Review: Anoki, Barker Gate, Nottingham

Ah Anoki. I want to love it, they’ve got a lot right but somehow it’s never been quite right for me.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’ve only been twice, that’s purely because both times it’s just not ticked all the boxes. The first time was around last Christmas. We’d booked a table and yet when we arrived it wasn’t available and so had a lengthy wait. This time after waiting a while to be acknowledged, we were seated at a table in front of the bar which was the equivalent to sitting in the middle of Canning Circus as both diners and waiters passed by us continually.

That’s the other thing I don’t understand about Anoki, yes it’s busy but although there seems to be plenty of them, the waiters seem to be constantly rushing about more than they do at other busy restaurants such as Memsaab. I ask to be moved to another table and, credit due, our waiter arranges another table, apologises and says he seated at the previous table rather than keep us waiting. The poppadums and pickle tray is transported to our new table and tuck in whilst perusing the menu. Another mistakenly arrives which we send back. The pickle tray itself lacks a mint yoghurt but that’s just personal preference. It’s a shame about the start because there are so many other things that the Restaurant, one of three Anoki ( the name deriving from the Urdu word for ‘unique’) restaurants across the East Midlands, owned and run by Restauranteur Naveed Khaliq, does right. The location on Barker Gate, at the heart of the historic Lace Market is perfect for pre Arena dining and once inside the restaurant does have a good ambience. The level of soft lighting is good, the rich colours and furnishings work, the staff are traditionally dressed and the walls are adorned with stunning specially commissioned artwork.

Our meal is not a freebie, and the restaurant is unaware I will be reviewing them. We have booked our table through ‘Go Dine’, part of the deal is a bottle of house wine for a pound which you can’t grumble at and our waiter says he will choose us a nice one, which again, he does.

The website advises that the restaurant uses the freshest and finest ingredients and spices and offers Indian classics, with each dish made to order. As we wait for our order, again another tables order arrives at ours which we again send away. For our starters, from the menu we choose the Paneer Sholay (£7.80) Flavoursome spiced Indian Cottage Cheese, lightly barbecued and topped with pineapple and roasted peppers & the Tandori King Prawns (£8.95) Lovely large fresh prawns marinated and barbecued.

For the main course we have the Tandori Seabass (£18.95) Fresh Sea bass, which the menu perfectly describes as ‘prepared with the culinary sophistication of he East to preserve the fishes moist light fresh texture whilst complementing its delicate flavour’. We also try the Cod Machali (£18.95) Cod can be a bit tasteless or bad tasting if not fresh, so again it’s a good test of the chef and recipe to make a tasty dish. This one didn’t disappoint. The fish was perfectly cooked in a rich flavoursome sauce. We also enjoyed a portion of boiled rice with the meal (£3.25). Our waiter is polite and courteous throughout. You can’t fault the food or the service.

Myself, a lady at another table and the staff however, all at some point have to keep closing the door which departing diners keep leaving open allowing a cold draft into the dining area, so again, it just didn’t make for a relaxing evening.
The restaurant has earned national recognition in The Times Newspaper and Toptable’s Top 100 Hidden Gems for its menu and its opulent surroundings, if only it felt a little bit calmer it would be a truly lovely experience but for now, it just didn’t quite tick the ‘unique’ box.