Review of 'Old Hall Restaurant'
While travelling down to Hay-On-Wye for the annual “Hay Festival”, late on a Friday night, we were looking for somewhere to eat but there are not a lot to choose from, mostly pubs, fast food outlets (even these are few and far between), takeaways, and petrol stations. We really wanted to eat in as I am not a big fan of eating in the car when I am trying to drive. So, as we left Shrewsbury behind heading south on the A49 on our way to Hereford, we spotted an older building on our left that promised an interesting take on an Indian restaurant in that it purported to be “Persian” that we decided to give a go, parking in the free car park at the top of the hill around back.
It seemed a bit like stepping into someone's house as we passed through the front mud-room with a lounge area to our right then a staircase and an end table with lights on it with a plain door labelled as the main entrance.
The main dining area is a large room with a bar area to the left (alongside the entrance to the kitchen), and another dining room to the right. The rooms all have big windows looking out over the garden which attracted my attention throughout our stay. Throughout the clean, though dated interior, there are rather healthy looking (real) plants in pots along with an eclectic mix of décor - We were seated beside a dresser topped with an assortment of China and figurines like you might remember from your grandmother's house.
It was not busy when we arrived though there were two groups of people lounging on a couple of sofas in front of the bar looking at menus. Later one group left with their takeaway and the other were shown to a table in the neighbouring room. Otherwise, there were no other diners. We were shown to a table near the window and given some “Ala Carte” menus to browse over. Mine had the daily specials but my companion was missing this. The first page was “Mazeh - Appetizers”, the next was “Khoraak-e-Asli - Main Courses”, followed by “Goonagoon - Sides and Accompaniments”, and “Makhsoos - Specials” then “Shereni - Afters”. Prices were quite reasonable with appetizers in the £7 to £18 (for the massive “everything” starter) and mains were in the £12 - £19 range. Those familiar with Indian dishes will not be too lost in the menu though if you were looking for something specific you might be disappointed…
To start we opted for the interestingly titled “Hot Aubergine And Tomato Thingy!” (£8.75; “Roasted Aubergine And Fresh Tomato Sautéed In Vegetable Margarine With Fresh Green Chilli, Cracked Black Pepper And Salt; Served With Our Famous Flatbread. Can Be Gf If Ordered With Rice Instead Of Bread”) which we ordered with their “famous flatbread” which, we were told, was their smaller portion, but tasted quite good if a tad bland. The dip was very good indeed but, again, not terribly full of flavour but certainly very fresh and zesty with the bread.
For my main, from the specials menu I ordered a medium-spiced (we were asked) “Lamb Biryani” (£17.95; “Medium To Hot, In Proper Biryani, Meat And Rice Are Cooked Separately Before Being Layered And Cooked Together For The Sauce/gravy To Absorb Into The Rice. Lamb Or Chicken Is Cooked With Onions, Yoghurt, Cumin, Green Cardamom, Cinnamon, Coriander, Mint, Floral Extracts, Salt And Cracked Black Pepper, In Extra Virgin Olive Oil. (GF)”) which I have to say was absolutely heavenly – The rice was light with the lamb packing a powerful punch of flavour and deliciously tender. The accompanying raita was a nice touch and added yet more richness to the food, working well with the rice and lamb. The portion size was verging on slightly too much for me but quite generous.
My companion ordered a medium-spiced “Old Hall Fish Curry” (£18.95; “A special fish curry with cod, salmon, dover sole and river cobbler cooked in sauteed onions, garlic, ginger, tomato, coriander, carom seeds, salt and freshly cracked black pepper, in extra virgin olive oil. (GF) (LF)”), also from the specials menu, along with, as recommended by our server, a side of “Garlic Naan” (£3.75). There was a good assortment of fish with quite a lot of salmon but, like my Biryani, was not what we would call a “medium” spice with very little spicy heat to speak of. The massive naan was a slight disappointment with only a few bits of slightly burned garlic adding any sort of flavour. Again, portion sizes were good, verging on perhaps a bit too much (I had to help finishing off the naan but was getting full by that point).
It was quite a laid-back dining experience, with a good 25-30 minutes between dishes being delivered to our table, but this suited us as we relaxed, chatted, and took in the surroundings. The single server was quite pleasant and not overly chatty, but professional. The total bill came to £53.35 including a single soft drink (we otherwise drank tap water, served in a bottle, at no extra charge) which was quite reasonable for the amount and quality of the food. There was no service charge added nor were we even prompted to add one to the bill when given the card machine for payment.
We were very pleased with this restaurant. The food was quite good, if not amazingly full of flavour, reasonably priced, prepared very well and presented adequately on the plate. This is not fine dining but quite good for a local Indian with a bit of a twist…
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2026-05-22
Cuisine: Persian
Address: DORRINGTON OLD HALL, Main Rd, Dorrington, Shrewsbury SY5 7JD ENGLAND
Location: Shropshire (England) - Dorrington
Map:
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Telephone: +44 (0) 1743 719100
URL: https://oldhallpersian.com/