Raja's Indian Restaurant & Bar holds a 4.5 star Google rating from its diners, and you'll find it at 9/309 Botany Rd in Botany Downs, Manukau City, Auckland.
A good Indian restaurant is judged on the depth of its sauces: spices toasted and ground in the kitchen give curries a layered warmth rather than blunt heat, and most kitchens will cook to your heat preference if you ask. The smart way to order is across the table — two or three dishes shared with rice and breads fresh from the tandoor. Vegetarian dishes are a genuine strength of the cuisine rather than an afterthought, and where a bar is attached, a cold beer or a mango lassi is the traditional answer to a fiery vindaloo.
For Botany Downs locals, Raja's puts a well-rated Indian meal — and a bar to match — right on Botany Rd in east Auckland.