Undiscovered Scotland

 

Itihaas is an outstanding Indian restaurant offering a comfortable setting, superb food and great service. It occupies an impressive building topped off with a small dome on a corner site in the heart of Dalkeith in Midlothian. Itihaas is a word derived from Hindi and refers to history or tradition. We're not sure how long a restaurant needs to be in business to be considered a tradition, but multiple award-winning Itihaas has successfully built an enviable reputation that pulls in diners from across Midlothian, from Edinburgh, whose centre lies just six miles to the north-west, and far beyond.

Itihaas is open for lunch and dinner six days each week (it's closed on Tuesdays). We called in for lunch on a Monday and by the time we left the place was buzzing. We suspect this is somewhere you need to book, especially if you are thinking of travelling any distance.

There was a time when Dalkeith was the first - or last - settlement on the old road from Edinburgh to north-east England, the A68, and it was often an extremely busy place. The through traffic departed with the opening of a bypass in 2008 and since then you've needed a reason to come here. Yet it remains only two miles from the Edinburgh city bypass and with free off-street parking only a short walk away, Itihaas really is the ideal destination for lunch or dinner.

The lunch menu is available from 12pm to 2pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays and on Mondays and comes at a modest fixed price for two or three courses. The third course offers the choice of coffee or ice cream after the main meal. When we visited the fixed price lunch menu offered a choice of six starters including three vegetarian dishes and nineteen mains including six vegetarian dishes. A choice of six thali dishes was also available: as the menu notes, a thali is divided into five sections, consisting of a starter, main dish and side order of vegetables, rice and raita. Five different children's meals were also on offer, ranging from chicken tikka kebab and chips to fish fingers or chicken nuggets and chips.

The à la carte menu gives an amazing breadth of choice including fifteen non-vegetarian starters; six vegetarian starters; six tandoori dishes; three balti dishes; five biryani dishes; plus a huge range of speciality, beef, fish and vegetarian main dishes. And that's before you come to the side dishes on offer, which include six rices, seven breads and so on. Plus European dishes and a children's menu. It's worth noting for completeness that Itihaas does deliveries in the local area.

With such a broad menu, what we chose to eat - and enjoyed so much - can only give a glimpse of what's on offer. The poppadoms and chutney/onions/pickle combination was a great way to set the meal up. For starters we chose an outstanding chicken tikka kebab and equally good onion bhajis. For mains we chose two contrasting dishes that looked interesting on the menu. The murgh mango was a chicken tikka cooked with mango, onion, garlic, fresh coriander and mild spices, finished with fresh cream. It was delicious. The shatkora lamb comprised tender pieces of lamb in a medium spiced sauce with rinds of special Bangladeshi citrus fruit, herbs and coriander. It, too, was simply sublime. We were also impressed by the coffee and ice cream that followed.

Our lunch at Itihaas was truly memorable for all the right reasons. The food has to be up there with the very best Indian dishes imaginable. The quality of the ingredients really comes through, as does the care with which the dishes are prepared; and the portion sizes, especially of the mains, gives a sense of generosity. Meanwhile, the service is attentive but non-intrusive and the setting calm and comfortable - in stark contrast to the busy Dalkeith street visible outside through the blinds covering the large windows. We will certainly be back!