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The Paul Reynolds Centre, Foregate Street, Stafford, ST16 2PJ, Tel 01785 225772. LOCATION!
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Stafford247 says...
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September 2007 saw the end of an era, The Rose of Kashmir on Foregate Street closed its doors for good & relocated just down the road at The Paul Reynolds Centre under the new name of Ashiana! The restaurant now boasts bigger premises with seating for 140 people, the décor is traditional but very tasteful with a modern twist & warm colours.
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Being old regulars of The Rose we couldn’t wait to try its new incarnation! We were given the usual warm welcome the owner, Oz Munir, who showed us to the new waiting area & gave us some menus, We had booked a table but he said it would just a few minutes, no problem-time to check out the menu!
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The waiting area is really comfy, squashy leather sofas & beautiful cushions in velvet & silk- just lovely, I felt right at home! The menu has all the usual traditional favourites with some Chef’s Recommendations for good measure. Oz came to take our order & then showed us to our table.
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For starters I chose the Chicken Pakora at £3.50- marinated chicken coated in a spicy batter then deep fried, it’s one of my favourite starters & I wasn’t disappointed! The chicken was moist & tender & was a great contrast to the crispy batter. Steve chose the Sheek Kebab at £3.25- seasoned minced lamb cooked on a skewer, I was told that it was really tasty & as I had pinched a bit I had to agree!
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For our main courses we tried to go for something different! I chose a Lamb Dupiaza at £6.95, made with onions, black pepper, ginger, garlic & coriander. I asked for this dish with some saag (spinach if you didn’t know!) which was an extra 70p. The flavours were excellent & the lamb was melt-in-the-mouth tender, a superb dish!
To my surprise Steve didn’t have a Lamb Balti, instead he went for the Chef’s Special Tikka at £6.95. Packed with chicken, lamb & prawns, he was very impressed with this dish & again the flavours were excellent.
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To accompany our meals we chose an Egg Fried Rice at £3.00 & an Onion Naan also at £3.00 & although Ashiana is unlicensed you are welcome to bring your own alcohol (we took along a cheeky little red!).
Our verdict? The quality of food & service is the only thing to remain unchanged, if you never took the opportunity to visit The Rose of Kashmir, make sure you experience Ashiana!!
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Granville’s Restaurant.
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Granville Square, Stone, ST15 8AB, Tel 01785 816658 LOCATION!
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Stafford247 says...
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Granville’s is well known all over Staffordshire for being a top live music venue, paying host to jazz stars such as Acker Bilk & the late great George Melly to name a few!
It is also popular for its food offering separate lunch, evening & party menus. The décor is colourful with a dining area, lounge area & a fully licensed bar. There is also a patio garden for al fresco dining on sunny days!
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On this occasion we sampled a couple of dishes from the lunchtime menu. I went for the Omelette Arnold Bennett (named after the author of “Anna of the Five Towns” who was born in Hanley!) at £6 & “him indoors” chose the “Benedict” also at £6. To accompany we chose a side portion of fries at £2.
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I’m glad to report that it tasted as good as it looked! The eggs were cooked well but still with a nice runny yolk, the ham was tasty & the whole dish really was a success- “gorgeous, I’d have that again!” said my man! The fries were chunky & crispy & benefited from being dipped in our sauces!
To wash it down he went for a pint of Guinness at £3 & I indulged in a glass of the Pinot Grigio at £4.50 for 250ml.
The service at Granville’s is friendly & efficient with the staff bustling around more as it got busy.
Day or night Granville’s doesn’t disappoint!
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The Muse.
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St. Mary’s Mews, Stafford, ST16 2AR, Tel 01785 605754 LOCATION!
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Stafford247 Says:
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Amongst its many bars & restaurants Stafford now boasts its very own Tapas bar!! This great eatery opened in February this year & is tucked away in a corner of the delightful St. Mary’s Mews, opposite St. Mary’s Church. Inside there are still some original features like high ceilings & arch shaped windows but combined with tiled flooring, contemporary furniture with local artwork on the walls.
A full menu is available throughout the day but they do have a lunchtime menu which includes a selection of Tapas plus sandwiches, jacket potatoes & omelettes.
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Always on the lookout for something a little different we thought we’d sample the “Tapas by Day lunchtime special” Choose two Tapas served with fresh bread for £5.50, the only problem was which ones to go for!Eventually between the two of us we decided on Patatas Pobres-Fried potatoes sautéed with onions & green peppers, Tortilla Espanola- Traditional Spanish potato & onion omelette, Albondigas Caseras- House speciality meatballs served with a tomato sauce & last but not least Chorizo y Pimentos- Traditional Spanish omelette with Chorizo sausage & red peppers.
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The service was warm & friendly but not imposing & they checked a couple of times that everything was ok with us (why do I always have my mouthful when they do that?!!).
There is a fully licensed bar & Cocktails are also available. Interestingly there was no wine list on the table nor were we offered one which we felt was unusual even in the daytime. On this occasion though I settled for a Diet Coke seeing as I had to go back to work! Steve on the other hand was on his day off & indulged in a couple of bottles of Budweiser!
We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at The Muse & would recommend it to everyone.
Stafford247 tip: Why not get a group of your friends together for post-work Tapas, that way you’ll get to try even more of the delicious dishes on offer at The Muse!!
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