Bandook Kitchen, Milsom Place, Bath

Milsom Place – the heart of Bath’s ‘Milsom Street Quarter’, don’cha know, and currently at the heart of a major B&NES remake/remodel/refurb discussion too – could be described as the Bath equivalent of, say, London’s Covent Garden, or Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter, or Edinburgh’s Stockbridge: an ancient-meets-modern urban sanctuary (in Bath’s case, based around a historic cobbled courtyard) and home to a variety of independent businesses and high street flagship stores and restaurants.

But despite the fact that the latest redevelopment of the Place once known as Shires Yard (remember that?) was unveiled almost 15 years ago, the Escher-style, split-level concrete and glass/listed building shake up still doesn’t feel as though it’s comfortably woven into the contemporary Bath city centre tapestry. Yes, it’s a tourist hotspot… but many locals seem unwilling to step too far off the familiar routes that lead from, say, Waitrose to Waterstones, or forgo their regular tables at the same restaurants they’ve been eating in for years in case the shock of the new is just too shocking, and new. More shocking yet, I was at a council meeting the other day where even one of our very own local councillors wasn’t even aware that Milsom Place was open post-sunset – a sorry state of affairs indeed. But I’m sorry too for any Bathonian who still isn’t familiar with Bandook Kitchen – a key member of the highly-acclaimed Mint Room family who have branches of both restaurants in both Bristol and Bath that thrives at the heart of one of the Heritage City’s most elegant ancient enclaves. I mean, come on! It’s not really off the beaten track, is it? Anyway…

It being a Thursday evening’n’all, there was a live jazz band happily installed in the reception/bar area of this super-stylish modern Indian merrymaking zone, adding further reasons to be cheerful to an already seductively inviting environment. Bandook owner Moe took inspirational cues and clues for his restaurant’s sophisticated but eclectic design flourishes (think, bold/subtle harmonious colour palettes; plush banquette seating or neat booths; striking statement lighting) from the Hindustani cafés where the British and Indian army used to gather to eat together; those guys clearly had a keen eye for detail that’s as appealing today as it was way back when. Moe’s looked back in order to look forward in terms of the menu too: from street food and small plates to full-on big dishes with a big history taking in dosas, chaats, pavs and all kinds of tantalising gotta-try-thats along the way, there’s something for everybody from the timid to the temerarious here, including super-chic cocktails on the drinks menu alongside some very fine wines indeed.

We took to a table for two in one of the dining rooms that, when the sun comes out to play, leads out on to one of the prettiest alfresco courtyards in Bath but – what with the atmospheric low-lit vibe and the fascinating artwork lining the walls – holds enough appeal in its own right to make tables in this zone a destination dining experience in its own right. Our table also offered a view into the buzzing open kitchen, where the men in white suits were busy, busy, busy tossing things onto hot flames, and grinding stuff, and plating up plate after plate of picture-perfect creations on the pass. Kitchen theatre? Yes indeed – but genuine, authentic kitchen theatre that reaps genuine, authentic results, not just Insta-ready reels with little substance beyond the razzle-dazzle.

And from that kitchen came our opening trio of small plates that actually weren’t that small at all: chunky slivers of the softest, tenderest lamb imaginable, tumbled with peppers and dressed in a subtly fiery seasoning (Lamb Pepper Fry: new to the Bandook menu, set to trend any moment now), sticky, hot/sour/spicy Chilli Paneer in a seductive sweet pepper sauce, and squid coated in chickpea flour, fried until just-about-crispy but still meltingly soft and tossed around with onions and peppers. It’s only very, very occasionally that I experience a combination of dishes/flavours/styles that can only be described as ‘exciting’… and this was one of those occasions.

For the main event, Butter Chicken (fresh tomatoes and very tender chunky chicken in a velvety, mildly-spiced sauce teeming with savoury/sweet fenugreek) and Goan-inspired Balchao King Prawns: a sophisticated little number that bought an affably rich, tantalisingly uplifting combination of coconut, tamarind, mustard seeds, cardamom, smoky dried/tingly fresh chilli and plump, meaty prawns together in a proper bowl-party. We had deeply flavoursome Daal Makhani too, and a shared bread basket of fresh-off-the-tandoor naans, our over-ordering meaning that we barely touched our way-too-optimistic third side of fluffy basmati rice – but hey, we did pretty well, all told.

And all the while, the live jazz wafted around us without ever once dominating proceedings, and fellow merrymakers came and went, and the lovely people serving us never once dropped a beat despite the fact that business was nicely booming… and Bandook once again worked its own, unique magic.

I love Bandook Kitchen. I love the restaurant’s style, audacity and overall vibe. I love how it’s filled a big gap in the Bath eating out scene by blending upper-crust modern Indian dining with a casual, welcoming, affordable ethos that’s effortlessly uplifting, and unselfconsciously soul-soothing. The Milsom Place ‘Quarter’ may reinvent, remodel and regenerate itself time and time again, but please, Bandook: don’t go changin’.