The Rajpoot
From A Vegan Guide To Bristol 2004
Overlooking the Downs at the top of Blackboy Hill is one of the finest restaurants in Bristol - The Rajpoot.
A family owned restaurant. run by Shahid and Majid, The Rajpoot has served up a fine array of Indian food for many years now, and just recently has been gaining a reputation for its superb veggie/vegan dishes to. Eating veggie in Indian restaurants is generally a paradox - on the one hand, Indian restaurants will usually understand your request for a meat free meal and you will get a genuine attempt at a vegetarian meal, often with what appears to be a large selection of dishes, but on the other hand the dishes are more often than notall the same and dull as dishwater.
Not so at The Rajpoot, This place oozes class and thats not just the location and beautiful interior. Although the Restaurant does have an extensive meat and fish menu, one look at the veggie section and you know you are in for a treat. The headline act has to be the Vegetable Jalfrazi, tangy to the last delectable mouthful, although perhaps too hot to suit all tastes. In which case the Rogan Josh, rich, thick and satisfying, but not as spicy, makes an excellent alternative. Of course sharing these meals is half the art, and more than 2 of you leaves the door wide open to the Goa-style Exotic Mushroom Curry or the Cashew Korma, whichcan be made vegan (without the cream). Both of these dishes are quite unlike any you'll find on the average Indian menu unless perhaps in a specialist Indian veggie place on Stoke Newington High Street or somewhere and are worth the experiment any day.
A whole range of side dishes accompany these 4 main players, including a wonderful stuufed baby aubergine dish and a robust and juicy chana (chickpea) dhal, and a excellent cauliflower dish, always perfectly cooked. None of the dishes are 'repeats' - they all have their own individual qualities in terms of texture, consistency and taste, and 'dull' is never a word you would use to describe the food.
The best dish though - the real gem - is the lentil Tarka dhal. Its worth ordering several of these dishes actually cos you're gonna want to take one home, that is if you haven'tscoffed it already at one sitting. The Rajpoot dhal is the kind of dish that leaves part-time second rate reviewers like me (Yaoh Tim) spluttering towards the directory trying to find new adjectives to describe 'greatnes.' I fail miserably and phone up Shahid to order another take away instead.
52 Upper Belgrave Rd, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2XP, Tel: 01179733515
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Story posted by on 2005-11-29 10:06:39.
Story last updated by on 2006-09-15 01:14:55.