Oxford, 4500 miles from Dehli
We sampled the fine dining evening menu at 4500 miles from Dehli recently. The restaurant is only a few hundred yards from Oxford Railway station in Parkend Street (there is another branch in Bristol). We enjoyed an impressive spicy meal, beautifully presented, in a relaxed atmosphere.
The restaurant uses chefs from Dehli and devotes itself to this region’s cuisine, using only the finest freshest ingredients to replicate its flavours – the menu has a guide to the heat of each meal (a one two or three chilli grade) to ease you into the near Thai standard of spiciness involved!
Our starters were the chicken shashlick, the chicken malai tikka, and home-made poppadum with dips. The vibrancy of the marinated chicken was matched by its tender textures; there was mellow fruit and spice in the accompanying sauces that could be cooled further by the raita and salad accompaniment.
For main course we selected king prawn tak a tak, chicken bemisaal, and hydrabadi lamb. These we sampled each in order of escalating spice and we were rewarded with intense hits of precise flavours.
The Prawn tak a tak was fresh and clean in the cooking of the prawns and peppers to succulent al dente, which was matched by the background richness of the sauces in the chicken and lamb dishes that had been slowly simmered and prepared to perfection. The chicken bemisaal was tender, with a broad hint of dried chilli to punctuate the fragrant tomato sauce flavoured with garlic cinnamon and clove. Our favourite however was the lamb dish – the hydrabadi lamb was really tender and melted in the mouth mingling with the rich heat and savouriness of the background gravy flavoured with garlic cardamom ginger and (new to us) kewra essence. We accompanied the meal with a bottle of cobra beer and water which balanced the chilli well.
Although there were busy tables at the other side of the restaurant with lively crowds we could unwind and enjoy our meal in an intimate atmosphere with friendly attentive staff checking on us regularly but not obtrusively. The kitchens were open plan and the head chef could be seen periodically as he supervised the evening menus. There was another couple, clearly regulars, who received dish after dish at their table, alternately sizzling in kaharis or steaming in round pots, that suggested the menu held yet more intriguing surprises! Next time perhaps we could try these out…
More info and bookings at 4500 miles from Dehli website.
Our starters were the chicken shashlick, the chicken malai tikka, and home-made poppadum with dips. The vibrancy of the marinated chicken was matched by its tender textures; there was mellow fruit and spice in the accompanying sauces that could be cooled further by the raita and salad accompaniment.
For main course we selected king prawn tak a tak, chicken bemisaal, and hydrabadi lamb. These we sampled each in order of escalating spice and we were rewarded with intense hits of precise flavours.
The Prawn tak a tak was fresh and clean in the cooking of the prawns and peppers to succulent al dente, which was matched by the background richness of the sauces in the chicken and lamb dishes that had been slowly simmered and prepared to perfection. The chicken bemisaal was tender, with a broad hint of dried chilli to punctuate the fragrant tomato sauce flavoured with garlic cinnamon and clove. Our favourite however was the lamb dish – the hydrabadi lamb was really tender and melted in the mouth mingling with the rich heat and savouriness of the background gravy flavoured with garlic cardamom ginger and (new to us) kewra essence. We accompanied the meal with a bottle of cobra beer and water which balanced the chilli well.
Although there were busy tables at the other side of the restaurant with lively crowds we could unwind and enjoy our meal in an intimate atmosphere with friendly attentive staff checking on us regularly but not obtrusively. The kitchens were open plan and the head chef could be seen periodically as he supervised the evening menus. There was another couple, clearly regulars, who received dish after dish at their table, alternately sizzling in kaharis or steaming in round pots, that suggested the menu held yet more intriguing surprises! Next time perhaps we could try these out…
More info and bookings at 4500 miles from Dehli website.
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