If a restaurant is good enough for James Bond then it is certainly good enough for me.

The Maharani Indian restaurant in Clapham High Street has fed an array of celebrities in the 49 years it has been open, including Pierce Brosnan, Adam Faith and Quizmania's Greg Scott.

In fact, when I visited actress Geraldine James OBE, was sitting just a few tables away.

But the family-run restaurant's celebrity magnet status is not the reason to come here. Its food has been recommended by critics from Capital Radio, Time Out and the Good Food Guide, to name a few. And after tasting many sumptuous dishes myself, I totally agree with their findings.

The Maharani offers such a vast menu that at first my companion and I found it difficult to decide what to chose. We deliberated while munching on some warm and crispy popadoms, which come complete with a selection of mango chutney, onion salad and lime pickle. We both opted for onion bhajis to start, which were delicately spiced and the perfect consistency, being nice and crunchy on the outside and soft inside. For our main course we were really spoilt for choice. The manager, Joynal Khan, was eager for us to try a selection of dishes, so we indulged in four of the restaurant's freshly-made popular house specialties. We tried gosht kata masala, a lamb dish cooked in a herby, yoghurt sauce and murgh paner masala, a chicken dish marinated in spices with cottage cheese, cream and yoghurt. We also dined on Goan chicken masala, which had a barbecue flavour and contained garlic and green chillies, and gosth masala, another delicious lamb dish. On top of this we feasted on creamy balti chicken korma, moreish sag aloo, fluffy nan bread and basmati rice. This was accompanied by a bottle of Mateus Rosé wine.

Every dish was a mouth-watering treat and the meal was truly among the best Indians I have ever tasted. Despite the excellent quality and flavour of the food, the menu remains very affordable, with the average main course costing around £7 and slightly more for the luxurious lobster dishes.

And for an even more reasonable experience, the venue offers an all you can eat Sunday lunch buffet for just £7.95 a person.

Judging by the scrumptious food we enjoyed, it came as no surprise to see the restaurant practically full on an average Tuesday night. I would advise anyone who loves Indian food to follow the crowd and sample the delights the Maharani has to offer.

Address Maharani Indian restaurant,
117-119 Clapham High Street,
SW4 7TB
Map
Tel: 020 7622 2530/020 7720 9154