Maharaja

A British seaside setting and a quirky one-time bandstand home make the Maharaja in Herne Bay a unique place to dine. Luckily, the exotic menu stands up to the splendour of the restaurant itself, offering an extremely comprehensive menu that caters for lovers of traditional Indian food with familiar dishes and diners looking for something a little bit different.

Banquette seating, immaculately laid tables and a feeling of space are the first things I noticed. The sea views beyond the restaurant and the sound of breaking waves add a sense of romance to any visit to the Maharaja. When it came down to the serious business of what to eat, my wife ordered chilli prawns - a stunningly presented dish of substantial prawns lightly fried with semolina and cooked with red onions, red peppers and Greek yoghurt. I opted for the intriguing but understandably popular kangaroo passanda served with an amazingly coloured beetroot raita. The choice of mains was huge, so we consulted the waiter who recommended a selection of dishes of varying heat. For the milder palate we recommend the meen moiley, which sees red snapper cooked with fresh curry leaves and onions in a tomato and coconut sauce, as well as nadan kursi curry - pieces of chicken in a mild sauce of spinach, mint, cashew nuts and cream. The medium hot dish we enjoyed was shatkara chicken, which features Indian citrus fruit. For lovers of hot Indian food, the South Indian lamb mufas was delicious. All of the dishes were skilfully prepared, stylishly presented and demonstrated a good understanding of Indian spices. I would thoroughly recommend this restaurant - one of the best in Kent