Dining Out
Tandoori Palace
This week, restaurant critic James Harrington delves into the city suburbs to find one of the finest Indian restaurants in town. Did Tandoori Palace shape up to be fit for a gastronomic king?
It’s Sunday night, the Buttery is closed and I’m starving. This normally calls for emergency take-away action, and with such a variety of Indian establishments on Huntingdon Road and a wodge of menus clutched in hand, the choice might seem, to the casual observer, too overwhelming. But no. To the trained stomach, there is only one place that can truly fulfill those curry induced dreams. But to review a takeaway would be cheating, so I gathered a few willing volunteers to join me on my quest to the revered Palace. Tandoori Palace.
And a quest it is indeed for those that don’t live on the hill. Head towards Aldi, about a mile from the town centre, and you will find an unassuming, perhaps even slightly tatty looking Indian Restaurant. But its exterior is a façade for the treasures it holds inside. Decorated to a lavish, and yet largely understated degree, the interior already exudes warmth and comfort.
This is reflected in the service. Met pleasantly, we are led to a table and invited to place drinks, as one would expect. The laid back atmosphere embodied in the decor I venture as the explanation for the slowness of the staff. Never wavering from their friendliness and politeness, this is nonetheless not a place to come if you are in a rush. It is however a place for the lover of Indian food.
The menu contains all the usuals in the form of lamb, chicken, prawn and vegetable, as well as a long list of house specials, two types of set menu for two, and a section of ‘English dishes’ for those that are not lovers of Indian cuisine and have been dragged along anyway. My takeaway favourite is the chicken kashmiri, so for the sake of remaining (largely) unbiased, I opt instead for the lamb jalfrezi. Other orders along the table include the chicken Vindaloo and a lamb tikka mossalla.
Before I go any further, I must emphasise the advantage of going in a group. They won’t necessarily be forthcoming with this information, but if you ask, the restaurant is more than happy to offer a £10 deal per person, entitling you to poppadom, main meal, rice, naan, and a drink. This obviously comes with a restricted menu, largely excluding prawn dishes and some of the pricier house specials.
So a while later, the food arrives by trolley, still sizzling away. There is barely room on the table for this Indian feast, as we begin the logistical operation of naan and rice distribution. The jalfrezi is just as I had expected and hoped. Hot without blowing my brains out, with a huge amount of tender lamb met with an equal proportion of onions, peppers and green chillies. The rice was as nice as rice can be, whilst the doughiness of the naan was the perfect stone-baked mop for the plentiful sauce. The vindaloo, I have been assured, was sublime. My brave companion has tears of joy as he scoops up the last drops of sauce and tries to find the way to his mouth through the napkins hanging from his nostrils. Perhaps a little too hot for most, but worth a try if you have the tear ducts to cope.
To the final verdict. A bit far out of town for most, this is nevertheless worth the effort. A popular choice for subject curries among the colleges on the hill because of its generous £10 deal and good food, this restaurant deserves greater credit than it gets for its massive portions and friendly service. A must visit for those who find the Maharaja too rude, Cafe Naz too clinical and neon, Cocum too off putting by the pictures of its food, and the Mahal too infamous for its welcome afforded to drinking societies.
TOTAL PRICE: £10 per head for drink, poppadom, main meal, rice and naan.
OVERALL RATING: 5/5
Tandoori Palace, 68 Histon Road
Topics: Food
I’ve only been once, but found Tandoori Palace rather bland and overpriced (not having heard of the £10 deal). Your assessment of the other restaurants in the area is pretty much spot on, but you missed out the best: Meghna.
Tucked away at 205 Victoria Road, it’s easy to miss, but worth looking for. The food is comparable in quality to Maharaja (which would be the best place in town, if only they were polite enough that I could stand to give them any money). Thankfully, the service at Meghna is infinitely better. The staff members are uniformly polite, helpful, and genuinely friendly.
Another great advantage to Meghna is that you don’t need to make the trek out to the hill, if you don’t live here, because they deliver.
Since I now live so close that I never bother with this service anymore, I don’t know if it’s still the case, but they used to deliver for free (if you spend £15 or more), which makes their low prices even more extraordinary. In fact, we often had a hard time getting past the £15 mark to qualify!
If you want a really good meal served by really nice people, from eye-watering vindaloo (my usual) to a delicate aubergine bhaji, you can’t do any better than Meghna. Give them a try.