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It’s not often I get to say that I have had a perfect experience at a restaurant but tonight was one of those nights. I haven’t visited Montaz since 2018, which was my first and only visit (until now) but I was already aware of their stellar reputation. They have impressed members of the Cambridge Curry Community for years with their contemporary Indian fine dining and I was very excited to visit again and see if it is still as good as I remember.

Upon entering you notice that the restaurant has a contemporary feel that tries to move away from the traditional Indian restaurant style. As the night went on I noticed that this also reflects the menu, that is also a modern fine dining take on Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine.

Montaz is an open plan restaurant with a bar at the back that serves Cobra beer on tap. I enjoyed the large glass windows that not only bring in lots of light but also a nice view of the street outside. It’s a very comfortable and pleasant place to be with a crack team of staff that are remarkably attentive. The atmosphere is relaxed with an air of sophistication without feeling overly formal. It’s a hard balance to pull off but they manage it well.

We started with some papadums that were accompanied with 4 sides. The stand out being a perfectly refined onion salad. There was also a yogurt, mixed pickle, and a mango chutney that were all done to an excellent standard.

Exclusive: We were given free reign of their current summer menu. This is unfortunately coming to an end next month but is due to be replaced by their up and coming autumn menu. Watch out for some marvellous seasonal dishes such as their tikka’d venison and duck malai shashlik.

We began with a few starters. It would be foolish to visit Montaz without trying their iconic ox cheek, so I decided to pick their ‘ox cheek samosa’.

This was one of the stand out dishes of the evening. It consists of slow cooked ox cheek in a samosa. Frankly, I have never understood how the team at Montaz manage to make such a tough cut of meat so soft and tender. This is the best samosa I have ever had in my life! It’s big, succulent, flavorful, and a nice soft crispy texture on the shell. I cannot recommend this enough!

Next was the ‘chicory chat’. A fun, vibrant, and vegetarian dish that was bursting with flavour. It starts off with a crispy outer shell in the form of a lettuce leaf, which did a fantastic job of holding its structural integrity throughout. The tangy potato added a delicious yet unusual flavour which worked well with the tamarind sauce and the sev gave it a lovely exciting crunch on the bite. It was like a carnival of flavour in my mouth with many different things happening at once. The presentation was also marvellous, especially with its vivid colours adding a real pop to the dining table.

And finally, we had the last of the three starters, the ‘duck malai tawa’. This is flame grilled duck breast in the tandoori oven with onion and pepper. It is one of the simpler dishes out of the three starters but worked well. It was presented with a side sauce that I personally thought was not required, as the duck was well seasoned, succulent, and cooked evenly throughout. The flavour was subtle with a gorgeous texture that demanded to be savoured.

Now onto the main course! We were presented with a selection of mains dishes including a ‘ginger and honey naan’.

The naan was absolutely lovely and the texture was perfect. It was soft, yet still had a crispiness on the edges, with a sweetness that really helped us through a dominantly savoury meal. I have never had this take on a naan before but I will certainly be having it again.

Our mains were also accompanied with a ‘saag aloo’ side and a ‘hakka chilli paneer’. The saag aloo is a hard dish to get wrong but was executed really well.

The hakka chilli paneer is a sweet and sour dish in a stir fried leaf salad. The paneer was cut into large chunks that sat in the salad and sauce. Its bold orange and red colours were very inviting and looked great accompanied with the other dishes. Paneer cheese goes with nearly anything, so it was a very welcome addition to the meal and a perfect side as well as a starter.

The mains are where things get even more exciting. One of the highlights of the evening was one of the Montaz signature dishes, the ‘lamb rump’. This is a clay oven grilled lamb rump with red cabbage foogath and shatkor sauce.

Just like everything else that evening, the lamb rump was beautifully presented. The lamb was bursting with flavour and was so tender that my knife simply glided through it. The shatkor sauce is a Bangladeshi style citrus sauce (similar to grapefruit in its sourness) that offers an exciting complimentary flavour and texture but the lamb is also good enough to stand on its own.

Next was a dish from their ‘Regional Mains’ section of the menu, a ‘north Indian garlic chili chicken’. This is a sautéed chicken dish served with whole dried chillies. Comparable in heat to a Madras, though it reminded me more of a jalfrezi in flavour. This was accompanied by a dish from their new autumn menu, the ginger and chili rice that really went together well.

Last but by no means least was another one from their ‘Regional Mains’ section, a ‘Bengali slow cooked goat and potato curry’. This Bangladeshi dish had some of the most tender goat I have ever had. It just fell to pieces and was incredibly succulent and flavorful. This was also complimented really well by the ginger and chili rice. Goat isn’t for everyone, so if you are looking to try it then this is the place I would recommend to go, as this is it at its very best.

Once we had finished, we were given a couple of desserts. After so much savory it is good to end up with something sweet.

I went for the ‘white chocolate ice cream and pistachio samosa’ and Cambridge Foodies moderator Gerry had the ‘chocolate raspberry bomb’. Both were beautifully presented and were a perfect end to a lovely meal.

Both Gerry and I were left scratching our heads at the end of the meal. Even the best of restaurants have some minor little details that we would like to see improved but the entire evening was flawless. Sometimes, it is just that simple. Montaz has firmly reminded me why it is one of the most popular and respected Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants in the area. Next time, I won’t be leaving it so long until my next visit!

Thanks for reading!

Address: 30 Old Station Rd, Newmarket CB8 8DN

Website: here

Don’t forget: Montaz owner Ziaur has recently written a book on his culinary journey, starting from his grandfather emigrating to the UK in the 60’s to running the Montaz restaurant today. I recently purchased and reviewed the book myself and found it a compelling story with lots of great recipes you can use day to day (yes, including their infamous ox cheek!). It is an absolute must for anyone in the Cambridgeshire area who is interested in hearing the journey from someone on the other side of the Bangladeshi restaurant.