An Indian restaurant has been rated the number one eatery in Newport , just months after it opened.
Red Fort, in Caerleon , only opened in April this year, but has already pipped its way to the top of reviews website, .
The restaurant on Cross Street has 108 reviews on the site, with 99 people rating it "Excellent", and just one reviewer deeming it to be "Poor", with no "Terrible" ratings making an appearance.
One reviewer on described the restaurant as: "Probably the best in South Wales ."
Another said: "Excellent food, lovely atmosphere, great staff. "
While one reviewer wrote: "Just came back from a amazingly fantastic experience of real Indian food, it’s nice to actually sit in somewhere that ticks all the boxes."
However, one reviewer noted the quality of the food but thought it was a bit pricey: "Excellent food and service but expensive. "
There was previously an Indian restaurant on the same site, which was average at best, but after all this positive reaction, to Red Fort, I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.
What we thought
As soon as we walked through the door, we were greeted with handshakes and a warm welcome.
We were shown to a well-presented table, where poppadoms and chutneys were brought over almost immediately, along with the menus.
As my dining partner and I pored over the menu, there were a few stand out items that you don't always see in a traditional Indian restaurant.
There's an impressive specials menu - and even a salmon tikka that my friend ordered as his starter.
I'd called ahead to let the restaurant know that one of the diners would be vegan, to which I was told that wouldn't be a problem - they're more than happy to adapt any of their dishes and use alternatives to ghee (an Indian-style butter, often used in Indian cooking).
For our starters I ordered the garlic mushrooms (£5.95) and my friend ordered the salmon tikka (£6.95).
My dish was a generous helping of mushrooms, fried with finely sliced garlic and coriander - it was simple, fresh and the flavours were well balanced.
The salmon tikka my friend ordered blew him away. It came as an impressively size fillet of salmon, infused with tikka spices and sat on a bed of cooked onions and peppers.
He described it as "perfectly spiced," and "generously sized" before adding that it just melted in his mouth.
It's fair to say he was impressed.
While ordering the mains, the owner talked me through what he could for my dish.
He asked what I usually ate - a rogan-style curry is my go-to - and he explained he could make the dish vegan, while going through any extra veg and chillies I'd like to add.
So I ordered this vegan-style vegetable rogan (£10.95), that came with crunchy cauliflower, chickpeas and potatoes, along with the usual tomato base that makes a rogan.
The owner also explained that the naan breads contained milk, but suggested a chapati (£2.10) which served a similar purpose and allowed me to eat part of my curry (at least) with my hands.
I was impressed with the dish and the portion was huge - thankfully the restaurant allows you to take any leftovers home with you.
My friend ordered one of the specials, a Ghandi Lal (£19.95).
It's good-sized chicken breast that's cooked in spices, before the chef adds a keema (lamb) based sauce over to the top.
He was mpressed with his mountain of food, saying the chicken was "buttery soft" and the heat kicks in after you get the full whack of the flavours.
The keema part was almost like a fine paste and smothered the chicken completely - it wasn't the prettiest dish in the world but it's the taste that wins this contest.
It's a dish I've not come across before, but judging by his reaction, it's one that seems to go down a storm - and comes highly recommended.
As our food was being packed up, we were given hot towels and shown the dessert menu - and just to make sure we'd covered everything, we struggled through and ordered the lemon sorbet (£4.50).
The sorbet is served in a hollowed-out lemon, which is a nice touch and the tangy lemon flavours were the perfect end to a spice-rich meal.
It's clear to see why this restaurant is receiving such rave reviews on TripAdvisor - everything from customer service to the quality of food is meticulously covered, creating a wonderful overall dining experience.
As Indian restaurants go, this one will be hard to beat.
*Red Fort can be found at 2 Cross Road, Caerleon, Newport, NP18 1AF.
You can book a table on 01633 430086.
