Authentic Cuisine

My partner and I love Indian food; it will often be our goto takeaway at weekends as a treat. However sometimes the real treat is getting to dine in the restaurant to get the full experience. We were delighted to try the new kid on the block in Botanic – Bites of India. This branch opened in summer 2022 in addition to their sister restaurant on Ravenhill Road. We booked into the restaurant mid-week as something to look forward to after work and we were captivated by the buzz of Botanic – who knew a Wednesday evening in Belfast would be so alive?

This thriving energy continued into Bites of India, where there were tables of friends having dinner after work, families out for a meal and couples enjoying a date night. The restaurant has a fresh and vibrant feel as soon as you walk in and the staff were quick to show us to our table, which was a cosy table for two tucked away in the corner.

I always fall into the routine of ordering the same thing when I go to Indian restaurants; the classics such as onion bhaji, pakora, tikka masala and korma – so I was determined to try something different this time.

I am one of those people who can’t wait to see the menu in person; I will look up the menu online before I go – the curiosity always gets the better of me. Luckily, the menu was on the Bites of India website, so I had a peruse of all the options… my mouth was watering from just reading the descriptions!

I spotted a starter dish that I hadn’t tried before, Pani Poori, which was described as; crispy, hollow fired dough balls stuffed with potatoes, chickpeas, served with a spicy water and sweet chutney. When this dish arrived it certainly looked different, with all the elements separated on the plate. Our waitress showed me exactly how to eat it, which was to spoon the sweet chutney into the dough balls first, followed by putting in the chickpea and potato stuffing and topping it off with a drizzle of the spicy water… then it was down the hatch in one!

It was an explosion of flavour with a mixture of sweetness and spice bursting through. I liked the combination of textures, from the crisp shell, to the soft potato filling – I would definitely try this starter again. My fiancé went for the safer option of Afghani tikka chicken, which looked equally delicious.

My partner and I decided to mix and match our main course, so we ordered a chicken Rogan Josh and Kabuli chicken to share. Both dishes were beautifully flavoured with rich, creamy sauces making them perfect for dipping the garlic naan into. I spotted another guest at the restaurant eating a Dosa, which is a southern Indian pancake-like dish. It looked really appetising and, again like nothing I had seen before at other Indian restaurants, so I can’t wait to return to try it.

After our faultless experience, we definitely will be returning again. Surprisingly they open for breakfast, serving traditional Indian breakfast dishes. This would certainly be something different to try and I love nothing more than going out for a breakfast date, followed by a bit of shopping in the city centre.

Bites of India

11 Botanic Avenue BT7 1JG botanic.bitesofindia.com