Sitting on the site of the former Lasan Eatery, you’ll now find Raja Monkey, the latest venture from the group behind Lasan and Fiesta Del Asado. Rebranded, renovated and rejuvenated, Raja Monkey attempts to offer something somewhat new to Birmingham: an Indian street food café. Does it work?
Atmosphere
Although other restaurants such as Itihaas offer this style of rustic food, Raja Monkey has created a whole restaurant around the concept, complete with open plan kitchen, rustic interiors and authentic music. Taking our seats on the banquette at the rear of the restaurant, we noted the warm, colourful interior and retro photographs adorning the walls.
Starters
Turning our attention to the menu, we saw that the selection of light bites, starters, curries and thali is small, well chosen and purposefully simple.
We kicked things off with the Mini Masala Attappam, a fluffy pancake flavoured with spicy chillies, coriander, tomatoes and onions. Then we ordered the Tandoori Chicken and Galouti Kebab. Although my companion was sceptical about the chicken, it turned out to be one of the best tandoori chickens I’ve ever eaten. Tender, melt-in-the-mouth chicken with a spicy tandoori paste on top was served with a tomato salad and cucumber raita to cool down the spices.
The Galouti Kebab was something else altogether. Presented as little patties and consisting of lamb and lentils, their texture was unreal, incredibly fine and almost like a dough or pastry with a short crumb.
Mains
For the mains we opted for a thali each. These are like Indian bento boxes; compartmentalised meal platters, comprising many small dishes. Raja Monkey seems to specialise in these.
I opted for the mild Moghul’s Korma Thali, which came served with a boiled egg in a rich, very mild and creamy sauce. The quality of the meat was evident as a whole breast and wing came in the dish, along with smaller plates of rice topped with crisped onion, a creamy lentil dhal, a subtly flavoured aubergine curry, a fresh tomato and onion salad and chapatti.
My companion went for the not-so-mild Nawabi Kebab Thali, the king of thali with Salmon Mahi, Galouti Kebab, Chicken Banjara and Nilgiri Tikka. This was also served with the dhal and aubergine curry but with raita instead of rice and naan instead of chapatti. The cooling cucumber raita comes with a purpose; it provides welcome contrast to this spicy dish.
A word on the vegetables: the aubergine curry and lentil dhal that accompanied our meals are subject to change and created based on what’s fresh. The Sag Aloo simply sang with flavour, and is a must-try in my book.
As a number of our dishes were quite spicy, I’d recommend you check before you order if your heat threshold is low. The waiters were friendly and helpful (special thanks to Sangar who served us on the night) so don’t be afraid to ask.
Drinks
The drinks menu is quite small; the selection of wine, beer and juices is adequate and reasonable rather than fantastic. Cobra beer is on the menu at a very pocket-friendly £2.49, and lassi, a refreshing Indian speciality, comes in at £1.99.
Pricing
Starters = Up to £4 each
Thali = £11-£12
Overall
As a casual dining restaurant, Raja Monkey has a relaxed, unstuffy atmosphere. It’s clear from the service and from the quality and preparation of the food that the staff take pride in what they do. The open kitchen adds an element of excitement and keeps the place feeling bustling rather than staid, making it a great spot to eat any day of the week.
There are no words to describe this place, just go!
I’ll try to explain.
it’s by far the best food we have ever had at any restaurant. The flavours. The presentation. The service. The atmosphere. The kitchen you can see what everyone is doing. The food is like Michelin star food, the waiter knew everything about every dish. Unbelievable detail.
It’s not cheap. But it’s worth every penny. Four of us were all impressed with everything we had, two of us are chefs.
If you’re reading this you have to go it’s a real gem of a place.
First visit to Raja Monkey, after being on my doorstep for many years - we weren't disappointed the service was great and everyone was very attentive. The decor was fabulous inside and we were greated at the door straight away.
Parking can be tricky as location is on the busy Stratford Road
The menu may look limited at first glance but there is a good variety of dishes to choose from. The Thali was very good value and really tasty.
Would recommend a visit and we will be back
Hired the restaurant for a private birthday event recently and I had an amazing experience. Excellent food and service and overall I can't fault it. They were super accommodating to food allergens and took really good care of us. My personal favourites from the restaurant are monkfish moilee, aloo chaat, murgh makhani, and the keralan slaw. Worth visiting and highly recommended.
We visited Raja Monkey for the first time yesterday for my partners Birthday. From start the finish the whole experience was excellent. The staff were welcoming, attentive but not intrusive. Our waiter was great fun and helpful with any questions regard the menu. The food was outstanding, by some way the best Indian food we have ever eaten. We will definitely be back and I can’t recommend highly enough! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A authentic Indian restaurant based on the Stratford road, hall green. The food was delicious, the service was great, and the location is fab. Street parking available outside, easily accessible VIA the bus.
I recommend the classic curry, chicken madras paired with the chilli naan 😍👌🏼
It was an amazing Indian restaurant in Birmingham. After exploring the city, we visited here to have our dinner. The staff was very friendly and kind and all of our meals were very fantastic.
The food was amazing
It is a lot different from the traditional curry house.
The waiter was really good and helpful. He helped with choosing our dishes
We have the signature dish monkfish, chicken chettinad and chicken korma. All are very delicious especially the monkfish. First class cooking. In our opinions, the food is even better than some of the famous Indian restaurants in Birmingham city!!
Went with friends who live in the local area and knew about this place, it lived up to their description. We all had the thalidomide which was just the right amount. You got to choose the curry to go with the thalidomide which was a bonus and my mutton jalfrezi was delicious. Nice to have some bonus veg and salad too 😋
Took the family here for a late night dinner and was not disappointed. Certainly the best indian i have had in birmingham. Staff were super friendly and kind. Atmosphere was superb with fantastic decor. Lets get to the food.... I had the tandoor cooked monkfish and it was cooked to perfection with a wonderful cashew nuts sauce to die for. The missus had a paneer kofte which was also delicious. The sauces were perfection, this place is definitely more about quality and class. Highly recommend this place if you are ever in Birmingham. 5 stars all the way ✨
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