The Balti Restaurant

The Balti is an Indian restaurant on Dale Road in Matlock Bath, the Victorian spa village strung along the Derwent gorge below the Heights of Abraham cable cars. It is the only Indian sit-down on the main strip and trades to a mix of locals from Matlock, day-trippers off the train at Matlock Bath station and walkers down from High Tor.

The kitchen is on the long balti-house menu — baltis in chicken, lamb, prawn and vegetable, the standard bhuna, dhansak, dopiaza, jalfrezi and korma list, tandoori starters and a chef's-special section with chicken tikka masala and the cheese naan that get mentioned most often by reviewers. The dining room is described as warm and modern rather than dated curry-house, and waiters are usually praised as smartly turned out and attentive.

Reviews are positive in the majority — strong words for hot, well-spiced cooking and generous portions — though a few customers have reported bland or lukewarm dishes on quieter midweek nights. The kitchen is halal-certified. Sensible prices for a tourist-strip restaurant and a popular pre-train Sunday option for those heading back on the line to Derby.