Maharaja at the Bandstand - Herne Bay

It was an interesting evening with deliveries in Bearsted, Tilbury and Herne Bay.  The decision was made to end the evening close to home and the Maharaja was the chosen destination.

The Maharaja hasn't been open very long.  This time last year it was a bar.  It occupies one half of the historic Bandstand on Herne Bay's seafront which was built in the 1920's.  From the outside the decoration is sympathetic to the history of the building but inside it has been tastefully modernised and, for those long hot summer evenings(!), there are even tables available outside in the courtyard.

The Papadums were warm and fresh and served with the ususal dips although the Mango chutney had a very distinctive flavour.  The beers were nicely cold and served with chilled glasses.

A point to note is that, before we were served our main courses we were asked if we were ready - a nice touch. The curries were very good indeed.  Phil was intrigued with his Dhansak and how it moved from sweet at the front of the mouth to a full blown heat kick at the rear.  The heat of the Dhansak was beautifully neutralised by the sweetness of the Muttar Paneer and Bob was particularly pleased with the flavour of the Bombay Aloo and its contrast with his Butter Chicken.

The restaurant was quite busy for a midweek - nearly half its insided tables were being used and it seemed quite noisy.  Phil noticed that the waiters had seemed to crowd one area of the restaurant leaving a second area empty and wondered if a quiter atmosphere would have resulted had the customers been space more apart.  Both Bob and Phil were intrigued with a little party trick when the napkins were delivered at the end of the meal.

Area	Phil	Bob
Beer	8	8
Papadum	8	8
Curry	9	8
Rice & Vegetables	9	9
Service & Ambiance	8	8

In total 83 which puts the Maharaja up there near the best we have experienced.

All in all a fine end to a long evening!