RAJ'S CURRY HOUSE
Queens Rd, Sigatoka, Fiji
Visited: 11th August 2014
Design: You know you are in a good neighbourhood when the front of your shop has to be caged in as well as your bar (inside) the restaurant. Raj's Curry House, where do I begin? As we arrived in Sigatoka for dinner we were warned by the taxi driver to be careful as Sigatoka had just beaten Suva in a major rugby match and the locals were known to go a little crazy with a win, (kind of like English soccer hooligans, but Fijian). Ok, I can roll with that. We then spotted the cages on the front window, that's reassuring. We made our way through the cage door only to find we were the only customers where we were then lead into a separate room off the restaurant that felt like an interrogation room in Colombia. Now I feel relaxed.
So let's get back to the door. The wire was a solid steel fencing wire welded onto steel bars. All locally made, you have to give it to them for supporting local business. Company's will customize your cage to fit each window. Brillant! There was a decent padlock and bolt to keep unwanted hands out. A nice design touch I found was the safety hole on the right door for mail or having a safe conversation from behind the wire with a potential customer, (owners discretion) was replicated with a small metal panel to the bottom left. I quite liked the fact that the wire pattern replicated the red tiles, (seamless) and the red tiles complimented the Coke sign which Raj had made an important part of the sign. Once entering through the cage door, (which had nice squeak to it) you come to the main door. An aluminium framed two panel that was simple with some 70's inspired wood laminate panels across the centre added a nice touch. Easy on the push with a manual close, there was a slight squeak on the open and close. I did find the entry width of the doors a little narrow but on hot balmy nights they apparently both open and lock in, to give you ultimate space on entry.
All in all, despite its appearance from the outside it was clean, simple and uncluttered and even though there was the smashing of bottles and yelling out on the streets and a thumping bar coming through the walls when you were in the toilet. The food was some of the best Indian I have had in a long time and the service exceptional. Vinaka Raj.
So let's get back to the door. The wire was a solid steel fencing wire welded onto steel bars. All locally made, you have to give it to them for supporting local business. Company's will customize your cage to fit each window. Brillant! There was a decent padlock and bolt to keep unwanted hands out. A nice design touch I found was the safety hole on the right door for mail or having a safe conversation from behind the wire with a potential customer, (owners discretion) was replicated with a small metal panel to the bottom left. I quite liked the fact that the wire pattern replicated the red tiles, (seamless) and the red tiles complimented the Coke sign which Raj had made an important part of the sign. Once entering through the cage door, (which had nice squeak to it) you come to the main door. An aluminium framed two panel that was simple with some 70's inspired wood laminate panels across the centre added a nice touch. Easy on the push with a manual close, there was a slight squeak on the open and close. I did find the entry width of the doors a little narrow but on hot balmy nights they apparently both open and lock in, to give you ultimate space on entry.
All in all, despite its appearance from the outside it was clean, simple and uncluttered and even though there was the smashing of bottles and yelling out on the streets and a thumping bar coming through the walls when you were in the toilet. The food was some of the best Indian I have had in a long time and the service exceptional. Vinaka Raj.
Door resistance: 2
Closure mechanism: Manual
Draft: Medium
Squeak level: 3
Change return time: 48 sec
The thing I loved about this place is that there was consistency right through to bar. It kind of puts a little edge on your dinning experience when you have a waitress serving you drinks through a cage. MOOODY!!!!!!!! Kick in Phil Collin's, "I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord".
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