Regal Haandi

Regal Haandi

We chose the warmest evening of the year so far to visit the smallest Indian restaurant in Twickenham. Perhaps a restaurant with air conditioning would have been smart but the Haandi was fine, they kept the door open. The Haandi is small, just six tables for four and one for two; however as we were the only patrons that evening the four of us seemed to fill the place enough for some atmosphere. The rather plain walls adorned with Food Safety Certificates seemed somehow appropriate. One of our number even gave extra ambiance points for no music!

The papadums came and were fresh and crisp with plentiful accompaniments, normally a good sign. There were the usual main courses on the menu, with two rather less common dishes, Harialy and Sagwala.

The draft beer at below £4 came quickly but one turned out to be cloudy. This was swapped but the replacement was added to the bill, there was some fluster when this was pointed out.

The main courses came and were disappointing as it seemed the chicken that was the main ingredient in all our meals was almost an afterthought. The sauces were very good, as were the vegetables, but the chicken had not been cooked for long in the sauce. We all came to the same conclusion when comparing notes. The Pilau rice was also good, light and fluffy but lacked any hint of saffron in its whiteness.

An announcement on the takeaway menu claims “Finalist in National Curry Chef of the Year Competition”. Not with our chicken.

We scored the Regal Haandi out of 10 as follows:

Service:           5.5

Quality:           6.5

Price:               7.0

Ambiance:       6.0

Total:               25

25^th July 2012