The venue for our November visit was Ayla, which is a new restaurant that is situated on the corner of Loughborough’s High Street and Woodgate, in the premises that used to be occupied by Geoff’s Toys.

Some of our readers may recognise that until recently, the restaurant was called Noir Asia (which we did not get the opportunity to visit), but Ayla has been the name above the door for the past couple of months, and classifies itself as a fully licenced, urban inspired Indian Restaurant.

I can personally confirm that the on-line booking process was very straightforward, and was promptly followed up with an email confirmation of our reservation.

For those that may be driving, like ourselves, the Beehive car park on Woodgate is just around the corner, and from 6pm, the charges are very reasonable.

Upon arrival, there is an impressive tree in the entrance lobby, and a large bar area that is ideal for pre-dinner drinks, or maybe you just wish to visit and spend the evening chatting and drinking. The interior is very nicely decorated, and the restaurant, although a little dark for some, the lighting is well designed and definitely suits the dark décor.

We received a very friendly greeting, and as it was midweek, and pretty quiet, we were offered the table of our choice. We sat down and were immediately informed of who Ayla are, what they could offer, and what they were hoping to achieve.

The drinks menu is quite varied, featuring draught options of Kingfisher Lager, Bombay Bicycle IPA, and Sapporo Lager, as well as a variety of spirits, cocktails, mocktails, and for those that don’t drink, a variety of Lassi’s or alcohol-free Kingfisher beer (bottle). This made a refreshing change to the usual standard options available.

We ordered drinks, and also tried to order our usual serving of poppadom’s and dips (as we like to graze on these whilst perusing the menu), but unfortunately we were told that the drinks would be served first, and that we could order the poppadom’s etc with our food order… this was a first for us and some of the group were a little deterred that we were being told how we should order our food – unfortunately this and a couple of other remarks by the host, did not sit well with some of our members.

Eventually, we ordered our food and were told that they did not provide poppadom’s like most establishments, but we would be served two large portions of ‘broken-up’ poppadom’s with the usual pickle trays – either way they were warm, dry and crisp, just how we like them.

For the main course, our members chose the following dishes at various strengths, and their feedback differed somewhat:

– Naga Chicken – extremely flavoursome and very well-cooked.

– Gunpowder Chicken – overall very well presented with nice flavours, not overly warm and the chicken lacked a little taste.

– Honey Chilli Chicken – unfortunately lacked flavour and again the meat wasn’t great.

– Tandoori Mix Karai – unfortunately the food was cold, and had to be sent back.

– Railway Cabin Lamb was very nice, but the Lamb Chops that were brought out at the end were very impressive, and cooked to perfection.

The accompaniments we chose were a Boiled Rice, a Mushroom Rice, and a Lemon Rice, along with a Date & Ginger Naan, which was superb, a Chilli Cheese Mash Naan, which too was very nice, and a Plain Naan (without Ghee or Butter).

You will note in our scores that three members thoroughly enjoyed the experience at Ayla, but there were two that didn’t. This is why we always say that our reviews are personally subjective and isn’t necessarily what others may think or experience when they visit.

Unfortunately sometimes, a restaurant can have an off-day, and of course we ourselves can have an off-day or just make the wrong choices.

We paid the bill (£196), which included a £17.81 service charge, and we left with very mixed feelings from our members – which is very unusual to have such a difference of opinions.

Overall, the restaurant is very nice, and the staff were very welcoming during our visit. It has only been open a couple of months and hope that it will improve further.

A couple of messages that I received the following morning from our members were;

‘Thanks for last night, I am at 9.5, couldn’t fault the meal at all, didn’t wait for anything, food and drink were spot on, restaurant was class’

‘Thanks too, but 6 from me. Food was cold and had to go back’

There was no flavour at all in my supposedly Honey dish and the meat wasn’t great. We also paid more than we usually do for no added value in my meal – sorry it’s another 6’

‘I am at 8, the lamb chops were great’

As you will see some very different opinions, so if I were you, try it for yourself and hope that you have an enjoyable dining experience like three of us had.

The score out of 40 based on the venue/surroundings/food/service/cost was 30.

Overall, Ayla stands out for its diverse menu and attention to ambiance, but in our opinion, could benefit from more consistency in dish quality. It’s a good spot for an alternative Indian meal experience, especially if you’re looking to pair it with some uncommon drink options.