Twitter followers of mine will regularly see me bemoan the lack of good takeaway lunch options on my part of Whiteladies Road. Sure, i could have a burger or a steak or even something from the vegan food truck but it all seems a bit too much faff and i, for one am not a fan of eating burgers over a keyboard! Feel free to sit down and be quiet if you were going to suggest a shop sandwich.
When my colleague returned to the office clutching a foil takeaway box and the rest of us pounced on him demanding to know what was in it. “Tagine” he said, we were interested.
Kasbah Grill on Cotham Hill had tried doing the sit down restaurant thing for a while but it just wasn’t selling. “The problem is , when no one else is sat in here, people just walk on by” said Jackie, one half the husband and wife team who own the place. Deciding they didn’t want to get into evening dining they changed tact and decided to try and entice the passing takeaway trade. On the small stretch of road they are competing against a Chinese, Falafel King, a Bakery as well as Bravas who are now open for lunch and Brew Kitchen with their £5 lunch deal.
When I entered there was a good queue of people and many more at the window being enticed in by the gorgeous display of tagines, koftas and cous cous steaming away in the window. Everything is made fresh in the beautiful open kitchen to the rear of the room and the choices are a range of hot meat dishes with rice or cous cous or a wrap heated through in a panini press. At £5 for a huge portion of tagine or £3.50 for an equally impressive wrap, filled with either a spiced chicken or lamb kofta, you will not go hungry. They also offer a selection of drinks including coffees, smoothies and milkshakes and a small salad bar sporting humus, a tuna salad and delicious spiced carrot patties.
My wrap was filled just the right amount and expertly rolled so nothing spilled out of the bottom. The light salad inside provided a lovely crunch and the chicken had obviously been marinated well and cooked slowly as it was very tender. My colleagues both opted for the meatball tagine in garlic and tomato
sauce with rice. Both agreed it was packed with flavour without the garlic being overpowering and chickpeas were a welcome addition for even more texture.
There was also a veggie option which I sadly forgot to ask about but if it is anywhere near the standard of the other dishes you won’t be disappointed.
All in all having the dishes sat in the window makes the place look wonderfully inviting and both Jackie and her husband were incredibly warm and chatty, two things you sometimes miss out on when you are legging it out of the office for 10 minutes on your lunch break.
Kasbah Grill 10 Cotham Hill, Cotham, BS6 6LF
Bedsit Bonne Vivante 