Where Madras meets Michelin.
I’ve been meaning to go Haveli (3-5 Broadway, Ponteland, NE20 9PW) for literally years, really since its inclusion in the Michelin Guide years back. There are only 18 Newcastle restaurants in the Michelin guide, and only one of them has Indian food at its core. Alas, like buses, it’s back-to-back Ponteland posts, after about ten years of not coming to the place.
Haveli means ‘grand house’ and honestly, I expected more from the inside. Asian restaurants broadly have gone OTT recently, with all the usual shite you’d expect that’s de rigueur for social media — plastic flowers from the ceiling, neon slogan lights, and anything else that might look good to pose against. And on the other end of the spectrum, some older Indian restaurants that would make good 1970s time capsules. Both are absolutely fine and have their own appeal, but Haveli looked a little tired. It had obviously been a busy Saturday night service, but there were stains up the walls and it was generally a bit of a mess. Not the vibe they’re going for, I’m sure.
Which is a little at odds. As everything from the waiting area for drinks before our table, and the drinks prices themselves — there’s a £10+ pint of IPA… all cry out that this is a restaurant designed with Ponteland locals in mind. Daft money?
I don’t mind all that if the food speaks volumes, and in that regard, Haveli is a strong experience.
Maybe pre-lockdown I would have said it is suitably Darras Hall priced. But then again, a quick scan of menus from Rani, Ury, and the New, New Bengal all around town are similarly priced. Having been to the likes of Gymkhana and Opheem recently to experience properly ‘high-end’ Indian cooking, expectations have notched up in terms of wanting a little more/any boundary-pushing, but the Michelin inclusion here feels like more of its recent shift to neighbourhood favourites over ‘destination visits’.
The menu is restrainedly short — a dozen starters, and about the same number of curries. Which I dig. Old Indian menus, with their five variations on chicken/lamb/prawn/etc. need to die a death. I’ve a big soft spot for BIR-style restaurants, but like the tired pastel interiors, we’ve definitely evolved past that.
To start we get poppadums (decent — miles better than average chutneys) and onion bhaji bites, which sound more fanciful than they are. Really just three smaller bhajis, they’re delicate and very decently crisp, a good league up on a fat, greasy, stodgy Bigg Market Bhaji. Otherwise, other starters tread familiar ground — aloo tiki, grilled meats and prawns. There’s a dab of Indo-Chinese crossover too, if that’s your bag. It seems to be a growing trend, I’m a little meh to it.
But if you’re gonna ‘play it safe’, you live and die by the strength of your main curry dishes, and here they are great, easily among the best I’ve had in town. Kate’s butter chicken has that black cardamom smoky note balancing an endlessly silky, creamy and tangy sauce, and the chicken is soft and blackened from grilling. It is just precisely what you need sometimes, and you can see why it’s ousting chicken tikka masala as Britain’s fave.
I got the railway lamb (£15) and wasn’t expecting something quite so creamy, but its korma yellow disguises a decent hit of chilli, and a surprising amount of depth. Lamb is plentiful and fork tender, as it should be, and it is tangibly better than what you’ll find at your local, with bright spicing, deep sauce, and a moreishness that warrants scraping the bowl empty of every drop. These are very nearly top-tier, and you’d be hard-pushed to find better.
They do cater to ‘the masses’ with a bhuna, dhansak, and madras section of the menu, but much harder to pass up was a monkfish curry which is what I’d order next time.
Breads and rice are OK — not really much difference between the roti and the naan though they are pleasingly thin, while service is fairly perfunctory. Despite high (read, Michelin) hopes, the wines on offer are as bang average as you can get. Which is a little disappointing, but I’m yet to find an Indian restaurant going above and beyond on that front. Couldn’t you even just stick on some Gran Cerdo and call it a day?
I’m at a bit of a loss with Haveli. It’s an easy recommendation given the strength of the main dishes, but everything else feels like it could be just as at home in North Shields, Scotswood, or Wallsend.
Maybe the Michelin expectations set the bar unachievably high, and I can imagine it being a similar experience for many. Or perhaps most people couldn’t give a damn if it’s in the guide. As it is, there’s some cooking that’s of a great standard, and then some other bits that just scream average curry house. As keen as I am to explore some of the other main dishes on the menu, I think it would be a while before Haveli could do the job of tempting me to jump back in for a repeat.
Contact: haveli.uk
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