PapasWorld

We weren’t expecting too much it has to be said but it was actually one of the nicest Indian meals we’ve had in a long time.

A weekend camping sojourn with the kids to the foot of the Wolds near Pocklington led our rumbling tums to this quaint village pub in the wonderfully-named Fangfoss.

We’re not used to all-you-can-eat buffets here in good old blighty. Well, up north at any rate. Sure we get the odd Chinese or Indian buffet dotted around and Pizza Hut do an all-you-can-eat lunch but they’re all quite specialised. Taybarns therefore are aiming at a distinct market niche that feels like a direct import from the US.

Don’t they say that Yorkshire folk are the most welcoming in the World? If that’s the case, someone ought to tell the Landlord of the Old Moor in Broomhill near Barnsley.

Threading through this cosmopolitan, free-spirited city are a maze of cobbled streets and closeted buildings and with it, an endless array of culinary and other delights waiting to be discovered. Look deeply enough and you’ll find El Piano, located on Grape Lane, one of the oldest quarters in town still standing.

I wanted to hate Nando’s, I really did. I don’t know why either and I can only put it down to an irrepresible yet irrational urge to dislike anything that’s remotely corporate, uniform and homogenous.

Taking advantage of a fleeting pre-theatre meal at Relish was our first visit to this modern, funky eatery on East Laith Gate in Doncaster.

You’ve got to love Jamie Oliver, he’s built himself a pretty good brand name and whether it’s his accessible books, TV shows or funky tableware, there’s a certain ‘quality’ to whatever he does.

Nether Hall Road is Doncaster’s equivalent to Chinatown in London, albeit on a much smaller scale. A high concentration of restaurants and eateries are bunched together in a small area so it takes some doing to stand out from the crowd, so to speak. Luckily, Turkuaz has a lot going for it and despite all the nearby competitors, it’s actually Zest, that thoroughly-modern Mediterranean diner located several streets away that perhaps draws the more obvious comparisons.

The menu (and decor) is a reflection of the changing nature of modern Indian cuisine. No doubt the influence of Atul Kochhar and his contemporaries is spreading and that’s got to be a good thing. Not only that, there was no single dish over £10.00. Even better. While these kinds of up-market curry-houses are cropping up all over London and surrounding areas, here in the North of England, they are less common so in the spirit of Carling lager, it makes a refreshing change. Even the much-lauded Aagrah chain will have to sit up and take notice here.