Optima Magazine

12 Main Parade • Chorleywood • WD3 5RA • 01923 283505

Reviewed by Alan Cox

In the 18 months since I last reviewed Sujoy Tandoori, a neighbourhood ‘Balti House’ on the Main Parade in Chorleywood, very little has changed there. And a good thing too.

This dependable establishment is rather charming in a pleasingly old-fashioned way. Refurbished a couple of years ago, it has a fresh and bright interior, yet remains very much a traditional affair… complete with that pink/green floral china common to Indian restaurants up and down the country. Thankfully, there’s no red flock wallpaper!

In a world that has embraced fusion cuisine, where the philosophy often seems to be ‘the weirder the better’ (snail porridge, anyone?), it’s refreshing to find a modest restaurant that sticks to what it knows, does it well – and has no pretensions…

…so it’s papadoms and pickles to begin, as always, and a couple of cold Kingfisher beers. Lovely.

The menu has plenty of familiar dishes, of course – you could choose with your eyes closed – but also a range of specialities that reflect the chef’s particular capabilities and his own local cuisine. We chose our main courses from these, as a way of cutting through the usual (don’t you always pick the same things?…) and trying something different.

Our favourite starters (you can’t experiment all the time!) – Garlic King Prawns, in a rich, tangy oniony sauce, and Onion Bhajee – were ideal choices to benchmark the standard of food. Both satisfied our demanding criteria.

On, then, to Lamb Kalia, a lightly spiced dish with onions, ginger, green peppers and fenugreek leaves, and Murghi Makkani, diced chicken cooked in a massala sauce (the body and soul of some of the worlds most popular pseudo-Indian dishes) with fresh cream and cashew nuts, plus Bombay Aloo, a popular potato side dish, and Matar Paneer, a north Indian dish of cheese and peas in a sweet and spicy sauce.

The lamb was a great choice, full of flavour with real melt-in-the-mouth pzazz, and the Chicken delightfully smooth and creamy. The cheese in the Matar Paneer was a little hard, but all dishes scored high on individual taste, as did the accompanying Mushroom Pilau and the terrific Peshwari Nan.

The restaurant was far from full, sadly (but it was a Monday; let’s be fair) so rather lacking in personality. We quite enjoyed the full attention of the smart and courteous staff, though, and the calm atmosphere. There’s nothing clever or cutting edge here. It’s all very safe and secure, as indeed a conventional curry house should be.