Reviewer's Summary: Good Food; Good Service
Rajdhani is an odd Indian restaurant - unusual for the range of its cuisine.
A small restaurant located on Green Street (a little distance away from the bustle of the main Oak Tree Road), Rajdhani offers not just Gujarati food.
Believe it or not, this restaurant also lays out before diners an array of South Indian, Punjabi, Indian-Chinese and even Mexican dishes.
That's not all. Rajdhani also serves a variety of non-alcoholic cocktails such as Pina Colada, Bloody Mary and Strawberry Daiquiri.
Since we are not convinced of the logic of eating Indian-Chinese or Mexican food in what is essentially a Gujarati restaurant, we opted for the safe path and stuck to Gujarati food at Rajdhani (If we want Indian-Chinese, we'll head to Ming or Chopstick on Oak Tree Road).
During our previous visits to Rajdhani, we found the food good but had been irritated by the poor service. The main person at the counter seemed to have little interest in attending to diners.
So, when we made another trip to Rajdhani recently, we were pleasantly surprised to receive attentive service. Perhaps, it was our waiter Raj who made the difference in service. Raj patiently explained the various items on the Buffet Table. It also helped that the restaurant was empty when we sauntered in around 8PM on a Tuesday evening.
We tried the Kathiawadi Dinner Buffet, Kesar Falooda, Rose Lassi and Masala Chai.
In addition to the obligatory sweets and salads, there were 14 items on the Buffet Table. Quite a lavish spread.
There was a fiery hot Garlic Pickle along with the salads. Be cautioned - the Garlic Pickle is really, really hot and not for the faint of heart.
Khadi, two varieties of Kichdi, Bajri, Papdi Dana, Dal-Dhokli, Methi Pakoda, Turia and Patra, Kichu and Dal were some of the dishes we sampled from the Buffet Table.
The food was steaming hot and we were satisfied with whatever we tried. Particularly, Papdi Dana (a combination of papdi seeds, leaves, egg plant & methi pakora), Khadi and Bajri Rotla were so appealing that we went back to the Buffet Table for a second helping.
Rotis are served hot at the dining table unlike at several other Indian restaurants, where Rotis are kept at the Buffet Table and quickly get cold.
The Salad Table included several types of sweets such as Bhoondi Laddu, Rava Laddu, Gajar Burfi and Milk Peda. The Bhoondi Laddu was not fresh but the other sweets were good but not exemplary.
We also tried the Rose Lassi ($2.75) and Kesar Falooda ($3.75). Both the Rose Lassi and the Kesar Falooda were well prepared to the right degree of sweetness and extremely tasty. The Kesar Falooda had a nice scoop of yummy Kesar ice cream floating at the top. Ignoring our cholesterol problems and throwing caution to the winds, we indulged in the rich Falooda.
Although both the Regular Menu and Takeout Menu put the price of Kathiawadi Buffet dinner at $9.95, the sign board at the Buffet Table shows the price as $10.95. The restaurant ought to update its Menu Cards to avoid confusion.
Our total bill came up to $31.45 excluding tips.
Rajdhani plans on opening another branch - at the Golden Gate Shopping Center in South Plainsfield (3600C Park Avenue), New Jersey on September 24, 2006. - © Rekha Inc.
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