The Raj of Kensington
DESPITE MY ADDICTION to dining out, there are odd occasions, usually at the end of a gruelling week or hectic weekend, when even I’m too lazy to do anything other than reach for my phone and order in. On Deliveroo, one local curry house looks very much like another. When I stumbled across The Raj, based just off High Street Kensington, I resolved to use no other service from that point on. It’s everything an Indian should be: friendly, reliable and unfailingly excellent. In an anti-imperial age, The Raj is, by its own charming account, committed to bringing Raj-era classics to west and south-west Londoners. If there are any surprises here – and, let’s be honest, who looks for surprises in an Indian restaurant? – it’s that the menu, wide-ranging though it is, is so superior. In the wrong hands, onion bhajis are abominations, as claggy and damp as undercooked doughnuts. Here, they’re perfection: light, crisp and mouth-wateringly savoury.
For the rest, you can choose from a selection of dishes collected from across the subcontinent: all the obvious classics, balti, madras and vindaloo, as well as various regional specialities. I strongly recommend the tiger prawn jhinga masala, best consumed with a bottle or two of Cobra over a repeat viewing of The Jewel in the Crown.
See also: Daquise, Ma La Sichuan
