was excellent quality and really well made, on the pricey side at £2 but that's not as bad as the hefty £4.50 price tag on a liqueur coffee – shocking!
Our meal in Kababish lasted around two hours and we spent just over £80, including all food, a couple of drinks each and a tip for the waiter at the end of the night. I was impressed with the quality of the food, and also the service while we were eating. The staff here really know what they're talking about with regards to the menu and I was confident that their recommendations would be for the best, they were also keen to make sure we enjoyed our visit and were attentive to the kids as well as us. This made the evening seem much more special for the children as they were encouraged to have a good time and also to order something which would be suitable for their tastebuds.
Disabled access is fine, the entrance is on street level and there are no steps once inside. The tables are laid out in such a way that there is plenty of room to get around if you're using a wheelchair or have mobility problems. Getting to the loo or bar will cause no problems because Kababish is so easy to manoeuvre around in.
To find this excellent Indian restaurant you need to get yourself into North Birmingham and follow the A453 which will eventually become Jockey Road; simply head into Sutton Coldfield following the signs for Tamworth and Kababish is located on the left hand side of the road almost as you enter Sutton Coldfield itself. The restaurant is open daily 5pm until 11.30pm, and opens at 1.30pm on a Sunday.
Kababish
266 Jockey Road
Sutton Coldfield
Birmingham
B73 5XP
Tel: 0121 3555062"
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