Restaurant guide · Balti Triangle
One of the last original Balti houses on Ladypool Road — the dish was invented in this postcode, and Shababs still cooks it the way it started.
The Balti — Birmingham's most famous food export — was born in the Balti Triangle in the 1970s, the strip around Ladypool Road, Stoney Lane and Stratford Road. Most of the original Balti houses have closed over the years. Shababs is one of the few still standing, and it's now a landmark for anyone who wants a true Birmingham Balti rather than a curry-house imitation.
A proper Balti is cooked fast over a high flame in a thin pressed-steel dish and served in that same dish, sizzling — you eat it with naan, not rice, straight from the balti. That's what Shababs still does.
Location: Ladypool Road, Balti Triangle, Birmingham (Balsall Heath/Sparkbrook)
Cuisine: Traditional Balti, Pakistani & Kashmiri dishes
Halal status: Fully halal
Price: ££ — Baltis are honest value, portions built for sharing
What to order: A classic chicken or lamb Balti with a table naan — the giant shared naan is part of the experience
Ladypool Road is packed with halal spots beyond Shababs — grills, desi breakfasts, dessert houses and late-night food. Browse all halal restaurants in Birmingham filtered by area, or see our halal breakfast guide for the morning-after plan.