New Bismillah Roti House, Halifax

I love these sorts of places. The back streets of a Northern mill town, a converted front room in a terraced house, a couple of mismatched tables and a battered sofa, a tandoor and a stove. What more do you need to churn out bread and curry for the neighbourhood?

Bismillah Roti House is exactly such a place, located in a predominantly Asian area of Halifax just up the hill from the town centre. Two of us headed over there for a post-football feast on Thursday night, and predictably ordered far too much food.

Stylish chap models bhajis

Onion bhajis, about a kilo of them for two quid, were greaseless and well seasoned. Addictive dunked in the accompanying yoghurt sauce. Two chicken seekh kebabs were good too, £1.50 for those.

Grilled meat, unadorned

Meat and veg

On the curry front, a meat masala and a veg masala. The meat curry was very oily but packed with flavour. Not 100% sure what the meat was, but it may well have been genuine goat. The veg curry was mild, sweet and not so fatty, lightening the load a little. All the curries are three pounds each. Other than meat and veg you can have chicken, dal or trotters. Might have to be brave and order the trotters next time.

A silly amount of bread. Two pounds worth.

To scoop all this up: bread and plenty of it. Rotis are four for a pound, naans two for a pound. Ridiculously cheap. Not the best breads ever, they were all a little heavy and could have done with rolling out thinner before baking, but pleasant enough and effective given the absence of cutlery.

Don't expect much in the way of service (the guy behind the counter kept breaking off from us mid-order to serve locals popping in for takeaway) or glamorous surroundings. £6-7 per head for a huge meal. Strictly no frills but just what the doctor ordered after football on a Thursday night.


7/10

95 Gibbet Street
Halifax
HX1 5BP