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| Taj Mahal | |
| 38 High St, Poole, Dorset BH15 1BT 01202 675668 | |
| When looking for an evening meal in an unfamiliar town many of us will pick the local Indian, probably because menu and food quality will be predictable. We’re unlikely to have a bad experience, but how often do we have a really good one? Indian (or more likely Bangladeshi) restaurants usually offer a wide menu (enabled by a supplier network of pre-prepared sauces) that will suit every taste and always provide the staple favourites. While this marketing strategy has its advantages, the results can be a little too predictable. It is therefore refreshing when we find a restaurant that differentiates, either through location, some new ideas on the menu or that little bit of extra care in the preparation or presentation of the food. The Taj Mahal does the lot. My friend and I enjoyed some live music on Poole Quay one Saturday night and then strolled a couple of hundred yards to the High Street. It was a little late to enjoy a Bangla on the terrace, so we ordered our mains, a Sashlik Ush (tandoori duck) and Sardine Buna. So delighted were we with the tender, succulent duck and deeply flavoured buna that we summoned our waiter to compliment him. Perhaps I had been a little optimistic to expect the sardines to be fresh from the harbour catch (they were tinned) but a great idea, all the same. Marinading the duck for 24 hours may have been the winning formula for the Sashlik, so tender, moist and delightfully spiced was the result. If you go, try the lemon rice. It isn’t on the menu, but these guys are eager to please and they are very good at it. Mendel |
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