Desi Tadka

Life-sized models of be-turbanned gents outside Desi Tadka’s hint at the exhilarating spectacle within. Set on a drab parade by the A4020, this is a deceptively large, attractive restaurant. A stainless-steel kitchen with takeaway counter is to the fore. Engaging waiters, clad in cerise robes and glittering waistcoats, lead you to the rear dining room where expensive wooden flooring and furniture is juxtaposed with yellow brick walls, dangling lanterns, and a bhangra soundtrack. Half way through our Sunday night meal, the music was cranked up to distortion and two waiters burst into dazzling, synchronised bhangra dance moves, earning applause from the assembled Sikh families and young Punjabis. Food is straightforward Punjabi, with breads and tandooris the best (and most popular) choices. Tandoori machi was terrific: glisteningly fresh chunks of expertly marinated cod, scorched on the chargrill and served with sizzling onions. Butter nan and bhatura were faultless too, and not far behind were bhindi bhajee, tarka dahl and lamb taka tak (here served in tender chunks in a lentil and fenugreek-based sauce). A dry chicken biriani and chewy bhel poori indicated these weren’t the kitchen’s strengths, but we left smiling – with a beat to our step.