I went to one of the oldest Desi pubs near Birmingham and got a surprise when I stepped inside

The Vine is famous among football fans. For decades, long before Desi pubs were a thing, hoards of West Bromwich Albion supporters flocked to the unassuming pub for a matchday pint and curry. In fact, it has been owned by the same family for more than 45 years.

I have heard a lot about it over the years, especially the famous ‘chicken tikka’ and so I wanted to try it. I went on a quiet Monday evening instead of trying to get a seat on a busy Saturday afternoon.

The pub is on the corner of Roebuck Street in West Brom, about a mile from The Hawthorns, which is interesting because it’s not right on the doorstep. I thought that was a good sign. From the outside it looks like a regular boozer, the kind of place you’d walk into and find a man and his dog. But inside it was a whole different story.

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It’s actually like a Tardis! I was surprised to walk straight into a corridor, near which were three corners, full of nooks, small tables and bar stools. It was really comfortable. One had a TV for sports, others were little dens for meetings and conspiracies with friends in private.

Walking down the bar, there were long tables, giving it a festive feel, a bit like a party or wedding. A sign at the back illuminated the words ‘Grill & Chill at The Vine’ – this seems to be a look that is synonymous with Desi pubs.

There is a large beer garden with plenty of outdoor seating for alfresco dining. Overall, there are over 250 places to choose from!

The pub is known for its indoor grill, so there are plenty of grilled dishes on the menu, such as spicy pork ribs, chicken wings, masala tikka, sea bass, lamb chops served with brown mint sauce. There are also mixed grills, the largest of which includes chicken tikka, methi tikka, masala tikka, garlic tikka, kebabs, chicken wings, lamb chops and fish pakoras and comes with salad, mint chutney, brown chutney and chilli sauce. I saw one of these and thought it was huge!

There’s a whole range of curries – bhuna, chilli, madras, saag, pathia and more – plus specialties like bone-in goat curry and prawn curry. Vegetarian options include soy tikka, spring rolls, onion bhaji and samosa.

They also serve naan wraps filled with coleslaw and chicken tikka, sheesh kebabs or paneer. These sounded delicious and I was very tempted. I actually wanted to try everything on the menu but I knew I had to try the famous chicken tikka (£7.50) and so did the rest of my family.

We ordered three portions of tikka and a chicken wing (£7.50) plus a portion of masala fries (£3.50) and shared it as four. All were delicious. On each platter were five large pieces of boneless chicken tikka, along with salad and brown mint sauce. The meat was very tender and the tikka was just the perfect level of spiciness for both my husband and our kids to enjoy.

The chicken wings were tasty but obviously a bit more complicated as they were on the bone. The chips were good but very spicy. We decided we’d probably go for regular fries another time, or maybe a naan each so we could wrap the meat tikka and salad in that.

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We saw the curry being delivered to the tables around us and thought it looked amazing. The total bill, including a pint of Cobra and two soft drinks, came to £44.73. We thought it was an excellent value.

The portion sizes were perfect for me and my younger son, but my husband and older son were still hungry, so they then ordered an extra portion of tikka and chicken wings from the bar.

We loved the family feel of the pub, all the staff were very friendly and it was a very relaxed atmosphere. We look forward to returning soon to try a curry in the beer garden.