The Anise

A relatively new unlicensed outlet situated adjacent to two other Asian restaurants.
It therefore needs to be good to survive and fortunately for us it is good, actually it is very good, and not just my opinion but also that of reviewers in the local newspaper. There is nothing wrong with the neighbouring competition, I’ve tried them all and they’re good, even busier, yet I believe the Anise has the edge on quality and presentation. Service may be a bit slower but it is genuinely cooked to order rather than a «ping» and it’s ready.
The food and starters in particular are as good as it gets for the money.
Excellent food, clean restaurant and genuinely friendly staff make it well worth a try in lieu of following the crowd.
The only negative is the location of the toilets on the 2^nd Floor and the council charging for evening parking in that area.
Update
That was my opinion in April. We have been back since and been generally pleased but yesterday things weren’t as good as previous visits.
As said above, service is slower than average but over an hour wait for the starters really is too long especially when there were only two tables occupied all evening. When they arrived the onion bhaji actually tasted older than the wait and the sheek kebab was too hot. The other two starters were fine. Presentation was very good.
No problems with the main courses although I did have to ask for a few chillis to liven up my Madras.
The garlic fried rice was excellent but the nan & chips were way overdone indeed burnt in places.
Our young waiter was struggling with English but he was pleasant enough.
So overall not bad but barely adequate and certainly not the endorsement I had previously bestowed. I noticed the chefs were not the «experienced» ones previously seen, could this be the problem? Will they return?
It looses half a star but at 3.5 gets rounded up. Only three tables occupied during the time we were there on a Saturday night plus good competition right next door means Anise will have to up its game to survive.