Sizzling in Birmingham

Great reviews. Interesting menu. Make a booking online. Turned up. Restaurant closed. Looked as though it had been closed a while. Went to Aluna instead. Had a great meal. Advice - call to make a booking, don't rely on online.

Best chimk3ns ice ever eaten wish it wasn't served by a rabbit

I'd been out with a group of chums to see "Dune: Part 2" (oh, and I have opinions about THAT!) and fancied something appropriately spicy afterwards: The spice must flow! We chose Rumana's on a recommendation from a friend's sister, and I'm glad we did. Their website says they "pride ourselves in treating our customers like members of our family", and it really felt like we were old friends visiting someone's home (especially with the well-behaved kids scooting around and being generally delightful - and I don't even like kids!) I think we were served by Rumana herself, and she was welcoming and helpful - a real pleasure to meet someone so engaged and enthusiastic about their restaurant, and being a great host. The other staff were also very polite and helpful, and knowledgable about the menu. Speaking of which: The menu has a selection of dishes which seem unusual and possibly unique to this restaurant. I won't go into too much detail about my friends' dishes, but all were given the thumbs up. The poppadoms came out first, of course, but the accompanying sauces need some props: Their chili-sauce-gravy thing was incredible (I almost asked if I could take some home). Most curry / balti restaurants in Brum seem to have their own 'red sauce' and it's not often one stands out as being extra-special and worthy of a paragraph of review: This was one of those special sauces. Spicy, tangy (tamarind?), thick, and with a huge amount of flavour. Well done, chef! For a starter, I had Shunamoti: I've never had a cheesy chicken tikka omelette before, but I will certainly have it again (and probably learn to make it at home). Very unusual, and very tasty. for my main, I decided to opt for something at the spicy end of the scale, and had to ask about the story behind "What the Bloody?!" (yes, that is what it is called) - no spoilers! You'll have to find out yourself. It warranted three chilis on the menu (not the hottest thing they serve), but this was a home-cooking 3 chilis and was at the top end of my spice tolerance (which is quite high), so be warned! I can recommend the mango lassi as a wonderful 'control rod' for the naga reaction. However: The dish was not just hot for the sake of being hot, but had a real depth of flavour, too. The accompanying roti was fluffy, fresh and hot. I am also reliably informed that their Peshawari Naan is one of the best my friend had ever had (and they lived in India for a while), drizzled with honey and with juicy sultanas embedded within. The restaurant is unlicensed, but there is a small shop over the road where you can buy booze if you need to. It's also next door to a 'Spoons if you want pre- or post-curry cask ales. Overall, a great experience. Northfield seems to be THE place for getting something authentic, unusual, and very tasty these days (I reviewed the equally excellent Omar Khayam a few weeks ago). I'll be back to explore the rest of the menu at some point: I definitely need to try the Atomic Chips!