Raja - Cheadle - Review

T 0161 428 3848
A 2A Gatley Road, Cheadle, SK8 1PY
W http://rajaofcheadle.com/

Raja of Cheadle was the choice for our August 2011 restaurant visit and sadly we bring you a short and very late review.  Only two of the five of us that visited this restaurant managed to complete their review, despite having almost two months to pen their thoughts.

The best excuse came from the usually reliable Jord (below), who said “I will have to give my Raja review a miss as I have no recollection of it.  In future I am going to do all reviews within 48 hours!”.

After a short flight back to Manchester from Arlanda airport in Stockholm, I soon found myself sat inside the Cheadles newest eatery the Raja of Cheadle.  Positioned on the main road in Cheadle, immediately opposite the Bathstore.

The interior is clean and modern , minimalistic but fresh. I immediately recognized some staff members, one in particular who had previously worked at the neighbouring Garam Massala just down the road in Cheadle Hulme. A number of council members also made the same observation. I’ve personally always liked the Garam so my expectations grew somewhat.

After sharing a few tales of my week spent in Sweden, we then spent time deliberating how we could justify a long weekend away in Stockholm to sample this magnificent city, as well as trips to New York, Blackpool, Newcastle, skiing in France and the Grand National.

After a crisp Indian lager, we were soon ordering our feast. I selected the (meat) mixed starter and Chicken Tikka Pathia from the wide and impressive menu.

I ravished my starter. The dish arrived on a sizzling hot plate. This brought a number of admiring glances from other diners. The sheekh kebabs were soft, moist and tasty, but appeared to break up quite easily. The chicken tikka was excellent. Everything appeared to be freshly cooked.

No time for talking

My main course was good and it felt nice to be back at home doing what we do best. Eating curry and enjoying a laugh.

Convenient car parking is always appreciated in these parts, due to 352 days of rain a year. So after just a few steps we were in our car and on our way.

Raja have pulled out all the stops to launch this new restaurant, including an impressive website which allows you to order your food online and a well maintained facebook page.  They are also advertising on local radio station Imagine FM.

The interior of the restaurant is really modern and quiet spacious, offering a open kitchen for diners to see their food being prepared through a small window.

The mixed starter was of a good standard with its chicken chaat being the highlight for me.  The chapati bread was lovely and fresh.

The lamb podina, priced at £8.50, was my choice for the main course.  The waiter was accommodating when I asked for the pudina to be spiced at a “madras” level of heat and it didn’t disappoint.  The only small criticism was that the sauce was slightly too minty, which was a little bit too overpowering for this tomato based dish.

Lamb Podina

Woody continued his monthly ritual of ordering a peshwari naan for himself and leaving most of it uneaten.  He then proceeds to eat his way through over half of the plain naan that I usually specifically order.  The plain naan was superbly presented on a metallic naan tree. Thankfully,  I managed to wrestle the last bit of naan from Woody’s limp wristed grasp.  The naan was delicious and fresh.

The usual nice touches were there including cloth napkins, Cobra and Kingfisher on draught, a five dip/chutney selection, good food, nice presentation, porcelain curry bowls and impressive cutlery.

The Raja is a welcome addition to the growing list of Indian restaurants in our area and would be worth a visit.

Nice touch