Rimjhim – full of Indian style

2:27pm Friday 25th January 2008

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We've all experienced Indian restaurants but Rimjhim offers a complete modern take on the popular cuisine.

You'll immediately notice that the traditional décor of rich opulent colours and velour seating has made way for a much more contemporary look of wooden floors, soft blue lighting and stylish leather seating.

And it's not just the décor that offers a welcome change.

The extensive menu is made up from a number of contemporary mouth-watering dishes and curries along with the option of the usual komas, birianis which can be prepared on request for those who simply can't break with tradition!

Rimjhim owner Abdul Tarafder already runs a hugely popular restaurant of the same name in Colden Common and decided to relocate his second from Southampton's Canute Road to Winchester, keeping the two restaurants close.

The new Rimjhim restaurant, which has only been open for a month, seems like its already a hit with the locals.

I recently visited on a weekday evening in early January expecting it to be quiet but the restaurant was over half full with hungry diners despite being able to seat upto 100 customers at one time.

After being shown to our table the friendly waiter suggested we may like to order poppadoms while we looked over the menu and what a good piece of advise as both myself and my companion were overwhelmed by the extensiveness of the menu.

This was surely going to put my renowned bad decision-making to the test!

After changing our minds several times we both made our final decisions and ordered before we had time to change our minds again.

I opted for the Harryali kebab - chicken breast pieces dusted with garlic mint green chilli and coriander then lightly chargrilled.

My companion went for a more unusual choice of rabbit tikka - diced pieces of rabbit spiced to perfection and concentrated with basil, coriander, chilli and lemon juice then cooked in the wood fired tandoor.

Both dishes were beautifully presented and delicious in taste that no sooner had they arrived at our table the empty plates were being taken away.

We both opted for seafood for our main course. I went for the tandoori grilled king prawn - grilled king prawns marinated in caramelised onion and cinnamon then finished in almond based saffron sauce.

This dish was stunning with the large prawns full of flavour and cooked to perfection with the sweet sauce complimenting the dish beautifully.

My companion decided to go for the pan-grilled lobster - beautifully matured with special spice to make it juicy and lightly grilled layered on a mouth-watering sauce of coriander, basil and spring onion served with aubergine mash.

Again this dish - another good size portion - was a delight.

To accompany our mains we ordered a portion of steamed rice along with a cheese and chilli nann bread to share.

We decided to complete the evening with a dessert. I went for the mint chocolate ice cream while my companion chose the Baileys brulee.

Both the food and service were fantastic this is a restaurant we will definitely be visiting again.

shelly fountain Rimjhim, 1 City Road, Winchester. Tel: 01962 868352 or visit: www.rimjhim.co.uk