Taste of the Raj, 67 St Owen Street

Opened in July 1989, this restaurant has the most presentable appearance of any in the city of Hereford (even though it is not dissimilar in appearance and layout to the many of High Street Indian restaurants in the country!). Beyond a comfortable waiting area with small bar, the dining area seats about 50 in comfortable surroundings. Attractive light-coloured cane furniture and light wood-panelled walls give a pleasing appearance, and the tables have a decent distance between them so that diners are not cramped. Bits of (artificial) greenery add to the ambience, and as a point of interest in the dining room, a section of the old city wall (suitably renovated by the look of it) is displayed behind glass on one wall.

The menu is fairly standard, but there are one or two less common offerings (Lal Mass - grilled spiced Red Snapper; Hasima Shablic – kebab(s) of meat with onion, capsicum and tomato, and Murgh Mushroom Bhagar - chicken tikka slices cooked in a spicy ginger and garlic sauce with a mushroom rice)

We started with Onion Bhajees and Tandoori Chicken. The Bhajias (four small round variety) were quite heavy, but nicely crisp and very well spiced. The Tandoori Chicken was a section of well-marinated chicken, and served with all the trimmings (i.e. fried onions, and served from a ‘sizzler’ onto the plate), extremely tasty and a generous portion for an appetizer.

For our main dishes we tried the Murgh Mushroom Bhagar, which was very attractively served with the curry surrounding a pyramid of mushroom rice in the center. And it certainly was very tasty. The chicken tikka slices were in a thick, almost dryish sauce in which onions and capsicums had also been cooked, and with a very rich flavour. Excellent! Chicken Dhansak had a flavour difficult to define. Slightly sweet, a good underlying hotness and certainly cooked in a lentil-based sauce, if a little smoother than average, but it was difficult to put my finger on that little something which gave it a variance from most Dhansaks. Although a slightly different flavour, it was certainly very tasty. Another good aspect was that instead of an immediate assault on the taste buds, the hotness of the spice was not immediately apparent but gradually emerged as you ate – always a good sign in a Dhansak in my view.

The vegetables were equally tasty – the Mixed Vegetable Bhajee was a pleasantly spiced concoction of lightly cooked diced vegetables. And the star of the show (almost unfair given that it was all good) was the Peshwari Nan. So often is a Peshwari Nan disappointing in terms of filling, and being just ‘the norm’, but this one was light and fluffy with a very good filling. It was so light and moreish that I could almost have eaten one on its own. A superb Peshwari Nan – one of the best I’ve had for a long time.

Prices probably slightly above the average, although mainly on the ‘specials’, and portions good. Service OK in that they were efficient enough in taking the order and transporting the food from kitchen to table. However, there was a distinct lack of smiles or friendliness (although they weren’t unfriendly – just aloof). They all looked rather morose and serious, and one waiter (the tall thin one!) looked positively bored throughout. Also, I noted that another diner had to go to the bar (where the waiters were chatting to each other) to ask for his bill, as I did when my turn came and nobody seemed to be casting an eye on the dining room to see if anything was required. Having said that, perhaps it was the weather, which was hot and sultry. This may also have accounted for the fact that the restaurant very surprisingly only had a few customers despite it being a Saturday night.

In conclusion, therefore, although it was formula curry, it was an above average version and despite the slight query over the glum looks on the faces of the waiters, we had a very good meal and I wouldn’t hesitate to return.

Malcolm Wilkins - August 2004