Scene – the place to be seen for fabulous food

Blue Monday, no-show thunders now, alcohol abstinence – January can suck, but one good thing is all the 50% foodie deals which are just about getting the Viva girls through this bleak month.

And one of our favourites has to be the fabulous Scene, the stunning eatery in Spinningfields where we’ve yet to have a bad meal.

And what’s more, if you’ve not yet given up on your New Year’s resolutions you can even get a tasty but good for you version of Indian cuisine.

We started off with poppadums as you do, but reader these weren’t just poppadum. There were spicy ones which were actually spicy and melted in the mouth a treat as we lazed in a scrummy booth attended by our brilliant waiter Saud, just the pamper this month needs.

Onto starters and I went for the samosa chaat, which is a meal in itself and had all the potent spicy flavour that Scene has become synonymous with. In fact, Saud told us it was one of the most requested starters and I could see why as a gorgeous chick-pea sauce enveloped the pastry samosa (actually in a poppadum basket which I daintily left) to create filling and fabulous mouthfuls of moreishness.

The boy wonder back from Uni (again), chose a paneer kebab and again these were skewers of greatness, as he said ‘one of my favourite things and they have done them very well’. He even had a special sauce that was spicier than the norm and a great hit.

After starters our paths divided and I took the hit of choosing the healthy option. You do this by selecting your protein, then choosing a dish from three sides and  veggies.

I loved this as there was still plenty of flavour to savour while you could be a goodie-two-shoes and stick to those new year, new you vibes.  My chicken was a plump, beautiful grilled breast and enormous but that didn’t matter as it was good for me.

And my sides of bean salad that popped pomegranate satisfyingly with each chew with a veggie stir fry were fantastic fodder too.

Meanwhile the other half of the table has decided to go for it with a complete meat feast of a mixed grill that spat in the eye of vegan January.

Devoured as if he hadn’t spent the last month lolling in front of bad Xmas telly while ravishing a selection box this was declared a beauteous feast with the chicken wings a firm favourite. It comes with a daal and rice btw if you’re peckish and we even managed to scoff the most perfect pashwari naan.

Viva verdict: Fabulous flavours that are worth than more the full price. A guaranteed pick me up for the dreariest month of the year.