Does the Maharani curry favour with me? (Maharani, Camden)

Member Name: duskmaiden

Product:	Maharani, Camden
Date:	22/06/09 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: reasonable, great paneer

Disadvantages: hidden chrges, not the best food I've tasted

Indian restaurants seem to have changed drastically in the last couple of decades. Although some may survive, gone are the curry houses with the red velvet flocked wall paper and the unnatural garishly coloured curries for more sophisticated, adventurous dishes and cleaner, more contemporary décor. My friend and I are very fond of Indian cuisine especially if they do some interesting vegetarian dishes. We've ate the length and breadth of London's curry houses from Wembley to Stratford including the compulsory visit to Brick Lane. A couple of weeks ago we found ourselves in Camden (the home of markets and alternative teenagers) ready for a fix of onion bhajis, mango lassi and the like in Maharani on Camden's High Sstreet in between Mornington Crescent and Camden Town underground stations on the Northern Line. .

My first impressions were very good. Although the restaurant has been in existence since 1963 he current décor is simple clean and modern with only a big brass statue of an elephant to remind you you are in an Indian restaurant. The main room is long and thin with tables along one side. It was early evening on a Monday night so the restaurant was very quiet and we were seated right a way. I found the service to be very attentive without being too obtrusive throughout the meal. We were asked if we wanted pappadums, which I found unusual, normally they are already on the table or automatically brought soon after being seated. There were two type of pappadums , which made a nice change from just the normal ones. I was very impressed with the mixed pickle, it was nicely balanced with the flavours o the sweet mango pieces, piquant lime and a kick of chilli combinator to make a very morish dip. The mango chutney was much sweeter. So after the papadums dipped and munched it was onto the main meal.

Is Dusky hot and spicy or mild and creamy in her taste of Indian food? I an be quite adventurous when it comes to food but sometimes I look out for old favourites. The starter's menu had a a decent amount choices and at around about the £-£3 mark (apart from the peri peri scallops)were fairly reasonable. With Indian starters we do not often stray from the familiar so we ordered onion bhajis and vegetable samosas to share. I was delighted by the waiter brining all our food on a little hostess trolley (al' 1970s and Abigail's Party) it seemed a very sensible way to serve food ! One thing I must commend he Maharani on is their presentation of the food. Our starters came with very pretty swirls of sauce round the plate. The onion bhajis were the big flat ones which were neither too spicy nor too oniony. They were ok but I've had better. The samosas were quite small but very flavoursome. These were washed don with good old youghurty mango lassi.

We had chosen the Maharani because of its main dishes. It has some nice sounding fish dishes including monk fish or trout with spiced cashew nuts. We were tempted by the vegetable Thali, which is a selection of dishes (Sag bhajee, mushroom bhajee, vegetable curry and tarka dal with pilau rice and nan bread.) all for £11.95 per person. However I was having cravings for paneer so instead ordered the Paneer shashlik, "A colourful combination of cottage cheese, tomatoes, capsicum and onion, marinatedand then Chargrilled in the tandoor." For those that have never tried it is not that much like British cottage cheese. I would liken it more to Greek feta and it is often prepared grilled like hallumi. Its mild and creamy and very tasty. My friend and I are not so keen on really hot curires nd often wimp out and order the Navarathan Korma, "Fresh garden vegetables in a very mild sauce with cashew nuts.". To accompany our man courses we ordered some egg fried rice and aloo Dham, "potatoes prepared with fresh cream, coconuts and herbs.". AgainI found the prices very reasonable as the vegetable main courses are just under the £5 mark and the sides around about the £2.50 mark. Carnivorous dishes tend to be around about the £6 or £7 mark part from a few specials such as Lamb shank or King Prawns that are just over a tenner.

I was very pleased with my paneer. The heat of the tandoori spices contrasted nicely with the cool and creaminess of the cheese. The other vegetables were tasty but the paneer was the star of the show. The korma was not quite so successful. I could not easily identify the vegetables nor could I taste the cashew nuts. I wish we had chosen a slightly different side dish as well, maybe a more tomato or onion based dish as the potatoes in the coconut sauce were far too similar to the korma. Again the presentation was impeccable especially the little white square bowl of rice (which did not look a lot but was enough for two. Often you get enough rice to feed the 5000). We skipped dessert, as there was nothing there that took our fancy so it was to nth bill via the ladies.

I know loos can make or break a restaurant and luckily these were nice and clean and in good repair. The liquid soap was very nice and there were bowls of pot pourri and flowers to decorate the sink side to create a pleasant atmosphere.

Our bill at £38 for two was a little higher than we had thought but not outrageously so. It transpired the pappadoms and chutneys were not complementary after all (they worked out about £3) and there was a small covers charge. Luckily we were treated to a complimentary shot of Baileys (I had them both as my friend is teetotal) which was a nice touch.

Would I go back to Maharani? Perhaps, I'm not sure. The service was good and the food was reasonable in taste and price. If i ate there again i would like to try some of their fish dishes. However, with so many restaurants to choose from in the Camden area Maharani need to raise their bar just that little bit higher for me to return.

109 Camden High Street.
London
NW1 7JN
(020 7387 6551

http://www.maharanicamden.co.uk/

Summary: Average modern indian in Camden