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Poppadoms and dips
Fine dining
Sizzling chicken tandoori on the left, beside the flaming chicken curry
Stylish interior decoration
Sweet and delicious modhu curry
Garlic naan
Mixed sharing platter
REVIEW Taj of Corfe Mullen
218 Wareham Road, Corfe Mullen By Luke Graham. Meal provided courtesy of Taj of Corfe Mullen. Photos © Dorset View For over 25 years, Taj of Corfe Mullen has been serving top-quality Indian and Bengali cuisine and classic curries to the people of Dorset. To celebrate this silver anniversary, proprietor Taj Islam invited me and my wife to come and try the food for ourselves. Established in 2000, the restaurant is a family-owned operation: Taj’s older brother is the chef, while his son and nephew work frontof-house. In fact, the Islam family run several restaurants all around Dorset. They originally opened Wimborne Tandoori all the way back in 1981. More recently, they opened Westbourne Tandoori last September. Stepping into Taj of Corfe Mullen, I was struck by the stylish interior, which featured several paintings and warm colours. The restaurant is divided into three areas: a raised platform looking out into Corfe Mullen, an open-plan area perfect for parties and large groups — the restaurant is popular with local curry clubs — and booths for a more intimate dining experience. As we browsed the menu, we shared an entrée of poppadoms with dips, including sweet and tasty mango chutney and mint yoghurt, a yummy onion salad and a spicy chilli pickle. We then had the mixed sharing platter for our starter, to sample a range of options served by the venue. This was excellent. The chicken and lamb tikka were cooked to perfection: succulent, tender and a lovely amount of spice. The onion bhaji was crispy and tasty, while the deep-fried mushroom was delicious. For our mains, we went with some recommendations from Taj and his team. My wife almost always has a mild korma (she cannot handle hot spices), but instead tried the modhu from the signature dish section of the menu. This tasted incredible. Chicken cooked in mild spices as well as honey and coconut with a little bit of cream. Very similar to a traditional korma but with a deeper flavour and beautifully sweet
with the addition of honey. An absolute delight. I was thrilled to try the sizzling tandoori chicken. Grilled on charcoal in the restaurant’s specialilty clay oven, it is brought out of the kitchen on a trolley, still spitting and smoking, and dished up at the table with onions and other sides. This was a fun bit of showmanship, which made dining in at Taj of Corfe Mullen a real treat. The chicken itself tasted great. A medium spicy heat, full of flavour and incredibly well cooked. I can’t handle very spicy curries like naga and jalfrezi (as much as I’d like to) but I like a bit of heat and this was perfect. More showmanship was on display when we were surprised with a flaming chicken curry. Served in foil surrounded by a ring of fire, this looked fantastic. Once the flames had died down, the curry itself more than matched the spectacle. Served in a tomatoey sauce with green peppers and onions, the meat was succulent and spicy, with a deep, rich flavour. A definite highlight of the meal. The menu has a full range of side options. We went for egg fried rice which tasted great, while I had a garlic naan. This was light, fluffy and buttery — absolutely delicious. We were also served cooked aubergine with paneer (a soft Indian cheese). This tasted incredible. The aubergine was soft and delicate, while the paneer was chewy and nutty; it had a similar taste and texture as halloumi. Combined, the flavour was marvellous. There’s a full range of drinks available from the restaurant’s bar, but personally I don’t think anything tastes better with curry than a draught pint of Cobra, which I thoroughly enjoyed with my meal. Taj of Corfe Mullen has been in business for 25 years thanks to top service and excellent food. Based on our delicious meal, here’s to another 25 years. Cheers!
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DORSET VIEW January 2026
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