Maharaja of India is a peaceful West End restaurant with decent food.

The Venue
Set in the heart of London’s West End, you’d expect more theatre from Maharaja. As it is, it’s a narrow venue, with tables lined against one wall, opening to a marginally larger dining room behind the bar. Perhaps not somewhere suited to large rowdy parties. It’s not a restaurant that can boast of its interior design; peach tablecloths, peach walls and a deep red and navy patterned carpet clash strikingly with the dark woods of the bar and chairs. Still, it’s not as offensive as it sounds – the soft lighting takes the edge off the peach – and as any foodie can attest, beauty is only skin deep.

The Atmosphere
As you would expect from the central location, being a mere spitting distance from Leicester Square tube and Covent Garden’s hotel district, the restaurant seems to be largely populated by lone businessmen or small groups of tourists, seeking refuge from London’s crowds. It’s a peaceful place, muted yet content.

The Food
Poppadoms come quickly with a quad of Indian chutneys and preserves, the yoghurt and mint sauce in particular is a delight, tinted orange with the cacophony of spices added to the mix – and this gives it a pleasant tang. A mixed starter platter, the Maharaja Special, yields an attractively put together plate of chicken tikka, sheikh kebab, onion bhaji and samosa. The chicken is slightly dry, but the yoghurty, spiced marinade clearly discernable. The minced lamb kebab is moist and meaty, with coriander and chilli just managing to be heard above the strong flavour of the lamb - it could have done with more oomph. The onion bhaji is perfect, a crispy shell giving way to a sweet, soft centre of onion scented with cumin. The samosa can’t live up to these heights, however, and the pastry was overly soft, the filling bland.

The main courses are a considerable improvement. Chicken karahi-khberi was delivered to the table in an iron karahi and was delicious, a balti-esque sauce of fresh tomatoes and capsicum, neither too hot nor too bland. A picky interpretation would be that the chicken pieces err on the dry side, but that is an inevitable consequence of using breast meat for the Western palate over the more traditional (and juicy) leg. Saag Ghost is superb. The spinach not too greasy, which saag dishes have a tendency to be, and the lamb is yielding and rich. Again, some added heat would have been welcome; the lamb can take it, but that’s not to say it isn’t adequately spiced.

Mango kulfi doesn’t seem homemade, but doesn’t suffer for it. Sweet, fruity and refreshing – the perfect end to the meal.

The Drink
As wine is often eschewed as an accompaniment to Indian food, the wine list is small, but perfectly formed, with a couple of European wines in each of the red, white and rose categories to choose from and bottles start at the £15 mark. The usual spirits, beers and Indian lassis are also on tap.

The Last Word
Not a ruler as the Sanskrit origin of the name suggests, but a good second hand man.

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