Looks really are deceiving. The area is a bit run past rather than walk it. The exterior of Raja's looks pretty bog standard, and the decor is unremarkable in that it echoes the many many interiors of Indian restaurants up and down the country. Proclamations of it's greatness didn't really fill me up with much hope of a good curry. It looks like many I've been in and walked past and when I've left I've felt completely deflated that I dared to get my hopes up. Even the "really and honestly it's a beauty" didn't do it for me.
Walking through the doors, in the middle of my party, we were all given a hearty welcoming by the smartly dressed staff. We were shortly shown to our table, and the thing I was really impressed by was the open kitchen, making it easy to view how our future belly fodder was to be cooked and prepared. I'm always impressed with open kitchens, that nothing to hide approach instills much confidence in me.
The menu. All the usual starters, sundries, mains and sides, every form of samosa, pakora, tandoori, korma, massala, dopiaza, biryani, roti, naan, soft drinks, beers, wines, juices, lassi.
So what makes it special? The taste. Fresh, mouthwatering, full flavoured, homecooking. It really does earn the accolades that have been given to Raja's over the past 25 years. Several silver dishes adorned our table, steaming hot and smelling divine, the biryani my personal favourite, with the rice not dry and sad, but moist and delicious, no sign of a microwave in sight, and the curry sauce was a delicious accompaniment. Yum.
We were well tended to throughout the evening, and the service quality matched the quality of the food. Price wise it was unbelievably reasonable, with it working out between £9 and £15 a head depending on meat free, meat, and prawn options. All of us had at least one drink and a main, and the rest either had a starter or a side order.
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