We tried Sheffield's Viraaj - the 'best curry house in the North' - review

When I was given the opportunity to go and taste the food on offer at Viraaj I took it happily.

Coming from Birmingham, the home of the balti, curry has been something I have enjoyed since I was young and an Indian take-away is a staple of every family gathering.

When I stepped into the restaurant on Chesterfield Road I was immediately taken in by the friendliness of the staff who came over straight away and took me to my table. We were sitting towards the back of the restaurant next to the wall. Valentine's Day heart balloons were still up Every member of staff who came over to our table was very attentive, checking to make sure we were comfortable and happy with the food we were ordering.

We started our meal with a pickle tray and poppadoms which was a fantastic introduction to the food we would be eating. This came out almost immediately so there was very little wait time between entering the restaurant and having something to eat.

The tray consisted of five dips: mint sauce, onion salad, carrot chutney, tamarind and mango chutney. I was not the biggest fan of the tamarind but the other dips were all delicious.

At this point I was ready to have some curry. The staff were really great at helping me decide what to order and even offered to amend the dish to be vegetarian for me.

I ordered the mango delight, one of the chef’s specials. This was a mild curry containing mango pulp, coconut, brown sugar and fresh cream. It usually contains marinated chicken however they were able to swap this out to be a vegetable dish for me which was fantastic.

It was sweet, almost like a dessert curry, which was perfect for me as someone with a sweet tooth. The food was not overly sweet though and was delicious paired with more savoury naan bread and rice.

My partner ordered the vegetable achari, a garlicky, tangy dish which was a wonderful contrast to my sweeter meal. There were entire cloves of garlic spread throughout the dish making it any garlic lover’s dream meal.

We also ordered a garlic naan each and some coconut rice to share. The naans were huge and subtly garlicky however the rice wasn’t to my taste as it was a bit dry for me however my partner enjoyed it.

Overall Viraaj provided me with one of the best curry experiences I have had in a long time.

Everything from the service we received from the friendly staff to the incredible food and range of flavours on offer made it a wonderful meal out.

It is no wonder to me that Viraaj recently won the award for ‘Indian Restaurant of the Year North’ as it truly appears to be deserved.