I was told about Raja Café’s impressive Culinary heritage & we liked food that they served – Inspite of a decline from the time it was a ‘Legendary Restaurant’. It is surely not the best in its category in the current day but surely worth a visit.
the entrance
Meal for 2: Rs. 600 onwards
Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
I had heard a lot about this place from friends who had visited Khajuraho before – ( 8 – 10 yrs back). As I started chatting with people in Khajuraho, many mentioned the Legend of Raja Café – started by a European couple & used be be a superb place to eat & hang out….in those days. I was also told that it was much better earlier than today.
I was pleasantly surprised as I entered the place. Very nice & casual décor – options to sit outside as well as inside the a/c dining hall. There are two entrance gates on two sides & they r beautifully done. The ‘sit outside’ section has beautiful Garden chairs & the area was dimly lit. The ‘sit inside’ area was brightly lit – good for me coz better lighting means better food snaps. Before coming to this place I thought it wud b plastic chairs & tables like Mediterraneo & other eateries in Khajuraho but it turned out to be pleasantly different.
A view of Raja cafe from outside the gate – open seating section in the front & indoor seating in the background
The staff member who served us was good, quite prompt & served us with a smiling face. He handled our queries (about the menu) well. I wud say that he was as good as one cud get in this part of country.
They had quite a huge menu card – ‘Fresh from our Bakery’ section starts with apple pie, croissants, muffins, lemon tart, Brownie etc. drinks like different kinds of coffee including the likes of cappuccino hazelnut, different kinds of tea, many options of shakes, vegetarian & non vegetarian club sandwiches, the usual list of beverages, Indian, Continental & English breakfast, omelets of diff kind – European & indian, Chinese soups & main course, a huge section of continental – 16 to 18 dishes & a list of North Indian approximate 10 vegetarian & 10 nonvegetarian options. In Tandoori section they had approximately 12 diff tikkas, nans & kababs. Apart from this they offered 4 kinds of south indian dosas. For desserts one cud choose from a long list of pancakes, waffles, banana flambé & banana fritters. They also had Indian Fixed menu & the most interesting named item – ‘European thali’ (grilled mixed veg, pasta with tomato sauce, rice pudding, mashed potato)
the menu card
The large menu was very balanced menu with almost equal number of vegetarian & nonvegetarian food on offer in each section.
Food was good but not outstanding. Good place to spend some time & eat some good food when in Khajuraho – Food at Mediterraneo was far better.
Detailed Description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
Superb unstoppable chatpata dhaga kababs in a neat & clean tiny ‘hole in the wall’- something that is not worth a miss – my tastebuds gave the kababs a standing ovation.
YUMM dhaga kabab – streetfood near jama masjid, Delhi
Address & other Details: Get into the lane perpendicular to Gate no. 1 of Jama Masjid. Keep walking till u reach a ‘y’ point. Take the road on the left – almost in the same direction as u were walking. U will find Mohd. Shakir, the current owner of the stall, making kababs on ur right hand side from a neat & clean white ‘hole in the wall’. U may also call 01123244205, 9899362993 – I am not confident though that someone will respond.
Shakir bhai’s – one man show
The smartest thing to do is to take a rickshaw & entrust him with all the above details. U shud be there in not much time.
Meal for 2:Rs. 60 onwards (each kabab for Rs. 6)
Cuisine Type: Nonvegetarian
Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:
Its a ‘one man show’ – Shakir Bhai, as he is known here, sits on a low platform with a neat & clean metal sigri (barbeque) & sells what he calls ‘dhaga kababs’ (dhaga means thread). When he is not around, his brother is the solo guy.
He has a thick bunch of leaves that look like paan leaves stacked on one side. On the other, he has a ‘gumla’ (vessel) full of spiced up meat paste. Almost mechanically he picks up some paste, rolls it around the sheekh, wraps it up with a cotton thread & tears off the thread with such ease & speed as if it were no thread, puts it on the barbeque, adjusts the coal, fans the barbeque, rotates the kababs so that they cook uniformly, served the same on a plate, takes the money, returns the change & also takes back the ‘used plate’ !!!!!!!
Kababs – in the making
He uses charcoal to fire the barbeque & the ‘sheekhs’ (metal rods) used by him for making the kabab are thick & made of steel.
He also caters to Marriages & parties in which case the offering widens – sheekh kabab, shami kabab, chicken, fish & paneer tikka, chicken & fish fry & also rumali roti. I am sure those are made at his home & delivered.
He told us very casually that the shop has been around since ‘before 1947’ but I spotted maybe the sense of ‘accomplishment’ in his eyes. As we started chatting up with him, we found that he has been doing this himself for last 22 years (he was in school then) – started with assisting his father.
one more shot of the one man kabab shop
Needless to say, the kabab was outstanding.
Detailed description – In case u have the time to njoy reading:
I have been hearing about this from a friend of mine who has been going here from his college days. So, we decided to venture out with him on a weekend.
After reaching here, we saw a line of small food shops in the dark. It remined me of Chatori Gali Bhopal, but surely a smaller version of the same. Shop sizes started from a ‘hole in the wall’ to normal shops to an airconditioned small shop. Most of the shops were offering kababs, rolls, momos, shawarmas & other snacky items. The airconditioned shop in the corner offered chicken & mutton curries, fish tikkas & of course huge variety of kababs. One shop in another corner was struggling to serve chaat & pani puri to endless customers. A fruit juice stall was selling banta in addition to fruit juice. Another tiny shop was serving as the dessert point for everyone else – He was selling ice creams & softies.
The posh crowds of South Delhi were pouring in to grab a bite – young, old, families, couples, single people, stag groups, the rich & the striving & so on ……..U cud see all kinds of cars in the parking from Marutis to Mercs. Quite a leveller of a place, I must say.
Almost nothing that we ate here wud classify as ‘the best I have ever had’ but some wud end up maybe among the top 5 in their respective categories. Loved the food here & look forward to getting here more often.
Detailed Description – In case u have time to enjoy reading:
If u want to treat ur non Indian/ NRI guests to Indian food, this is a really great option. If u want to delve deep into the various kinds of kababs (under the same roof) that r popular in India, this is the place to be. If u want ur kababs to be made with the best ingredients in a healthy manner, this is the place to be – The Great Kabab factory offers u a multitude of great Kababs in an excellent environment & very warm service.
4 excellent chutneys / sauces to go with kababs - I do not eat sauces with Kababs though
However, if u happen to b an Indian foodie like YUMMRAJ (who just goes by the taste of food – not ambience, not service, not anything else), u wud say – The Great Kabab Factory is a ‘jack of all trades but master of none’. So, U wud rather prefer to sweat it out in the lanes & bylanes of Chandni Chowk or Kolkata or Lucknow to get a better deal for ur tastebuds.
buttermilk served 'on the house' to help digest the plethora of kababs
Great kabab factory is a very good ‘one stop shop’ for Kababs – One has to order for a vegetarian or non-vegetarian option & different kababs keep coming in till the time you can eat ……and all this at a fixed price. While the Galawati kababs of Tunday’s in Lucknow are surely better & the Burrah kabab of Karim’s is surely better, the Great Kabab Factory serves all such things with reasonably good taste, under the same roof, in a nice ambience. The Tandoori prawn kababs are a real show stopper here. This bombardment of kababs is followed by two nice daals, an ordinary subzi, a very aromatic but stupid tasting biryani & tandoori roti. An elaborate dessert follows this………… overall, an excellent place to taste multiple kababs under one roof in a nice ambience – Each of these are very good but none of them are the best in their respective categories
