It was my turn to host the members this month and after much deliberation and checking the club rules I took the risk of re-visiting a previous best restaurant of the year, which is now under new ownership and therefore could be judged by it’s performance under the new regime. The Generous Raj is in Thurmaston village and a little bit hidden away, but not difficult to find with plenty of on street parking right outside.

It was a quiet evening for the restaurant, which was not surprising for a Monday evening, as we had changed our usual night for the outing due to availability of members, so we enjoyed almost undivided attention despite which one of our collective commented that the service was a little slow. That though could have been down to the fact that we chose several of the restaurant’s speciality dishes, which are all freshly prepared to order and will obviously take a little longer.

We started, as usual with popadoms and pickles, these were fresh and two pickle trays were provide which was more than sufficient. They were the standard fare for pickle trays, so there were no surprises there, which is so often the case, but it is nice on occasion to get a little variety.

We ordered two Chicken Tawa dishes, one Madras and one Vindaloo, these dishes are not on the menu, but the chef agreed to make them specially for us, which would also account for a slight delay in the service. We also had one Chicken Chana Saag and two Tandoori Malai Lamb Chops dishes, one of which was asked for normal and the other Madras. All of the dishes were fresh, hot and tasty with the recipient of the vindaloo Tawa exclaiming that it was the best Tawa that he had ever had! We also had two mushroom rice, one boiled rice dishes, two cheese and garlic nans and one plain nan with no butter. We had one complaint that the lamb chops were tough, but the sauce that they were in was very nice, otherwise everyone enjoyed their meals. The scores were not as high as our last visit, so it definitely won’t be this years victor as it is currently languishing at the bottom of those restaurants visited this year with 32 points, but there are only two points separating those restaurants, so it is not a condemning result. I actually enjoyed my meal more than the ones at the other restaurants, but as ever these awards are always subjective and it does need an exceptional restaurant in all other areas as well as the food to claim the prestigious award of restaurant of the year, hopefully that experience still awaits us in the coming months. The final comment was that it was considered a little pricey, but again that would be down largely to the speciality dishes. We paid £136.90 for five diners including several drinks and one brandy, but there is a three course weekday menu with a choice of dishes for £10.95 per person, so there is a cheaper option.

The restaurant hasn’t changed in décor or furnishings under the new ownership, but it is pleasant and functional with plenty of space to accommodate at least thirty diners if necessary.