Newly opened, the fabulous Don Indian restaurant is quickly making its mark in Welwyn Garden City. Forget predictable menus and decor, this establishment is refreshingly innovative on both counts. The contemporary interior is beautifully designed and dishes are artistically presented and served by friendly, attentive staff. The three partners, Dhalowar Husain, Rassel Khan and Aki Rahman, have put in their passion and life into creating a unique and memorable dining experience, and the fact The Don has so many regulars already shows that all their hard work has paid off.
The Don’s chef competed against 5000 other chefs to win the prize for the best main dish at the Tommy Miah International Indian Chef of the Year competition in 2013, which he won with his dumpak chicken main. Boasting an award-winning chef who specialises in cuisine from the Bay of Bengal, there is a wonderful opportunity here to try regional dishes you won’t find in your typical Indian restaurant. For example, to start we chose the moha raja, featuring succulent minced chicken. This was not to be outdone by a delicious portion of marinated lamb chops with yoghurt, black pepper and rosemary – a splendid infusion of Eastern spices. The main course menu is just as appealing and you will find all your tried and tested favourites.
However, the speciality menu is particularly inviting. We simply couldn’t decide and happily took advice from our very knowledgeable waiter. After some discussion we eventually plumped for the award-winning dumpak chicken with green chilli, ginger and fresh, buttery spinach. This was a sound recommendation – it contained the tenderest chicken I’ve tasted. We also selected the Don biriyani, this time from the regular menu, but far from a regular biriyani in my book. Large king prawns, succulent pieces of lamb and lightly spiced chicken were in abundance and enhanced by fresh mango and salad garnishes. Side dishes were also carefully prepared and extremely tasty. Needless to say, we couldn’t manage everything.
Regular diners smiled knowingly at us as they took away leftovers to enjoy at a later date. I’ll own up to doing the same, it was just too good to leave behind. We loved the refreshing twist on traditional Indian dining. The Don brings the local Indian restaurant up to date and offers exciting food in tasteful, contemporary surroundings. It’s the type of restaurant I would expect to find in the trendy hotspots of London – what a bonus to find it in Welwyn Garden City.
