Shabab
Address:
163 Ladypool Rd, Birmingham, United Kingdom, Birmingham, United Kingdom B12 8LQ
Categories:
Authentic Balti
Balti
BYO
Reviewed
13 Responses to Shabab
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
If baltihouses were listed, Shabab would be Grade I star listed.
From its battered outside awning to its glass topped tables, Shabab is the balti experience which all balti lovers fondly remember.
The staff were efficient but friendly and brought the traditional ‘free gratis’ dips and poppadums with the former being topped up free and freely on request. Starters were a duo of sheekh kebabs which were superbly barbecued specimens of skewered, spiced minced lamb. Chicken tikka was the other choice and these were tasty and tender chunks of moist and well flavoured chicken breast.
However the ‘piece de resistance’ was the balti main course – my balti chicken rogan josh was served up sizzling in the traditional jet black balti bowl whilst a balti chicken korma was toffeeish without being overcreamy in that way which often makes the dish the ultimate in blandness. In fact in both cases, the sauce was delightfully rich with the flavours of the individual spices showing through.
The traditional accompaniment was a garlic mushroom naan as soft, moist and voluptuous as Kelly Brook. It was in fact just magic – and it’s certainly a good job that this adjective applies to the naan and not the mushrooms as there was enough of them stuffed into it to ensure the trip of a lifetime.
There was no room for anything other than the traditional ‘after balti’ mints and the bill came to under £20 for two which was a bargain especially in these credit crunch times. Shabab is well worth a visit for those nostalgic for the genuine balti experience but be warned that the restaurant keeps more irregular hours than your average teenager – for example it’s never normally open on Monday or Tuesday. By the way for drinks byo from the local offie or bring in a pint from the George pub across the road!
ANDY MUNRO
Mr. Loverman, Shabab!
I must admit I felt lucky walking in to this restaurant a few months ago, what with the ominous posters saying “closing for refurbishment”.
It felt like this was the last chance to eat at this place before it lost it’s soul.
Complimentary poppadoms served with a dip which was a mix of chilli and mint, rather than as two different dips. Strange combination all in one, no matter.
Starters
I had Sheek Kebab, as usual. Very nice
Mains
I had a Keema Balti. Admittedly not as hot as I would’ve liked (and if i did want it hotter, i’d have to pay for it… hmm) but was nevertheless tasty.
The other people with me shared a variety of Dahl and Aloo dishes, and, for the first time out, ate it all. Success!
My father however had the Chicken balti, which he found again not spicy enough for his palette, and also felt he could taste more of the dish rather than the actual curry.
Cheap, cheerful, but somewhat disappointing given other reviews online.
4/5
Many (about 10) years ago, Shabab was a regular date on my eating out diary. The reason was reasonably priced food, that tasted delicious. I remember the Mutton Tikka starter and the Mutton (variation) Baltis. The years roled by, and I lost the balti habit, although I never forgot Shabab.
After recently revisiting Ladypool Road on several occasions, I noticed that Shabab were still doing business, but the place looked rather quiet and in the need of “help”. Then all of a sudden Shabab was closed down, and I thought that they had lost the battle against the recession. I then noticed that refurbishment was taking place, and I promised myself that I would visit again, once the restaurant was reopened.
This evening, I kept that promise, and I`m glad that I did. The new Shabab looks nothing like the old version, but thankfully the food tastes just like it used to (I can’t say that I remember exactly how it used to taste, but I remember it being good). Tonight, my friends and I all went for our regular choice of starter – Sheek Kebab. They were OK. No they weren’t, they were excellent ! They were some of the best Sheek Kebabs we have ever had, and we have eaten quite a few ! We like our Kebabs “slightly rubbery”, slightly burnt and slightly hot and spicy, and that’s what we got. I forgot to mention the free poppadoms, they were not only “free”, they were very good (as opposed to stale/greasy/over cooked). Pops and starters were served with a yoghurt/mint/red dip with onions mixed in. So, after “Round 1”, we had high hopes for the main course. Over the years, me and my friends have got used to good starters + average main course, average starters + average main course, and very rarely good starters + good main course. Tonight was a very rare occasion. Very good starters + very good main courses, all round !
I had Lamb (posher than Mutton) Tikka Masala Jalfrezi. It wasn’t crazy hot, but it was very spicy – just what I like. My friends had Lamb + Spinach Balti, Keema Balti and a Chicken Tikka Garlic Chilli Balti. They all agreed that it was “spot on”.
We now have another “favourite” balti restaurant on our list, and it is very near, if not top of that list.
By the way, the staff are friendly and efficient. We didn’t feel rushed, but we didn’t have to wait too long for our orders to be taken or our food to arrive. This allowed us enough time to wash down our starters with a drop of lager, and to discuss how good the kebabs were. And as Mr Munro mentioned earlier, the glass topped tables, covering the permanent menus really did add to the experience. I’m glad that Shabab has maintained this ancient balti tradition.
Return visits are certain.
I’m not big on words so my review will be short, but here goes.My wife and I went to the Shabab on Ladypool Rd with some friends last night.I have had some bad experiences with Indian food in the past and almost always suffer for the experience later.This was different, lovely fresh food, not overly spiced which we both thoroughly enjoyed. Everybody was friendly and the service was impeccable. Also it was so reasonably priced. Definitely going back!!!
We chose Shabab’s over the other Balti Restaurants for it’s welcoming, bright and authentic decor and were glad we did!
Everyone was extremely friendly, polite, the service was great, the food served promptly and to top everything off absolutely delicious!
We ordered a variety of Balti’s all served in authentic cast iron bowls, super fresh and all cooked to perfection accompanied with freshly baked nan bread; even my mother at 70 year old and a non curry eater ordered a vegetarian balti cooked by the chef to be none spicy and she loved it!
I’d recommend this place to anyone; we left totally satisfied and having enjoyed a really nice evening out. With the added bonus that it was well priced and the car park was just next door for an easy ride home.
not as expected
thought I’d try out a restaurant from the balti triangle… hmmm… not as spicy as a balti should be… the appearance was nice and comfortable, the music was a bit too loud… a bit empty… didn’t enjoy the food very much… Good for people who like mild dishes…
we went to the shabab i was not very impressed the place is nice and clean the staff friendly
We had Sheek kebab & chicken pakora starters which were lovley for mains we had a chicken balti and chicken tikka balti i asked for my chicken tikka to be asian style well it was not very hot or spicy both baltis were very salty which really spolit it will not go their again
I visited this restaurant with my family after reading online reviews. I have to say we thoroughly enjoyed our experience at this eatery. The ambience was absolutely brilliant with bustling diners of most seemed to be regulars. The food is fresh and appetising. The service was pretty good too, although they were busy on the midweek evening, they still managed to take out time to have a conversation and made us feel very welcome.
Good work guys and we’ll see you soon!
Been going to Shebabs for years.Infact the whole of Balsall Heath know Shebabs.The food is great, the staff are brilliant and best of all it’s open late.
Sorry if this sound biased as Shabab is one of my well publicised favourites but on Xmas Eve,I had one of my best meals ever.
The duo of sheekh kebabs were wonderfully flavoursome minced lamb with a spicy kick not for the fainthearted. My main was a simple Balti Chicken Rogan Josh but what a fabulously tasty mix of favours…and all without the need for a fluorescent Bangladeshi ‘Jewel in the Crown’ dayglo effect.A fresh and doughy garlic and coriander naan was just right for buffing the inside of the Balti bowl to a veritable shine.
The finishing touch of a wickedly rich chocolate barfi,sourced apparently from local supplier Mustaq’s was a fitting end to a memorable meal and all for under £25 for two of us!
Great balti restaurant in birmingham
This restaurant was recommended to me by a work colleague. I pre booked our table of five for a Saturday evening and was spoken to with great mannerism. We arrived to a half full restaurant and were seated promptly as you would expect. The restaurant smelt lovely! Popadoms arrived with mint and onion dip with a dash of red sauce swirled in which I guess was chilli; refreshing!
Starters: tandoori fish, seekh kebabs, and a mixed grill were ordered which consisted of chicken tikka, lamb tikka and kebabs. The fish was light and flavoursome, seekh kebabs were spicy and juicy, almost melted! Chicken tikka and lamb tikka were tender and well cooked.
Mains: balti chicken&sag, balti lamb bhuna, chicken tikka masala & lamb trotters were ordered from the ‘traditional favourites’ menu. We were asked for our desired level of spiciness, we thought it would be safe to stick with medium as some restaurants blow your head off when you ask for a spicier dish. The mains arrived and were very enjoyable… may ask for the dishes to be hotter next time.
Will certainly visit Shababs again.
ps love their uniforms ;->
TeflonTed on Tour
Visited as a party of four Sunday evening.
Basics…first impression was of a very clean and smartly decorated place, and a decent welcome. Tables are glass topped with menus underneath, fairly traditional Balti House style.
Complimentary papadums and dips appeared swiftly without having to be asked for. At first glance the menus seemed a little different to the usual layout, no Prawn Puri or Nargis Kebab on the starters, and sundries listing breads and rice options but without the familiar side dishes such as mushroom bhaji, Bombay aloo etc. we found that these were all available, but listed as mains under the vegetarian section…I have no doubt side versions could be provided.
Mains were all served in traditional black Karahis straight off the gas range and searingly hot. Much amused when one our number got the Balti-Brand….a sharp little burn on the tender forearm from the rim of the dish…well, we were warned they were hot!
We had a variety of mains, a prawn saag, chicken jalfrezi, meat and mushroom and mixed tropical Balti. Mains were all offered as mild/medium/medium hot or proper hot, giving a decent range of choice. Madras, Vindaloo and Tindaloo options were listed at a small extra cost, we were not tempted. All were very well spiced, and everyone was happy with what they’d chosen. Breads were excellent, naans and parathas were light and well cooked, and a proper table naan option is available. We didn’t test this since we each wanted different varieties. Sides of Tarka Dhall and a Raitha were also ordered, and were good. A chapatti was a good size, bigger than usual.
Desserts were offered, and the Barfi (chocolate or pistachio) and Gulab Jamun seemed home cooked. The others were the pre packed Kulfi/ cheesecake/coconut ice cream sort of offering, perfectly OK but certainly not home cooked. There were a couple of child friendly desserts available, and the vanilla ice cream served with the Gulab Jamun was top quality stuff.
The bill for 4 was £47.30, and seemed decent value for money. Also worth mentioning that the toilets were immaculate.
Overall, about as close to the old style traditional Birmingham Balti House as you will find these days, with very well prepared mains and exceptional breads.
Service and attitude were excellent, we got the impression that any special requests would not have been a problem. We would recommend the place unreservedly, but take notice when they tell you the bowls are hot, they ain’t kidding!!
Lunch at Shabab
I had lunch here for the first time and ordered Balti Chicken Tikka Masala Keea Jalfrazee – which really packs a punch. I always think it is the sign of a good Indian meal that it doesn’t linger the day after, no matter how hot it is.
The restaurant was quiet, being lunchtime, so they can be forgiven for a not too crisp poppadom. Needless to say, service was impeccable.
I enjoyed their choice of back ground music.
Price wise it was good value and they helpfully offered to order a taxi for me.
Only two bits of feedback – iced in the water would have been nice and please move the collection collapsed cardboard boxes by the side of bar. The decor is top class, so don’t spoil it