Restaurant review: The Cinnamon Lodge, Meltham

Jan 8 2010 by Susan Hampshire, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Restaurant review: The Cinnamon Lodge, Meltham

SOMETIMES when a restaurant is right on your doorstep, you tend to be a bit blasé and pass by without giving it a second thought.

Although I live just a few minutes walk away, I am ashamed to say that, until now, I had never visited Cinnamon Lodge in the centre of Meltham, although I know it is very popular with locals.

Looking back in the Examiner annals, I was surprised to read that Cinnamon Lodge opened in Meltham quite a few years ago now after a successful transformation from a small 1960s style supermarket building to a contemporary Indian restaurant.

Sitting slap bang in the centre of the village, it always looks very busy and bustling and regularly gives out wonderful evocative smells of an Indian banquet.

As the roads around Meltham were still thick with snow, five of us decided to walk to the village and discover the warming, comforting tastes of Cinnamon Lodge on a cold snowy January evening.

We were surprised to find quite a few tables were already occupied, despite the atrocious weather conditions. Mind you, I suppose when the weather is bad, it’s ideal to stay local.

After ordering our drinks of wine and Indian Cobra lager, we took a look at the extensive menu and were slightly overwhelmed at the vast choice of contemporary Indian cuisine which includes many innovative modern dishes sitting alongside some more traditional favourites.

To get things under way we asked for the obligatory pickle tray and poppadoms while we studied our food choices. That’s the thing about poppadoms and pickles – they’re so moreish, we said we could have carried on munching these all night.

As there were five of us dining out, we decided to order a few different starters to share and opted for onion bhajis, chicken pakoras and the sizzling Shahi Korai Mix which featured succulent pieces of lamb and chicken garnished with onions, tomatoes and capsicums.

All the starters were delicious, tasty and warming – just the thing to enjoy on a cold winter’s evening when the snow makes everywhere look like a perfect Christmas card scene.