Black Sheep Restaurants’ Anglo-Indian establishment at The Peak needs no harbour view to make it work
The Peak Galleria is in its final stages of revamping, vacating the tired, old arcade and replacing tourists traps with a handful of restaurants such as Dining Concepts’ relocated Bread Street Kitchen and The Food Story’s 37 Steakhouse. Black Sheep Restaurants is staking claim at the new address with Rajasthan Rifles, an Anglo-Indian restaurant.
Located on the ground floor of the newly refurbished arcade, a stone’s throw from the vantage point overlooking the Victoria harbour, Rajasthan Rifles is not just about having the view. It is a family-friendly casual fine dining restaurant with a narrative and history to it. We were greeted at the door by service staffed dressed in army uniform, embodying officers from a regiment as we enter the elongated dining room. The abundance of wood reminds us of a tavern, a gathering place where soldiers relax over food and wine. The best tables, though evenly spaced across the space, are the ones along the perimeter of the space, accompanied by plush sofas and square tables fit for a party of four, Smaller tables for two and three, however, may seem too small to hold food and drink at the same time.
Rajasthan Rifles’ menu offers all-day dining options that fuse British and Indian cuisines, harmoniously blending both in their finest form. A platter of pappas, three varieties of crisps made with rice and lentils respectively, were served with homemade sweet mango chutney. The rice pappas were paper thin but it’s the spicy lentils one that work best with the jammy mango chutney. We began our meal with the restaurant’s signature club sandwich. Served stacked on a metal skewer in the same manner as a shish kebab, the portion certainly serves more than two guests. Toasted white bread sandwiched a melange of ingredients, from chicken tikka to masala omelette, while celery, white English cheddar and tomato chutney worked their magic complimenting each other. Fat-cut chips were served with a sprinkle of masala spices, but it is the hot tomato sauce on the side that beat the traditional ketchup.
