Counter's at Parr's Bank is hiding a little tasty secret

Parr’s Bank Hotel is an independently owned, boutique hotel situated in the heart of Warrington, Cheshire. A Grade II listed building built in 1877, it is owned and managed by a local husband and wife team who are passionate about the town and its heritage. Purchased by Yaad & Pavan in 2020 this optimistic duo has battled through covid, much like all of our valiant business owners, and have had to adapt their offerings and priorities to keep the wheels in motion.

Counter’s at Parr’s Bank is a delightful Coffeeshop come cafe. Their modern styling really compliments the character of the building. In a room with such high ceilings, you can often feel lost but they’ve done well to keep us all feeling at home and comfortable.

So, by day we have Counter’s, by night we have Rata. Rata means by night in Punjabi and this menu is a love letter to their Indian heritage. We were not quite prepared for the food we received. This is a ticketed event and you’ll get to enjoy a taste of everything on the menu! You get to choose your Kari or Pau and Pudding… You’ll have enough food to roll out of the door. Just how we like it… You’ll start by choosing your tipple. A Dirty Chai Martini and Strawberry Passionfruit Refresher, please!

Then you’ll get to try an absolute favourite of ours, Pani Puri. An Indian street food staple and crowd-pleaser. It’s essentially a hollow papadum ball filled with chickpeas. You pour in your tamarind chutney and chomp in one. A sweet, tangy burst of flavour!

After this we were treated to some table snacks, Olives, Poppadom & homemade chutneys - The Raita was a stand out for me. Thick and creamy, not like the watery stuff you can get! Love it so much I had to have more for the rest of my meal (Sorry not sorry)… We were then served an Indian scotched egg. Dare we say, better than a regular scotched egg? Instead of pork, the boiled egg is wrapped in fluffy mashed potato! Yes, please!

After the table snacks, came the onslaught of outstanding food. Dish after dish, taste after taste you’ll find yourself getting more and more excited. The Street Chaat tasters included Mumbai Bravas (Spiced Potato with coriander, Aioli & a Curry Bravas sauce), Paneer Pakora, Chicken Lollipops with a beautiful tomato, chilli and ginger jam, Lamb Koftas, Manchurians (Veg dumplings in a sweet and sour sauce) and an Amritsari Fish with green chutney.

This is a marathon though guys, not a sprint. Take your time, and enjoy yourself… Why not order another drink? We had an Indian whiskey sour and for me, the driver, I asked Wynn the Bar Manageress if she could whip up a mocktail. Out came my retired pornstar martini. Wynn knew the assignment and she smashed it on every level. From service to sippage, we loved her!

If you’re not quite full by now, we’re moving onto the mains. I opted for the Butter Chicken Kari; a delicate butter chicken dish with a real warmth behind it. Just to remind you, you’re eating a Kari. Jamie opted for the Lamb Keema Pau. Both dishes are accompanied by Gunpowder fries & Pilau rice.

I’ll be honest, we had a lot of food and were getting slightly woozy but neither of us felt uncomfortable or greasy. Everything tasted fresh, light and vibrant. Really in fitting with our surroundings.

As no meal is quite complete without a dessert we soldiered through to the puds. Kheer for me and Gulaab Jaman for Jamie. Kheer is a rice pudding, served cold. Please don’t turn your nose up because I can assure you it’s a triumph. A sweet comforting triumph. Gulaab Jaman are rose water infused mini doughnuts. Served in a sweet syrup and were equally as delicious as the Kheer (yes I tried both, for research…)

The team at Counters blew us away with their hospitality. The kitchen did an outstanding job (we caught a glimpse of how small it is, so bravo!!) and delivered some of the best indian street food we’ve tasted.

I hope to see Rata become a more regular fixture for the Counters, but for now they have released their next dates - 17th & 18th of June @ 7.30pm. You can purchase your tickets here ( https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/counters-x-rata-returns-tickets-344076099877?aff=erelexpmlt

*This food was gifted to us, however, Counters at Parr’s Bank are not exempt from our critique. This is a true representation of our experience.

Counter's at Parr's Bank is hiding a little tasty secret

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