The Taj Tandoori in Cambridge is one of my favourite restaurants. So it will be of no surprise to you that I was ecstatic when I heard that Syed was opening up a takeaway in St Ives.

The restaurant

The only thing that used to put me off visiting the Taj Tandoori was having to slog all the way into an ever hostile Cambridge. But with a new location in St Ives, their incredible food is now much more accessible for a majority of people in the county.

Best of all, there is plenty parking outside. You can just park up, pick up your food, and go…no fuss!

The venue itself is minimalist, clean, and practical. There is a table by the window and a bar along the wall for quick dining. The window faces south and take up the entire height of the room. This lets in a lot of light and gives you a great view of The Broadway.

The menu

The menu has a bit of everything. Some things you’ll recognise from your usual Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants but the Taj Street Kitchen also offers burgers, loaded boxes, Indo-Chinese dishes, and Indian street food. This gives you a reason to keep coming back and explore.

In fact, during my visit, I met two chaps who were staying in St Ives for a few days for work and had visited the Taj Street Kitchen every night, as they kept finding interesting dishes they wanted to try.

You’ll even notice the dreaded Bengal Tiger for those of you brave enough to indulge 😉

Lamb jalfrezi

I started off with a lamb jalfrezi loaded box. This is presented in a stylish and colourful box which makes it easy to eat on the go (or take home). The lamb in the jalfrezi was absolutely out of this world! Served in big succulent chunks, it fell to pieces and tastes so vibrant and full of life. The jalfrezi sauce was rich, fiery and served on a bed of rice making it a balanced meal.

Chicken 65

Next was one of the best examples of Chicken 65 I have ever had…Honestly!These little gems pull off the trick of being tender and crispy at the same time. They are served boneless in a spicy sauce, red peppers, and spring onions. I noticed that they were a slightly different style to the ones I have had in the past at the Taj Tandoori and I actually think they are a significant improvement. This just goes to show that Taj Street Kitchen isn’t just a carbon copy of the Taj Tandoori but something unique with Syed’s own personal touch and creativity.

Chaat

I ordered the kale chaat but they had just run out of kale, so Syed was kind enough to make me an off menu samosa chaat instead. It came with a broken up samosa, chickpeas, yogurt, potatoes, pomegranates, and chutney.

This is one of my favourite dishes and I felt that it was a beautiful example of the classic dish.

The textures were diverse and exciting, essentially offering everything you could want in one mouthful.  A crunchiness from the shell of the samosa also gave a softness on the inside that was further complimented by the potatoes. The yoghurt added a satisfying creaminess that pulled it all together nicely with the pomegranate, greens, and onion adding surprising pop throughout.

The dish itself was visually striking, with bold vivid colours that burst out the box almost like a rainbow when you open it. This is fun, nutritious, and delicious food that is perfect for lunch.

Pulled chicken tikka burger

After seeing photos from my previous visit, my wife was itching to give the pulled chicken tikka burger a go, so I picked one up as I left. I didn’t get a chance to take a photo so had to use the one from last time.

The burger comes with pulled chicken straight from the tandoor that gives it a beautiful deep orangy red colour that is then layered with paneer cheese, a smashed onion bhaji, and a mixed salad. This is then topped off with chillinaise & tamarind sauce in a ghee toasted brioche bun.

The burger was so soft that it melted in your mouth. I was really stuck by the flavour they managed to get out of the pulled chicken. It had incredible depth.

The burger was a fair size but with something of this quality I just wanted more. MORE! I would love to see a slightly wider burger down the line.

The burger comes with masala fries as standard. These were thin, crispy, and served with a lovely chillinaise sauce.

Conclusion

As you may have already guessed, I was blown away by everything at the Taj Street Kitchen and it is another feather in the cap to St Ives ever growing foodie scene.

Access is easy, the service is friendly, the food is next level, and the menu has so many exciting options to keep you coming back for more.

Don’t believe me? Visit the Cambridge Foodies and see what everyone else has to say!

Thanks for reading!