About The Balti GuideWelcome to The Balti Guide
It's with great pleasure I'm writing this and welcoming everyone to The Balti Guide.
It's my goal to make "The Balti Guide" one of the "go to" sites for anyone in the midlands looking for recommendations for not just Balti's but for Asian cuisine including: Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi and Nepalese.
TBG History
The Balti Guide first went live over 20 years ago in 2001. Back then I was living and working in Birmingham.
The extremely popular Curry / Balti scene was huge back then. The famous "Balti Triangle", an area in Birmingham with a large concentration of "Balti Houses" (Restaurants) was one of the most vibrant and lively places in Birmingham to go for a Balti.
Over the years that followed The Balti Guide became popular and we saw thousands of visitors weekly in search of recommended restaurants to visit.
I had built up a large collection of reviews and gave ratings for all restaurants based on things I looked for and liked in a restaurant.
The end of an era
The Balti Guide was a great resource but sadly due to work commitments and family life I was struggling to keep up with reviews. I didn't have the time required to take the website to the next level and keep it updated so I threw the towel in and eventually stopped the reviews. Whilst the reviews remained online for a number of years they was outdated and the hosting company wanted me to upgrade to a new server as the old server was obsolete. Instead of upgrading the server at a cost of over £1500 per year I decided to get rid of the server. Any live active websites were moved to one of my newer servers and any web sites no longer supported was removed including TheBaltiGuide.com. It was the end of an era 🙁
Resurrection
I always knew at some point in the future I would bring The Balti Guide back. My passion for the cuisine and food in general it was always a case of when.
Whilst the thought process behind The Balti Guide still remains focussed on Indian / Curry I will also introduce some other cuisines.
I'm a foodie and I love food, I love trying new restaurants and new dishes. If I go back to a restaurant I very rarely have the same meal as I like to try different dishes.
Over 20 years ago 99% of the reviews was based in and around Birmingham.
This time round I will be focussing on a wider area covering the Midlands and further afield.
During my travels I will be adding reviews from alternative cuisines as well as different countries.
We have seen in recent years food venues including food festivals and regular dining clubs starting. It's very difficult to leave out these food venues when I am a frequent visitor and customer.
The end of an era
The Balti Guide was a great resource but sadly due to work commitments and family life I was struggling to keep up with reviews. I didn't have the time required to take the website to the next level and keep it updated so I threw in the towel and eventually stopped the reviews.
The reviews remained online for a number of years but became outdated and the hosting company wanted me to upgrade to a new server as the old server was obsolete. Rather than spend ££ I decided to get rid of the server. Any web sites no longer supported was removed including TheBaltiGuide.com. It was the end of an era 🙁
The review criteria
What makes a good review? What is it that I'm looking for in a restaurant?
Ultimately the biggest part is the food but basically I'm looking for an overall good time. From arriving at a restaurant, directions and parking, service on arrival, service, decor, space, comfort,
I'm looking for nice clean friendly restaurant with staff to match. I want to leave the restraunt knowing I'd be 100% happy to go back no questions asked.
When I visit a restaurant I do not let them know im visiting.
The Balti Guide
So if you have actually managed to read this entire page about "The Balti Guide" I congratulate you invite you to share your thoughts and recommendations.