The New Maharajah's Indian Restaurant

Last night I ate at the New Maharajah's Indian Restaurant on Forrest Road. I'd suggested Kebab Mahal but my dining partners did not like the look of the place, and more especially the fact that it doesn't sell alcohol... My Chicken Madras was nice enough (not a patch on Kebab Mahal!) but the whole experience gave me a headache!

Edinburgh was pretty busy yesterday for a Sunday, the Heineken Cup Final was happening at Murrayfield, Rangers were playing Hibs at Easter Road and improbably ended up winning the SPL and today it seems we are celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday with a local holiday.

Anyway, some of the rugby crowd were indulging in good humoured singing in the restaurant and after a while the management tried to calm it down by putting on some background music. This ill-fated strategy led to a battle of who could be loudest; the singers or the cd. At first it seemed the singers were winning but then in a shifty wee manoeuvre the cd volume was upped considerably. The singers refused to admit defeat however and managed to persuade a couple of other tables to join in the bonhommie. A rendition of Amarillo followed and much standing on chairs. The CD volume is hiked again. Why? I've no idea. The table of ladies behind me gave angry glances. The waiters let their efficiency drop totally. This was now damage control; keep the singers spending money, don't let everyone else get too annoyed.

The restaurant then played its trump card. It didn't work but how were they to know that nobody would appreciate Shakira at 140 decibels?

Posted by Paul in Eating Out Edinburgh at May 23, 2005 01:11 PM