Ury, Newcastle Quayside

25 Queen Street, 
Newcastle upon Tyne 

NE1 3UG

(0191) 232 7799

www.uryrestaurants.com

Newcastle's Queen Street is tucked away just off the Quayside partly beneath the vast and imposing Tyne Bridge. Oddly, this is a street which has traditionally had a reputation for fine dining with some surprisingly bold and upmarket offerings on offer. This is where I first discovered Rasa, part of a small national chain of quality South Indian restaurants which gave me my first taste of Keralan cooking. It made a huge impression. 

In recent years, Rasa floated off its Newcastle restaurant as a stand-alone with a new name - Ury. Little else is new, however; the restaurant, the staff and much of the menu seem to be the same and this is definitely 'a good thing'. As Rasa, this was one of my all-time favourite Tyneside restaurants. As Ury, I'm pleased to report that my opinions are no different.

I do need to confess to a problem, though. Now I'm as inquisitive as the next man, adventurous by nature and forever keen to try new foods and flavours, but with Ury – as with Rasa before it – I always, always end up eating the same thing. Every single time. Yes, it's predicable, unadventurous certainly, boring even. No, not boring. When they offer a vegetarian banquet like the one I'm about to describe, one thing you could never discribe it as is boring.

The restaurant itself is roomy, light and airy, pleasantly plain and stylish but with a few ethnic South Indian touches. Our party of three were politely shown to our table where we had little hesitation but to order the vegetarian banquet.

In other restaurants, your meal might start with a couple of poppadoms and maybe four different pickles and salads, but Ury is different. What arrives is a large wicker basket containing Achappam, which are rosette-shaped savoury cookies from Kerala, savoury, twisted and spiky sticks of Murukku which are also a Keralan staple (the name means 'twisted' in Tamil), Pappada Vada which are thick, crunchy papads almost like chunky tortilla chips, and dried banana chips. These are served with no less than six different freshly-made chutneys – lemon (fabulously intense and hot), coriander, mixed veg (really good), mango, which was my wife's favourite (when she enthused about it to the waiter, he generously and unexpectedly brought her a second dish to go with her starters), tomato, and red onion which was smooth and creamy with an incredible flavour.

As appetisers go, that's quite an experience, but things have barely started. Now it's time for the starters. 

Each guest receives three small starters. Aloo Bonda are potato balls laced with fresh ginger, curry leaves, coriander and black mustard seeds, dipped and fried in chick- pea flour batter and crispy fried, served with moist, creamy coconut chutney. Soft and unctious, these are typically a tea-time snack in Kerala but they are delicious at any time. Sharing the plate is a Banana Pori, pieces of ripe plantains which have been dipped in rice and chickpea batter flavoured with black sesame seeds, deep fried and then served with a delicious peanut and ginger chutney. The combination of sweet and savoury flavours was beguiling and the chutney was astonishing. I could have bathed in it! Finally, there is Kathrika, finely sliced pieces of aubergine dipped in a batter with coriander and chilli and served with a light, fresh tomato chutney.

By this time, we were all grinning like fools and filling up nicely. A short break and then it was time for the main event. 

One of the great pleasures of eating a banquet like this is the opportunity to share dishes and enjoy a range of different tastes and textures. At Ury they take this shared experience seriously by serving three different curries and side dishes – and if there is something you particularly like, they are usually happy to substitute one or more of the dishes on the set menu with your own personal preferences.

Our choices included the delicious and intensely fragrant Kayi Curry, a warm and spicy curry of beans, carrots, cauliflower and potatoes simmered in a sauce of garlic, ginger and fennel. This was probably everyone's favourite, though it was a close-run thing with the mind-blowing Moru Kachiathu which is a distinctly unexpected combination of sweet mangoes and green bananas cooked in yogurt with green chillies, ginger and fresh curry leaves. It shouldn't work, it really shouldn't. But it does, and its incredible.

We also chose Palakk Paneer to see what a South Indian chef would make of this restaurant favourite of creamy paneer and pureed spinach (a little lighter than expected and more fragrant). As a side dish we chose Channa Masala, a thick and delectable menage of chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, mustard seeds, dry chillies and curry leaves.

The meal was accompanied by a warm, moist and flaky Malabar Paratha made from wheat dough layered and coiled into the shape of a coir mat then cooked on the griddle, and a seemingly endless supply of plain boiled rice and fragrant lemon rice.

The food was faultless. The favours of South Indian food tend to be light and subtle, blending sweet and savoury flavours in a way that is surprising, unexpected and highly entertaining. South Indian cookery can also be a little on the hot side, but at Ury the chilli is held back to allow the sweeter flavours of fennel, curry leaves, coconut and ginger to shine through.

We just about had room for the final dish in the banquet – a tiny bowl of sweet Pal Paysam, rice cooked in boiling milk with cashew nuts, cardomom and raisins producing possibly the finest rice pudding I have ever tasted.

Ury clearly continues where Rasa left off, and then some. This is truly great food, simply but beautifully prepared and elegantly served by a courteous and friendly staff. The opportunity to adjust the banquet menu to our own personal tastes was extremely welcome, but even if you don't then the vegetarian banquet menu offers an exquisite introduction to Keralan cookery. 

At £24.00 each without drinks, it might be just a touch more than some people might think to spend on a meal, but given the quality of the food, the grace of the service and the gentle elegance of the surroundings this constitutes pretty good value.