The Royal Tandoor has an enviable position on the main thoroughfare in Souk Waqif. It’s an area that’s bustling any night of the week and brimming with atmosphere, so a great location for tempting diners in from the street. Not that this restaurant needs to, as it seems to have a band of loyal followers – every table was full on the Wednesday night we visited.

The Royal Tandoor’s interior feels welcoming and cosy, with large drapes separating the tables. We settled into our seats, ordered some soft drinks – we particularly liked the mint cooler, which was obviously freshly made – and started perusing the restaurant’s extensive menu. With more than 100 options, you could easily while away a whole evening debating what to choose.

We were slightly taken aback by some of the starters on offer. It seems odd to find hummus and shrimp salad on an Indian restaurant’s menu, but of course if they are listed people must order them, so who are we to judge? Anyhow, opting to stay with the Indian dishes on offer, we settled on sharing the cocktail samosas to start. They arrived quickly, and were served with a tangy tomato dip. Hot and crispy, they had an extremely tasty vegetarian filling mixed with just the right amount of spice, and whetted our appetite for the main event to come.

After a rather lengthy decision making process (something I suspect the restaurant’s staff must be quite used to), we chose our main course. We ordered the murg tikka lababdar, the tandoori jhinga nisha, the dal makhani, pudhina paratha and some basmati rice.

The murg tikka lababdar, soft pieces of chicken tikka in a creamy tomato and onion sauce, was delicious. The meat was excellent and tender, and it was such a large portion that we were able to share it. The dal makhani – black lentil dal – was creamy, flavoursome and also came in copious quantities. My dining partner was extremely pleased with her choice, the tandoori jhinga nisha, a selection of tandoori shrimp served with mixed vegetables. The shrimp could so easily have been overcooked and chewy, but joyfully were not. She teamed this with the pudhina paratha bread, which was well flavoured with cumin and coriander, and unlike in many places where we’ve ordered it, wasn’t served swimming in oil. Both of us also did our best to make headway on the mound of rice that arrived on our table to complete the order. Our eyes were definitely larger than our stomachs, as the Olympic-sized portions defeated us.

Having said that, we’re fans of Indian desserts too, and it just wouldn’t have felt like a proper blowout without heroically struggling through a couple of these as well. We ordered the hot gulab jamun and the matke se pista kulfi. The gulab jamun, sweet dough balls in warm rosewater- flavoured sugar syrup, was divine. The kulfi, meanwhile, had a great texture, wasn’t too sweet and was liberally flavoured with pistachios. We fought over both desserts. My dining partner had just returned from eating her way around India, and enthused about both choices, saying they were among the best she’d tasted.

After we’d finished, we didn’t feel at all rushed by the staff to pay quickly and leave, despite the fact the restaurant was at capacity. The service throughout was quick, friendly and not at all obtrusive, which added to the relaxed but efficient atmosphere. It’s definitely the sort of place you could visit with a group of friends to chat the night away without being disturbed, a definite plus in my book.

When the bill arrived, we were pleasantly surprised. Although not the cheapest Indian meal in town by any means, we felt the food quality, quantity and service made it very good value for Doha. We were also glad to see the option to buy reasonably priced local bottled water on the menu, rather than heavily marked-up imported mineral water from Europe. Not only a cheaper option, but also more environmentally friendly, and a policy we wish was more generally adopted around town.

This Souk Waqif branch of Royal Tandoor is one of two in the city – the other is in Al Saad. We suspect both branches are as popular as each other. We’re definitely planning a return visit to one of them again in the future. In fact, we’re secretly already checking out the takeaway menu…

The bill (for two)
4x soft drinks QR43
Cocktail samosas QR24
Murg tikka lababdar QR45
Tandoori jhinga nisha QR70
Dal makhani QR30
Basmati rice QR18
Pudhina paratha QR6
Gulab jamun QR20
Matke se pista kulfi QR20
Total QR276