Shapla Spice

In the small Derbyshire town of Ripley, about a half an hour drive from Derby and Nottingham to the south and southeast, Mansfield in the northeast, there are a surprising number of good restaurants to be found. Among them is Shapla Spice, a South Asian restaurant specialising in Bangladeshi cuisine. Aficionados of South Asian food will most often encounter Bangladeshi cuisine alongside Indian and Bengali regional dishes, but here on Ripley’s Church Street, the kitchen is tightly focused on the riverine and maritime delicacies of a nation so often overshadowed by its neighbour India. Chef’s specials like the Bengal bhuna (a spicy melange involving king prawns and paneer), badami chicken (prepared with a honey and almond cream sauce), and the salmon tawa are unmissable.