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Set in the
heart of Northampton, this is now Northampton's oldest surviving
Indian restaurant in the town having originally established itself in
1975 at 39 Bridge Street which is located directly opposite to its
present location which it moved to in 1983 to increase its covers
from just 40 to 100 people. Whilst the restaurant is the oldest
surviving Indian restaurant in the town it was by no means the first
as the Bahadur brothers (coincidently the same surname as Madhur
Jaffrey's maiden name and also originating from Delhi, although no
relation) opened the Taj Mahal located on Marefair in or around 1950.
At the time it was historically was one of only a few Indian
restaurants outside of London, sadly this closed some 15 years ago to
make way for a Mexican restaurant.
The Royal
Bengal is still under the original ownership and the owner/chef Abdul
Rohim still manages the restaurant together with his son Mohammed,
the establishment is a standard Tandoori Indian restaurant set in
larger than average premises, the décor has clean lines
although not following the trend of minimalist décor, with
many walls adorned with the proud and majestic Bengal Tiger plus
traditional Indian scenes, the restaurant has a pleasant and inviting
atmosphere. On Sunday and Monday nights they offer a as much as you
can eat two coarse meal, this is not buffet style all dishes are
cooked to order the choice of about 7 starters, a main dish of
chicken, lamb or prawn (with vegetarian option) in about 10 various
traditional variations accompanied by a vegetable side dish plus rice
or naan bread at a cost of just £6.95, English options were also
available.
There were
three of us in the party who decided to eat out on a budget this
Sunday because we couldn't be asked to cook ourselves and in addition
my wife is holidaying in America (my choice not to go as the country
doesn't appeal to me in any way shape or form, I would rather buy a
pot of yoghurt, its has more culture!) and my friend and his partner
perhaps felt I needed looking after in her absence. On entering we
were promptly and warmly greeted, showed to a table and offered
drinks which were served at the table within a very reasonable time
and a choice of menus were offered. We chose the special menu as
oppose to the standard A La Carte. For starters we chose Lamb &
Chicken Tikka, for the main course two of us chose the Lamb Jalfrezi
the third person ordered Chicken Balti, side dishes were Saag Aloo,
Mushroom Bhajee and Dhaal Tarka, we had one portion of Rice, Nan
bread and I requested chapatti instead of Nan bread of which they
were pleased to oblige. Both the Chicken and Lamb Tikkas arrived on
sizzling dishes, were well spiced and served with the usual salad
accompanied by the pickle tray which contained the usual selection
including the very English sweet Mango chutney of which the only
taker of such was the Indian member of our party (I worry about him
sometimes) myself and his partner went for the onion chutney, red
chutney and the mint raita which I must say was thick and creamy not
frugally thinned down as happens in a lot of establishments.
A reasonable
time was given between courses, the main course arriving 10 minutes
after the starters were cleared, the meat dishes were of a reasonable
portion size in a flavoursome gravy of which the spicing was well
balanced, although there didn't seem to be much of a difference in
taste between the Jalfrezi or the Balti dish, the main ingredient was
plentiful and both the chicken and lamb were moist although the lamb
was the cheaper option of mutton (well you can't expect Champagne for
beer money) although in its favour cooked to the right consistency
not being under or over cooked . The vegetable side dishes were as
expected although the Dhaal was a little on the thin side with very
little tempering in the form of the Tarka.
In conclusion
we had a very good "value for money meal" which is not to
be confused with cheap; yes it was inexpensive but we received higher
than our expectations. The website states that the restaurant has
moved forward with the times, keeping to what they know. All too
often newly opened restaurants promise a gastronomic explosion of
tastes which raise the expectations but leave the customer
disappointed; in short they over promise but underdeliver whilst The
Royal Bengal under promises and over delivers. They have withstood
the test of time and Abdul Rohim's restaurant is a credit to him. His
staff being helpful, friendly and enthusiastic giving the
establishment a warm and pleasant atmosphere, the restaurant although
not ultra modern but is kept with pride, the toilets which usually
let most establishments down have recently been refurbished and are
scrupulously clean. The standard A La Carte menu offers all the usual
suspects plus house specialities and there is also a South Indian
selection which does look exciting and authentic by their
description, all are dishes are moderately priced. Whilst it may be a
standard formula curry house it is a very professional standard
Indian restaurant that takes pride in business where the customer is
respected and not just a spending unit, long may it prosper.
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