Review
Khan Tandoori is a traditional Indian and Pakistani on Watergate Street in Navan, just as it intersects with the main Dublin - Cavan road. The restaurant is in a traditional building, which may once have been a shop or an imposing house. Now it is prettily decorated with lights, while two picture windows on either side of the front door make it look like an inviting old house, with customers dining where the parlour and drawing room would have been.
I have passed by many times and have always meant to stop, but circumstances didn't allow. I finally made it, and inside it is warm and welcoming, and quite traditional. If you are looking for cool and contemporary, this isn't the place; it's traditional and cosy and the staff couldn't be friendlier. The chairs are heavy and well upholstered, and there are some Indian artefacts dotted about, while traditional music plays softly in the background.
The menu is thankfully short - voluminous tomes listing every possible combination just annoy me. All the classics are represented here, and you will find a combination of dishes to suit most tastes and palates. Prices are reasonable, with starters around €6 or €7 and main courses in the mid teens.
I was eating alone; a sick wife and busy daughter left me as Billy no mates, so I tried a few of the tandoori starters; the lamb chop, jumbo prawns and the crab claws. The lamb was tender and delicately flavoured, while the prawns were barely spiced, letting the flavour of the fish through. They were perfectly cooked, still soft and juicy, and not the least bit rubbery, which can happen so easy with prawns in the high heat of a Tandoor. The crab claws unfortunately were overdone, but just a little, and I defy anyone to get this right every time. It was a very pleasant start to the meal and I looked forward to more.
The main course brought a selection of dishes. The Khans curry is a mixture of meat and seafood in a medium sauce, and it's well balanced and delicately flavoured. The Aloo Gobi was excellent, just as it should be and tasting of fresh ginger. Lamb tikka was spicy and rich, while chicken biryani was lightly spiced and came with a lentil sauce. Two Naan bread, one cheese and one garlic, were both thin and crisp, while a stuffed paratha push me over the edge.
I finished with a mango lassi, and a little Indian doughnut in honey, which were both very good.
I enjoyed Khan’s quite a lot; they are doing a great job of traditional Pakistani and Indian food in a sea of fusion fumbles. It's charming and relaxing, and there was nothing I didn't like.
