7 Spice,
7 St Anne's Square,
Belfast,
BT1 2LR.
028 9031 0210
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WHEN it opened in October 2020, 7 Spice in St Anne's Square in Belfast did so to more than the usual fanfare that accompanies a new restaurant.
It wasn't because of a fancy big name in the kitchen or a celebrity backer, or really any other reason that would have existed before March that year.
It was because the outside of the place was lined with five glass pods that looked like they should be either hanging off a ferris wheel or tucked inside a spaceship bound for a planet we haven't ruined yet.
Either way, as they simply sat on solid ground outside a Bangladeshi restaurant, they felt like something from a future no-one could have imagined less than a year earlier, mainly because that's exactly what they were.
Opening a restaurant in the middle of a pandemic could never be business as usual, which is where the pods came in for Luthfur Ahmed, the man also behind one of the stalwarts of South Asian cuisine in Belfast, Bengal Brasserie.
When the excellent Dumpling Library opened a few yards away on the same square the following summer, they had pods of their own. There is more to them than just not wanting to catch Covid, which is probably why they're still popular and why everyone eating at 7 Spice while we were there – still in the middle of a pandemic, mind – took the pod option.
Self-contained, heated, and with room for up to eight people, the pods are a comfortable spot, even as the rain batters the glass.
For other people, the very idea of these pods is anathema. A big part of the reason you go to a restaurant is for the buzz, the atmosphere, the interaction.
But, for some, hell is other people so to be able to keep yourself to just ones you actually like will always be a bonus.
The staff are friendly and attentive and manage to be unobtrusive while never letting you feel forgotten in your isolation. Not the easiest thing in the world.
It wouldn't matter where you were sitting if the food they were bringing wasn't as good as what 7 Spice has to offer.
That's with one exception – the 'Tree of Life', which is half a cauliflower, stems of broccoli, asparagus, peas, carrots and green beans. A word of warning: you have to really like cauliflower. Really like it. Not hum along to its greatest hits. Know the words to every B side.
The tomato-heavy sauce is warming but the main problem, apart from just how much cauliflower there is, is that, despite menu claims, it hasn't been roasted at all. There's not a hint of colour under the sauce and as a result, not enough of a flavour-to-vegetable ratio, which was already struggling.
It has the makings of something much better. The other vegetables were nicely cooked, but the whole thing is a bit big and clumsy, which makes it stand out among lots of deft cooking.
Little minced chicken balls come with a sneakily fiery sauce that carries smoke and sticky sweetness as well as heat. The onion bhaji is just as good, and just as good as any you'll have. Rather than individual bites, it's a vast tangle of red, white and spring onions, of punchy spice and satisfying crunch.
A bowl of excellent aubergine bhaji brings onions too, this time softened with just a hint of a bite left against the virtually melting star of the show.
For its faults, the cauliflower did look extremely attractive, sprinkled with flowers, and 7 Spice know exactly what they're doing when it comes to prettifying things.
The korma is similarly in bloom, and it's exactly what you want a korma to be. The heat is barely there, just a gentle nudge against the sweet sauce. The lamb falls apart and everything is mopped up with blistered pillows of naan.
Desserts are the standard selection of western options you often get but while not a huge amount of thought has been put into what they are, how they are is very different.
The pear and almond tart with pistachio ice cream and the creme brulee are both extremely solid – in a good way – examples of both.
The restaurant itself is as pretty as the food, and if you don't have your heart set on a pod, there are far worse places to spend an evening than among the twinkling lights, cushions and curtains – and the onion bhajis.
THE BILL
Onion bhaji £5.95
Chicken bora £6.95
Tree of Life £16.95
Lamb korma £15.95
Pilau rice £2.95
Garlic naan £2.95
Aubergine bhaji £5.95
Pear and almond tart £6
Creme brulee £6
Cocktails x2 £10
Non-alcoholic cocktails x2 £10
Total £89.65
