Breakfast a Study #4 - Cafe Regal

Cafe Regal like to do things a little differently - and at the weekend put on a Curry Breakfast Buffet!  Nice. I understand the cafe to be open all week doing brekkie, but from what I gather the buffet is only for the weekend.

So what do you get?

Cafe Regal.  Sweets on left - Restaurant on right

On a Bradford Curry Breakfast Mission

Well, for £4.50 (I think it was - something like that??), you get three puris, a cup of tea (normal or pink), which are both prepared fresh per order, and brought to the table, and then as many visits to the breakfast buffet as you can muster! The buffet comprised wet or dry chana (chickpeas), halwa (sweet) and roast potatoes.

Once the bread arrived I ventured up.  The bowls are small, but it doesn't really matter as you can refill as much as you like.  So I went for the familiar wet chana, topped with roast potatoes and drizzled in mint/yoghurt sauce, and a second bowl of halwa! 

With three puris the breakfast is very filling.  The puris were pretty dry, when compared to others I have sampled, were very flacky, and had a rather subtle flavour.  

Chana, Halwa and Puris - a perfect match 

I slipped up topping my chana with the roasted spuds... I managed to mask the flavour of the chana with the a little bit of a... well roasted potato taste!  The chana itself  was good, but was a little middle of the road.  It didn't posses the fire of the Sweet Centre nor the sourness of Mughals.  I don't often bother with the sweet Halwa when breakfasting but couldn't really say now, what with a big vat sat there.  I'm always happy when I do, however, and Cafe Regal's halwa was one of the finest I've tasted.  Lovely sweet semolina based bowl of loveliness to break up the savoury Chana and Puris.  Great. 

Pink tea is great

This was all washed down with pink tea.  I nice little touch I thought to include in the single priced breakfast.  Pink tea is ace, and nice and sweet and spicy.  Very refreshing.  

After this little lot, however, I just couldn't face a second second visit to the buffet!  So settled up and got off. On reflection Cafe Regal's breakfast was excellent, and the included pink tea made it all the better. I'll definitely be visiting again, but will avoid smothering my Chana with the roasties!

Al Fresco Curry

So, it’s a lovely sunny day – perhaps one of the last we’re likely to see for the year – I’ve just finished footy training with my beautiful daughter, and it’s nearing dinner time…..  What shall we do?  Go for an al fresco curry of course.

Isabella and Grand Pa tuck in

Now, as far as I’m aware, only Café Regal in Bradford, offer such a dinning experience, so it was there we ventured.

We arrived pretty early and not many people were in.  But we didn’t worry, and dived straight in with full mashings of Lamb and cheese kebabs – Izzy’s fave, Lamb Handi for me, and Channa Masala for Big Tone.  Accompanied by an Aloo Paratha and a garlic naan – oh and also a Mango Lasi for Izz Whizz.

Isabella enjoyed the chicken and cheese kebabs the most

The lamb and cheese kebabs are something a little different and perfectly acceptable – although this blogger still prefers the traditional shish kebab if I’m completely honest.  The kebab comprises minced chicken with the cheese kind of incorporated into it??  The channa masala was very good, with the chick peas very well cooked, and the dish almost taking on a mushy pea texture – in a good way.  The Lamb Handi was good, but perhaps a little run of the mill, and very oily.

The meal was followed by a few complimentary sweets which was a nice touch.

Cafe Regal is an excellent place to visit

Overall an excellent experience and one I hope to re visit on future sunny days.  However, the outdoor seating is not the only positive aspect to Café Regal, and its large sweet shop and trendy café are worth a visit any time of the day or night.

Regal Cafe - 26/03/2011

Attendees: Gemma, Jenny, Lilly, Dan, Lynda, Izzy and me

Just a quickie this month – If I don’t write something soon I’ll forget what happened??

Not that anything ‘happened’ so don’t get too excited.

Our trip to Regal Café occurred without hitch I’m afraid. Nice setting though, with its open and airy café style seating arrangement – as it turned out there was plenty of room around the tables for the smaller ones in our group to have a good roam around.


I couldn’t really fault my experience, no booze at all either (note for future??) – Which usually, perhaps sometimes falsely, improves curry eating experiences!! Also, I thought the waiter was a little fussy because I ordered supposed ‘breakfast’ dishes – it was mid afternoon – and he seemed to take great pleasure in pointing this fact out??? No mention on the menu mind? I wondered if he’d heard of ‘All Day Breakfast’?


My first (breakfast??) dish was Dahi Bhalay (Dahi Vada), apparently a very popular Lahore street food dish, and comprised a bowl containing a large soya dumpling covered in a yogurt curry sauce – very different to anything this BCC member has ever had before – very yogurty with only a hint of curry spice?? It did look like it should be eaten at breakfast it has to be said. It must be popular though because tubs of the stuff were available to purchase in the attached deli/shop – more of which later.


For main I chose the Niharee, from the Regal Special, which was basically a lamb shank in a very thin curry sauce. Pretty authentic dish by all accounts, and quite different to the normal ‘British Curry’s’ we are used to I guess? The sauce was thin and quite mild tasting, but could be pepped up with the addition of fresh ginger, chilli and garam masala, which accompanied the main on a side plate. The meat was ace and just fell off the bone – the sauce was nothing special and a bit soupy – requiring a spoon to eat successfully.

The Cheese & Chicken Kebab and Korma seemed to go down well with the young ones, so Regal Café gets top marks in that department.


The adjoined deli/shop was probably my favorite aspect of the afternoon (I struggle to fully enjoy my curry eating experience without a couple of cold lagers) and had a massive array of sweets and savories on offer. A small box of sweeties was purchased and consumed over the following days – there where no complaints from Lynda, Izzy or myself regarding their quality.


So overall, Regal Café provided a generally pleasant experience, and was an enjoyable place to visit. I bit off the beaten track, so doesn’t spring immediately to mind when considering a venue for impromptu curry eating but worth a visit if nothing else I reckon?

John