Maharaja Indian Restaurant and Bar serves classic Indian dishes from the old Papanui train station building on Restell Street, Christchurch — a contemporary dining space with traditional accents, housing a restaurant and cocktail bar in one. The kitchen works the tandoor hard: Chicken Tikka, Kesari Chicken Kebab, Seekh Kebab and the house specialty Lamb Chop Nawabi, plus naan in a dozen variations from peshwari to jalapeño and cheddar.
The curry list runs through all the classics — butter chicken, chicken korma, rogan josh, lamb bhuna, Goan-style vindaloos and prawn or fish specials — with biryanis in chicken, lamb, beef, goat or vegetable, and a genuinely full vegetarian menu built around homemade paneer. A dedicated gluten-free section spans most of the menu, and many dishes can be made dairy-free on request.
Tuesdays bring Wine & Curry Night from 5pm — your curry with basmati rice, freshly baked naan and a glass of wine at a set per-person price — while the team also caters weddings, birthdays and other celebrations, from grazing plates to live cooking. Open 12pm till late, seven days a week, with online ordering and gift vouchers. Restaurant Guru listed Maharaja as Recommended in 2021.
Maharaja Indian Restaurant and Bar occupies the old Papanui train station building on Restell Street, Christchurch, and it makes the most of the setting: a contemporary dining room with traditional Indian accents, a full cocktail bar, and a kitchen turning out the classics — butter chicken, tikka masala, rogan josh, biryani — alongside fresh naan. The restaurant's own promise is simple: it's the real Indian, and you'll feel like royalty.
The menu follows the familiar arc of a great Indian feast. Entrées run from crisp onion bhaji with homemade mint sauce to pyramid-shaped vegetable or lamb samosas, prawn pakora, and a tandoor selection featuring Chicken Tikka, Kesari Chicken Kebab, Seekh Kebab and the Lamb Chop Nawabi — a specialty of the house, marinated overnight in yoghurt and spices before meeting the clay oven. Sharing platters for two, papadoms and a naan platter with the full set of dips make group starts easy.
The mains list is deep. Chicken appears as Butter Chicken, Mango Chicken, Chicken Korma — a recipe traced to the Moghuls, built on saffron, almonds and cashews — and a medium-to-hot Jalfrezi. Lamb comes as Saagh Gosht with fresh spinach, North Indian Rogan Josh, Kadai Gosht and Lamb Bhuna. Beef shows up Goan-style in Vindaloo (the menu warns of the chef's "dynamite sauce") and in a hot, coconut-rich Madras. Seafood spans Prawn Malabari to the Prawn Maharaja, a lightly spiced pineapple-based creamy curry. Biryanis come with chicken, lamb or beef, a vegetable version, and a goat option available on request.
One dish belongs to this kitchen alone: the Butter Tikka Masala, described on the menu as Vijay Biala's own creation, made here in Christchurch — a blend of butter chicken and tikka masala in a single bowl.
The vegetarian section is a proper menu of its own: Palak, Mutter and Kadai Paneer made with homemade cottage cheese, Malai Kofta dumplings, Channa Masala and Dahl Makhni simmered slowly overnight. Bread lovers have ten-plus choices, from peshwari naan stuffed with fruit and nuts to newer spinach-and-feta and jalapeño-and-cheddar versions. Desserts run to pistachio and mango kulfi, gulab jamun, chocolate cake with ice cream and an affogato.
Dietaries are taken seriously: a dedicated gluten-free section spans entrées through curries, many dishes can be made dairy-free on request, and roti and paratha serve as non-dairy breads. Just tell your waitstaff.
Cocktails cover the classics — a G&T, a Mojito, a White Russian finished with dark chocolate shavings — plus the Honey Badger (Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey, ginger beer, fresh lime), a Gin Bramble and a NY Sour with a red wine float. The wine list leans local: Waipara and Canterbury names like Torlesse, Gumbo & Good and Omihi Road sit alongside Marlborough sauvignon and pinot noir, Central Otago pinots and a few Clare Valley Australians. Beer drinkers get Kingfisher on tap, a line-up of Stoke ales, Tiger, Singha, Heineken, Steinlager, Corona and Magners ciders. Off the booze there's masala chai, mango and plain lassi, fresh lime, ginger beer, coffee and juices.
Every Tuesday from 5pm, Maharaja runs Wine & Curry Night: choose your curry and it's served with fragrant basmati rice, freshly baked naan and a glass of wine, at a set per-person price. The restaurant pitches it as a new midweek reason to go out — perfect for date night, a catch-up with friends, or simply treating yourself.
For bigger appetites, non-vegetarian and vegetarian banquets are available for two or more; ask your host for details. The venue also handles occasions beyond a Tuesday: weddings, stag and hen dos, baby showers and birthday celebrations, with catering formats running from grazing plates to live cooking. An events manager takes enquiries, gift vouchers are sold on the website, and the full menu can be ordered online.
Maharaja opens from 12pm till late, seven days a week, at 1 Restell Street, Papanui, Christchurch 8053 — the old train station building. Reservations can be made by phone from midday daily or through the online form on the website. Restaurant Guru listed the restaurant as Recommended in 2021. Whether you come for a Tuesday curry-and-wine combo, a banquet for the whole table, or just a cocktail and some kulfi, the idea stays the same: classic Indian food, generously done, in a building with character.