Rendezvous at the Rajpoot
The Oakham Curry Club (OCC) is one of the world's most respected
reviewers of Indian cuisine. With multiple international franchises, we
relentlessly scour the globe in pursuit of the crispiest poppadoms, the
tastiest sauces and spiciest curries.
September saw a trip to Huntingdon and the OCC travelled from various
locations to a restaurant called Rajpoot. In Huntingdon town centre stood
Rajpoot, oddly enough conjoined to a night club but what could this place
have in store for the OCC. Would it be booming with teens bopping to the
latest little mix record or would it be totally shut off and sophisticated with
an ambiance of calmness to enjoy a mouth-watering curry. As the OCC
descended down the stairs, ties proudly worn, badges on show and
Gandhi’s sacred flip flops in tow, they were greeted with....... one couple
and their children finishing their curry in a restaurant that held about 60
people but a very friendly owner. How would this compare to what the OCC
had reviewed before?
Customer Care- 7.38
Rajpoot’s customer care was on the whole good, two phone calls from the restaurant to confirm the booking and they adapted to the change in numbers without hesitating (although we can see why now – we could have had a meet of 50 and they still could have accommodated for that change). One thing that it did lack was that extra little touch that the OCC regularly see of after meal towels just to freshen yourself up.
Service- 6.92
The service was a mixed review for the OCC, one member had made special arrangements to come to the meet and still play in their gig that evening and so for them the service was rapid. For the rest of the OCC we had to wait over an hour for the mains to be ordered and seeing there were only 3 other tables in the restaurant this wasn’t satisfactory. Once we’d ordered the mains the service did pick up and they were efficient although
it’s hard to see how efficient when the restaurant was empty. Could they be
this efficient on a cold Saturday night when everyone wants a hot curry to warm them up?
Quality- 7.33
The menu had a variety of dishes ranging from chef specials to your more traditional western curries. This offered the OCC a plethora of choice, orders ranged from Chicken pathia to the Tawa Shashlik Jalfrezi (Chef Special) which was a very good dish. With good portion sizes it’s a good
place to go if you’re hungry, want a range of dishes that are of a good
quality. For those that do like to divulge in an after curry chilli the OCC it plays to warn you that they are very hot.
Value for Money- 6.21
Despite the quality of the food, the value seemed steep for Huntingdon. Many OCC members commented about how they felt the prices were too high especially when not many Cobras (hissssssss) and Kingfishers (flappppp) were consumed. This let the restaurant down as £45 for a curry is more than what the OCC have paid in London.
Atmosphere- 4.75
A fairly large restaurant that could cater for many, however there were only
3 tables including ours that night and by the time the mains came it felt like a private dining experience. This was the main aspect that let the Rajpoot down.
Overall Experience 6.52
The owner clearly has a passion and a vision to drive the Rajpoot forward. This shone through in the quality of the food but in order to attract customers and get them coming back the service needs to improve, especially when the restaurant is quiet. The décor is good, the bar is the centre piece for individuals to walk in and have a drink before their curry without sitting on top of other customers, the food is very good and the potential is there. However, a few things need ironing out before it can move from a 6.5 to a 7 or maybe a 7.5. Watch this space as the future of Rajpoot could open up to a good curry house being found in Huntingdon.