The International, Bradford

I haven't had a curry in Bradford for ages, and if it wasn't for adverse comments on Twitter I'd probably have gone to The Kashmir. Friends and I used to go there fairly regularly some years ago and it always hit the spot. The curries were decent if unspectacular, the seekh kebabs and chapattis better. I've spent a good few hours in the basic basement canteen (the upstairs restaurant bit wasn't the done thing) filling up there for for very little money.

Rumour has it though, that the Kashmir has gone downhill. At this stage if he reads it I'm expecting comment from a friend of mine who still goes there, and who may well consider this post sacrilege. We may have to settle this by going on a Bradford curry crawl, taking in the various contenders including Kashmir, Karachi, Khan's, Shimla and the International.

 
I decided to try International as a result of this review on them apples blog, and I'm glad I did so thanks for the tip off. A starter of vegetable pakoras weren't great, being far too stodgy. They weren't greasy, just the ratio of vegetable to gram flour batter was far too much in favour of batter.

The curry was much better. Afraid I can't recall the name of this (something shahi karahi?) but it was chicken, lentils and egg in a rich, perhaps slightly too reduced sauce. The lentils and chicken were both nicely cooked, and the addition of fresh fenugreek leaves made a pleasant change from coriander.

 
All of the karahi dishes come with a choice of chapattis, rotis, naan or rice. I chose the tandoori rotis which were excellent, crisp and bubbly from the tandoor.

The restaurant is a fairly basic sort of place but the service was lovely. Friendly and attentive with all the little bells and whistles beloved of Indian restaurants (free poppadum, warmed moist towels after your meal, even a chocolate mint with the bill!). Excellent value for just short of £11 including tip.

7/10

40-42 Morley Street
Bradford
BD7 1BA