This restaurant opened in November 2002, taking over a pub (The Railway Tavern) next to Wareham station. It is an interesting combination as the old public bar has been retained as it was (with English bar staff and the usual customers) while the former saloon bar area has been changed into an Indian restaurant. However, I was told it is all under the same ownership, and is advertised as and ‘English Pub and Indian Restaurant’. It is worth noting that this is exactly what it is - the pub side is a basic, public bar and not a comfortable lounge bar for a pre-dinner drink. It is not connected to the other Indian restaurant in Wareham, but has connections to the Masala in Dorchester, Moonlight in Broadstone near Poole, and the Weymouth Tandoori.

The restaurant itself seats 58 people in two rooms, although most are seated in the main dining room at the front. Comfortable and clean (as distinct from the public bar!) with smartly attired staff. The menu covers all the usual selection.

Initial poppadoms fine and the accompanying pickles comprised the usual three (onion chutney, mango chutney and lime pickle) but the fourth was an interesting dry powdery concoction which seemed like finely ground coconut mixed with a little castor sugar and some indeterminate spice.

Onion Bhaji starters were OK - two flat type which were slightly oily and only crisp on one side, almost as though they had been finished off under the grill but only one side had been grilled.  The other starter of Chicken Chat was nicely sized (ie fairly small) pieces of chicken in pleasantly spiced sauce.

The main dishes were all good, formula curry stuff. The duck in the Duck Tikka Masala had an excellent, full flavour in a mild but pleasantly spiced sauce, while the chicken in the Chicken Shobzi Tikka Korai came cooked in a good vegetable mix and was very flavoursome. Chicken Pathia was also tasty with the sauce, although a little thin, nicely hot with a pleasant sweet and sour tang. Lamb Tikka Jalfrezi was good overall - the sauce was hot and flavoursome with chillis being both cooked into it as well as a few fresh ones mixed in to provide a sudden zap to the mouth after an incautious bite. But the pieces of lamb were mixed - some were suitably tender but other pieces were distinctly chewy. They must have come from different sheep!

Mixed Vegetable Bhaji was OK - the vegetable pieces were well cooked and not mushy, but it was a little bland (although perhaps this was the contrast with the other, more strongly flavoured dishes), while rice and Peshwari Nan fairly standard.

The service was good and friendly, and overall it was a good meal and a restaurant to which I would have no qualms in returning to. The only potential problem is that the toilets are common to the pub and restaurant, being in a short corridor which connects the two. Thus, it is easy for customers from the bar to wander into the restaurant - which also has a bar - to place their orders and even and stand there with their drink. Indeed, this happened whilst we were there (a Saturday night) but the drinker was politely ushered back to his side of the bar. While I am sure the management will keep the two separate, if drinkers - particularly some Saturday night topers - are allowed to use the restaurant as an extension to the bar, the restaurant ambience will quickly deteriorate. Hopefully that won’t happen.

Malcolm Wilkins - June 2003