Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend the night in the beautiful city of Cardiff and treated to an evening out with an Indian meal at the Juboraj Lakeside restaurant so it only seems right I tell you all about it…

The Juboraj group has 4 Indian restaurants in total, 3 of which are in Cardiff and this was my fourth visit to the Lakeside restaurant, chosen by my host as it’s apparently the best and in the nicest location, I’m guessing lakeside but as I’ve always arrived in the dark I’ve never seen the lake!

So on arrival all 3 of us started the evening with a large gin and tonic, then poppadoms with dips. To start I chose King Prawn Butterfly which was very large but a bit over cooked as it was very chewy and was breadcrumbed heavily. My company chose Chicken Pakora and Onion Bhajee; I tried the chicken and it was very good.

Oh and to drink we had a bottle of Spanish Rioja which was very smooth but full of flavour and easy to drink. For main I had a Sag Paneer with added chicken which I asked to be medium but I felt could be hotter. The others had a Prawn Dupiaza (mild) and a Chicken Kholapuri (hot and spicy). I was silly enough to eat half a chilli from the Kholapuri and it wasn’t initially hot but then it grew on me and yes it was hot!

I declined dessert but company both had sticky toffee pudding with cream (which was obviously bought in but then I’ve never been to an Indian that has good desserts). I rejoined them for the coffee and Cognac. The brandy glasses were slightly warmed, now I don’t know a lot about brandy – sorry Cognac – but it was good and the warmth took the edge of it, so… we had a second!

If I’m totally honest I have had better and a lot worse Indian meals but this was more than made up by the brilliant company and a very enjoyable evening.

As an aside I can highly recommend the Novotel City Centre Hotel in Cardiff. Very reasonably priced and with a lovely pool, sauna, steam room, spa and if you’re feeling energetic a gym. Within walking distance of the bay, and the bar isn’t too expensive for a hotel; you can get a nice Chilean Sauvignon Blanc for £16.95 and the breakfast if very good. When visiting Cardiff we always stay here (unless we get an amazing deal at the Hilton!).