Images: Charlotte Griffiths
Charlotte Griffiths checks out Great Shelford’s much-lauded curry house
There are few meals finer than a slap-up curry feast, particularly when there’s a chill in the air – and Cambridge boasts plenty of options to tempt spice-lovers away from their sofas and out into the night. Just south of the city in the pretty commuter village of Great Shelford lies Zara Indian Cuisine, a contemporary-styled eatery which continually sets the bar extremely high for other restaurants in the same ballpark. 
Nestled in the same long and low building as Shelford train station, Zara’s menus promise a sophisticated but relaxed dining experience with a creative take on “traditional” curry dishes. But don’t just take their word for it: the team has won multiple national awards for their food, including runner-up, finalist and even overall winner in the British Curry Awards and English Curry Awards pretty much every year since 2013, and regularly receives rave reviews from happy diners who’ve succumbed to the restaurant’s winning ways.
The exceptionally friendly front-of-house team welcomed us in from the drizzle and swiftly presented our table with a rustling heap of poppadoms, accompanied by chutneys and pickles (which can so often go wrong, but in this case were splendidly well-judged) before telling us that they’d bring us a selection of their favourite dishes for us to tuck into.
We kicked off with an “assorted Indian” – a flavoursome onion bhaji, a sheek kebab and tender pieces of chicken tikka – and a plate of Shahi king prawns, cooked in a tandoor oven with green peppers and tomatoes, which were judged as “juicy” by my dining companion. These were swiftly cleared before a whole array of curries, rices and vegetable sides appeared on our table, almost completely obscuring the crisp tablecloth.
“Everything was fresh, delicately balanced and hugely flavourful”
Our waiter talked us through the highlights: a honey-and-cashew-coated sweet Moducash chicken dish, paneer shashlick – where the fresh-made cheese is marinated in a mix of herbs then barbecued with onions, peppers and tomatoes – chicken Al Badami, a luxurious mango curry that’s finished with a slick of cream, and a bright green masala curry, heavy with coriander and packing a punch of chili heat. Among the accompaniments were an aromatic bowl of lime-spiked rice dotted with chickpeas, a glossy aubergine bhajee and an irresistibly wafer-light naan bread. Everything was fresh, delicately balanced and hugely flavourful, and there wasn’t a duff dish in sight. It’s easy to see why Zara wins so many accolades.
We did look up from our plates every so often: the restaurant’s modern and bright interior was an extremely pleasant place to while away a couple of hours, but if verticality feels slightly challenging then Zara also offers a full takeaway service with a 10{b486c5a37ab2d325d17e17d701cb2567b1ecd1814e8ceb33effa2a4f1f171d46} discount on the bill. Tactically-minded commuters – and this breed do tend to be exceptional planners – on a return trip from Liverpool Street could call ahead (I’d suggest Harlow Town as the point at which to place an order) then hop off the train to collect a piping-hot evening feast.
Our assault on the food mountain slowed to a heavy crawl, and the front-of-house kindly put us out of our misery by clearing our table of the remnants before delivering the short but sweet dessert menu. The neat list tempted with a sticky toffee pudding and a traditional mango kulfi, but our over-indulgent enthusiasm for the mains left us deciding to resist the final course’s charms. Other nearby tables did not hold back, and seemed extremely pleased with their feasts’
finale. We finished our meal with a pinch of sugared fennel seeds and waved goodbye to the Zara team before strolling out into the Shelfords, completely satiated and planning a return trip very soon.
What: This excellent Indian restaurant is housed in a restored station house and has been serving delicious Indian food since 2007.
Where: 1 Hinton Way, Great Shelford
How Much: Starters from £3.50 and main courses between £6.50 for a vegetable and mushroom korma and £12.95 for a king prawn sagwala.
