RESTAURANT REVIEW : Remodeled Raja Upfront About Its Tandoori Oven

I was at the newly remodeled Raja recently when I realized that the tandoori oven is surely one of life’s great metaphors. In Raja’s front dining room, there’s a strategically placed window so that you can peek into the kitchen--and directly into the mouth of the tandoor: a black, fiery hole in a pristine, white-tile countertop. It is not a beckoning sight. And yet everything that goes down into that forbidding inferno comes out, well, miraculously transformed.

Take Raja’s tandoori swordfish. It emerges from the oven in big bright red bricks that sizzle and sputter all the way across the dining room to our table. The fish is luscious, juicy, smoky, spicy--certainly some of the best swordfish I’ve eaten. Even the accompanying hot onions and lemons have an aromatic smokiness. Other meats from the oven--the spicy minced lamb, the chicken--are equally savory and succulent. The naan bread, too, comes from the tandoor all bubbly, chewy and fragrant.

While the tandoor alone is reason enough to visit Raja, its recent and elegant remodeling certainly enhances the experience. The walls are a pale turmeric yellow, the lighting precise and pleasing, the new pale wooden chairs stylish and comfortable. There are gently stated, architectural design flourishes like oxidized metal beams and a round, turret-like entryway with small rectangular window niches. And there are a few treasures well-displayed on the walls: an old stringed instrument with fraying bow, four turbans, a camel saddle. Sitar music mews sinuously at a low volume.

The staff is calm, attentive and polite, which further attenuates the civilized ambience. Whenever I thanked one particular young waiter for something, he would quietly and quite sweetly say, “Yes.”

The cuisine is from Northern India, which means that most Indian food buffs will find the familiar range of samosas , pakoras , saags , vindaloos and biryanis . Raja’s cooking, however, is on the lush side. Portions are generous and the food is rich.

Except for one flaky, bland samosa and some dreamy lamb sausage, the appetizers on Raja’s Indian hors d’oeuvres plate were rather ordinary battered and fried vegetables. They were jazzed up with especially tasty tamarind and mint sauces and some savagely hot and good onion chutney.

We were very pleased with the lamb saagwalla , tender chunks of lamb in a lively spinach puree. And the bartha , tandoor-roasted eggplant with tomatoes and onions, was also heavenly. Both, however, were swimming in ghee (clarified butter), which made it impossible to eat generous amounts of the dishes without feeling a little glutted or cloyed. The meal two of us ordered--three dishes, bread and raita-- could easily have fed four people. As one friend said, “These dishes make me feel like I’m eating dessert.” Also rich and recommended are the melai kofta , fluffy cheese balls in a thick pale orange sauce. My personal favorite was a bhindi masala , okra with tomatoes, cumin and bright kicky spices.

To counter the ghee , we found a quenching raita of good creamy yogurt and grated cucumber, and “Indian” salad of tomato, cucumber and onions in a refreshing spiced vinegar.

The desserts themselves tend to be less rich than the entrees. The warm gulab jamun were like comforting, friendly affection in food form. The rice pudding was nutty and almost as texturally pleasing as tapioca. The house-made fresh mango ice cream topped with mango puree was pretty and fresh-tasting and not too sweet.

On weekdays during lunchtime, Raja offers a good, varied buffet for $7.95. For the lovely room, the kind service and the opportunities to peer into a tandoor and sit in proximity to a finely wrought camel saddle, this is a true bargain.

Raja, 8875 W. Pico Blvd., West Los Angeles. (213) 247-8779 and 550-9176. Open seven days for lunch, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; dinner Sunday through Thursday, 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m. Beer and wine. Major credit cards accepted. Dinner for two, food only, $20-$33.