Sublime flavours, tastes and textures

Tandoori Connoisseur in Wood Lane, Sonning Common, is renowned for its delicious takeaway food. Here, restaurant reviewer LUCIA JUTTLA gives a flavour of what customers can expect.

HAVING been a curry-lover for a long time, I was keen to sample the delights at Tandoori Connoisseur.

Greeted by attentive staff and shown to our table, this friendly village restaurant has a popular reputation with the locals.

Perusing the menu, I wanted to try something that wasn’t too hot and spicy.

We found the appetiser of poppadoms and pickles delightfully tasty and enjoyable — a wonderful entrée to our meals to come.

Following this we chose seekh kebab (minced lamb roasted on skewers with onion, herbs and spices) and aloo chat (potato delicately fried in oil, served with salad) for our starters.

Both came out in a timely fashion with elegant presentation.

For our mains, I couldn’t wait to try one of the prawn dishes and opted for the king prawn shashlick — succulent with lime and sweetened with peppers and onions.

For his part, my husband Kam does enjoy a fiery curry — therefore the chicken jalfrezi with hot spices, green chilli and onions fell in line with exactly the kick that you would expect from it. Again, these were beautifully presented, but more importantly the flavours, textures and tastes of all the dishes were sublime.

Accompanying them were light pilau rice, freshly cooked to perfection, naan bread and sides of aloo bagun (potato and aubergine), cauliflower bhaji (fried with spices), and tarka daal (curried lentils with garlic spice) — all bursting with colour and tantalisingly satisfying.

For dessert, we had the indulgent kulfee which was a refreshing end to our meal and much welcomed to soothe the palate.

Certainly you can tell the staff are proud of their food and heritage in this popular village restaurant. And rightly so.

Be sure to pay Tandoori Connoisseur a visit — you’ll appreciate the warm welcome, service and cuisine that won’t disappoint.