Review: Raja Monkey Cafe, Birmingham

Small but perfectly formed, Raja Monkey Cafe is the neighbourhood Indian restaurant that every neighbourhood needs. With the open kitchen and daily specials board, it turns around your expectations of Indian food. Gone is the choose your meat, choose your sauce interpretation of Indian food usually found on the high street. At RJC you have a short menu of thalis, dosas and refined curries made fresh in front of your eyes.

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The open kitchen is pure theatre as you watch the chefs move from tandoor to hotplate, from charred naan bread to spreading the dosa mixture thinly to crisp perfection. You can see them juggling flaming pans and preparing cooling salads. One of my favourites is the Franky Dosa, a large south Indian crepe filled with rich mutton curry. But then it doesn’t leave much room for the various thalis, an Indian smorgasbord of delicious bites.

Raja Monkey Café is in Hall Green, Birmingham which also happens to be my neighbourhood. For this I am thankful.

Address: 1355 Stratford Rd, Birmingham B28 9HW
Phone: 0121 777 9090
Visit the website

The author:

Lap from Birmingham is a food photographer and teacher who writes The Foodist (thefoodist.uk) blog