RAJDOOT TANDOORI
Cutnall Green, near Droitwich
Tel: 01299 851000

FOR a rural county it never fails to surprise me just how many curry houses there are for foodies to choose from in Worcestershire.

With a market so saturated many merge into one but there is no danger of that happening with the Rajdoot Tandoori at Cutnall Green, near Droitwich. It is not fine Indian dining – as it says in its adverts – it is superb Indian dining.

After ordering drinks and browsing the menu while seated on comfy sofas we were shown to our table in the delightfully decorated restaurant.

It might sound silly but I have visited too many places of late where it feels more like you are eating in a doctor’s surgery rather than an Indian restaurant.

For me, the Rajdoot has balanced cultural artwork and sculpture with modern design and colour perfectly. I thought: “This bodes well for the food.” And I was right.

We kicked off with the Rajdoot platter (£14.95 for two to share) which came with a selection of superbly cooked chicken and salmon tikka, tandoori prawn and a quite spicy seekh kebab.

For main course I had tawa monkfish (£13.95).

This was chunks of stir-fried monkfish tails with diced peppers and onions with a masala sauce.

My friend had makhan chicken (£12.95) – slow cooked chargrilled chicken tikka in a creamy tomato sauce scented with dried fenugreek leaves.

Both our meals had huge chunks of fish and chicken – again perfectly cooked – and our tongues danced with delight because the sauces were slightly different from the usual Indian fare.

Moving onto dessert we ordered a crème brûlée (£5.95), which came with a raspberry coulis in a shot glass, and a coconut and lemon cheesecake (£5.95) which was scrummy, if just a little too rich.

Nice touches make a good place special and there are many at Rajdoot – the pleasantly presented poppadoms for one – but with a bill topping £66, including drinks, you would hope this would be the case.

If you are feeling peckish having sunk several pints with your mates then the Rajdoot is not the place for you – not least because you’ll probably struggle to get to Cutnall Green and back.

However, if you’re celebrating a special occasion or just fancy splashing some cash on a topquality curry then this is well worth the drive.

You will not regret it.

HOW IT RATED

Food: 5
Service: 4
Ambience: 5
Value for money: 4