Restaurant review: GTR by Papa J

James Cameron heads out to Harpenden for a new addition to the town’s Asian offerings…

Although GTR (Grand Trunk Road) is a new arrival on the Harpednen High Street, it has been going in one form or another for 22 years so they are definitely not restaurant novices.

They recently moved from Luton to Harpenden, a rise up the civic social ladder so severe I’m surprised they don’t all have whiplash.

You can tell when you walk into GTR (Grand Theft Redbourn) that it’s a bit different to your standard curry house. The uncovered tables and loud music give it more of a bar or café vibe.

The lighting was slightly odd, like the Moon there was a light and dark side so you had your choice of atmospheric or being able to see what you’re eating.

One of my favourite things about GTR (Govia Thameslink Railway) was the menu. It was extensive with some interesting and non-standard options, but best of all each item had pithy little descriptions, like it had been written by Raymond Carver. Possibly Jack Kerouac, give the road theme.

This theme extended to some of the dish names, so we started with the Checkpoint, a selection of different papads with ‘Three Chutneys of the Road’.

The papads were a large basket consisting of both shards of your classic poppadom and what reminded me of giant (non-cheesy) vari-coloured Quavers. Dips were equally varied and interesting, with the usual mango but also berry and carrot chutneys. The berry was definitely my favourite, with a delicious and unusual sweet and spicy flavour. Ratios were slightly off, with a giant basket of papads dwarfing the small bowls of dip, though we needn’t have worried as these were replenished when they got low.

When ordering we were given the option to choose our spice level, a fantastic feature when dining with people of different levels of tolerance/ravaged tastebuds. I was so impressed with the range of the menu that I did something I rarely do, though might in the future, and asked the waitress to recommend something. She suggested Highway Dhaba Lamb, a slow cooked dish served on the bone, which was enough to convince me but what actually arrived was Lamb Rogan Gosh.

The mistake was dealt with admirably, I was allowed to keep the erroneous Rogan Gosh and the actual dish arrived soon after. This allowed me to taste one dish, which was lovely, before feeling smug about my (or rather the server’s) choice as the Dhaba Lamb was even nicer. The meat was soft and succulent, fully infused with the flavour of the thick and rich sauce. It was luxurious gloopiness.

Allergens were well marked on the menu, and the server took it all very seriously, though there wasn’t an abundance of vegan choices. I was slightly surprised to see Manchurian vegetable balls listed as I thought Manchuria was in China (or possibly in a galaxy far far away), but I am all for pulling down the false borders of nationhood, especially when eating. They were lovely little sticky deep-fried vegetable balls, bringing to mind sweet and sour with occasional hits of lemongrass.

The Daal we ordered, like the lamb, had its roots in the Dhaba, the roadside cafés that underpin GTR’s (General Theory of Relativity’s) approach. We ordered it mild, but it still had a bit of a kick to it and was rich and smoky. Per the menu it was tempered twice, though we could only taste it once. We had a Tandoori Roti on the side which was not too impressive, reminding me of supermarket own label wholemeal bread.

There were plenty of wines and cocktails on offer, but what excited me was that along with Kingfisher they had an IPA on tap. This was a really crisp and refreshing accompaniment to the food. It was called Bombay Bicycle IPA, though whether this was named after the indie band, the restaurant chain or cyclists on the subcontinent is unclear.

After our meal we were offered strangely lukewarm towels, then had very refreshing mint tea (though it would have been even better served from a pot).

Throughout the meal the staff were attentive and supportive, and the delicious food arrived with refreshing regularity. Prices are very reasonable (£10-15 for a main), and portions are more than ample.

I felt very guilty at the end with how much food was left, though this was largely due to the bonus dish, and it would have been no less wasted if I had forced it into my already complaining stomach.

Though there are a few areas that could be tightened up, we had a lovely visit, and any hungry Harpendinians should get themselves down to GTR (Got to Run).